VALIANT TAIL PUSH NATALIE'S XI TO 271

Natalie's XI resumed the first innings on Day 2of their Exhibition 50 Over Match against Dorsy's XI on 2/46 after 13.5 overs. Yesterday, play was interrupted by a thunderstorm that swept across the ground and soaked the outfield.

Natalie and Carrot looked to restart their innings, but copped and early blow when Natalie fell in just the 2nd over of the day, bowled via a beautiful wrongun by Buster. Galaxy II came to the crease at third drop and looked good early, timing a couple of balls to the rope early in her innings. Carrot played the anchor role, knocking singles here and there, but falling behind the desirable run rate. On the last ball of the 22nd over, Coral got one to shoot low on the stumps, and Galaxy II was given the finger by Umpire Ravi for a run-a-ball 18. In the very next over, Knighto perfected his leg-cutter, the ball smashing into the top of off stump, removing Carrot. 5/83 after 22.3 overs.

Tulip and Klutzy both hadn't faced a ball when they joined each other at the crease, but seeing there wasn't all that much to lose, they both went after the bowlers. In the next five overs, they put on 45 runs, adding a bit of respectibility to the score. Buster eventually got one through Tulip's defences, though, and she was on her way, bowled for 22.

Klutzy was on fire, and it took something very unlucky to get him out. Buster bowled one just short of a length and Klutzy went back to knock it off his hip into the vacant square leg region. He got it a bit early, however, and got a slight leading edge to Berry at short leg. The ball went fast and low, however, and Berry couldn't get her hands to the ball in time. Luckily for her, though, the ball bounced off her left tail fin back into the air, where she caught the lucky rebound. Klutzy had to go for 23 off 14 balls, and Dorsy's XI were right on top, with Natalie's XI 7/140 after 30 overs.

Despite the score, Wishy and Kayn played their natural games, taking the attack to the bowlers. In the 32nd over, Wishy hit Buster for 15 runs, and Kayn took him for 10 two overs later. The pair scored at around 8 runs an over, Wishy smashing the ball to all parts as the main aggressor of the partnership. For the first time in the match, Dorsy's XI had no answers, so they were extremely relieved and elated when Wishy hit the off stump with his bat whilst attempting a late cut. He was cheered off the ground for his valiant 74 runs off of just 58 balls. Snoope lasted only two balls, bowled by Dorsy for a duck next over. 9/217 after 42 overs.

Spine was the last man in, a more than handy number 11. He provided a great support to Kayn and scored some very timely runs. Together, Kayn and Spine lasted almost until the very end, Spine falling LBW to Lin with only 3 balls left in the innings. Spine finished on 26 off 23 balls, Kayn got 42 off 47 not out and Natalie's XI finished with a competitive total of 271 in 49.3 overs. According to the punters, this game is almost 50/50, with Dorsy's XI taking the slight advantage. To view the full match scorecard as of now, click here.

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