BABLAKE Old Boys skipper Tom Cowley admits Saturday’s defeat at table-topping Solihull Municipal was tough to take after they came so close to causing an upset.
The visitors won the toss and chose to field, trying to make best use of the helpful conditions but Solihull Municipal were comfortably set at 100-3.
James Roslyn top scored with 55 but once Tom Cowley had him caught by Sam Eames, wickets fell at regular intervals and the Solihull side were all out in the 47th over for 145.
The ever reliable duo of Azhar Ali (3 for 17) and Cowley (4 for 38) doing the majority of the damage.
In reply, Josh Manning’s 40, accompanied by double figure contributions from Mark Eames, Tom Cowley and Clark McCallum got the Coventry side agonisingly close. Roslyn continuing his good work with the bat, taking 4 for 27 with the ball.
The ninth Bablake wicket fell with 18 runs still required, leaving Sam Eames and no.11 ‘Ajay’ Janorkar to try and stumble over the line. Needing cool heads under pressure, Ajay was run out, five runs short, with four overs still remaining.
Disappointed skipper Cowley said: “It’s tough to take when you get so close, when things are going well you tend to win games like that.
“Nevertheless, we can take heart from getting so close to the side top of the league and hopefully take the improved performance into some big fixtures in the coming weeks.”
