After a bright start to the 2015 cricket season, the Yorkton Yorkers have dropped three matches in a row.
鈥淭he good news is we are bowling and fielding really well this season,鈥� said Thom Barker, president of the Yorkton Cricket Association. 鈥淭he bad news is, since the first game, we just can鈥檛 get our bats going.
In the first game of a double header June 20 at Regina鈥檚 Douglas Park cricket ground, the Yorkers held the Regina Rangers to 137 runs for 10 wickets in the first innings.
Tinku Sharma, Yorkton鈥檚 star all-rounder made five catches and ran out another Ranger batsman for a total of six of the 10 wickets.
Having put up a total of 182 in their May 30 match against Queen City, the Yorkers batsmen were confident about chasing 138, but the runs never materialized. Yorkton鈥檚 opening pair, Mandeep Singh and Tisham Mohammed were gone by the third over combining for only five runs. The wickets kept dropping for the Rangers as the next four batsmen went in rapid succession with zero, two, one and two runs respectively.
Hitesh Mankotia tried to rally the troops with 20 runs on 21 balls, but it was not nearly enough as the rest of the team lost their wickets by the 11th over. The Rangers won by 82 runs.
In the afternoon match, Yorkton batted first. This time, captain Mandeep Singh made a valiant effort putting up 31 runs on 47 balls. He did not get much help though until Sharma came in the fourth over. The partnership produced 69 runs as Sharma batted for 38.
Ultimately, though, the 107 total would prove too little as the Jaguars chased it down in just 13 overs to win by eight wickets despite fine fielding and a strong bowling performance by the Yorkers squad.
This past weekend, July 11, the Yorkers were back in Regina this time at the Grassick Park cricket ground to face the Lions.
The Lions batted first. Again, Yorkton鈥檚 bowling and fielding was up to the task producing three wickets in the first four overs and ultimately holding the Lions bats to just 112 on the scorecard, a very reachable target.
But Yorkton鈥檚 first three batsmen fell in the first three overs and their replacements were not able to get anything going.
Sharma was the top scorer, but only managed 16 runs off 37 balls during his 12 overs in the crease.
By the 18th over, Lions bowling had dispatched all the Yorkers wickets to win by 62 runs.
鈥淲e really must improve our batting,鈥� Barker said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e purchased new bats, but it鈥檚 more about practicing. We really need to find a suitable surface. The past two years we鈥檝e been practicing on tennis courts, but that really chews up our balls and doesn鈥檛 really have the same action as the pitches in Regina.
鈥淭his week I have some time and I will be making finding a practice ground my number one priority.鈥�
