TEAM'S IN PLACE FOR ONE-DAY SUCCESS
FIXTURE NEWS|26th September 2005
Outlaws 248-5 (Hussey 75, Singh 47, Fleming 44)
Hampshire Hawks 127 (Sidebottom 3-13, Clough 3-31)
Outlaws won by 37 runs (Duckworth-Lewis method)
We confirmed our place in totesport League Division One with aconvincing win over Hampshire Hawks and the Director of Cricket claimshe will use the performance as a benchmark for next year.
He said: ?Batting has been the problem for us in one-day cricket but when we fulfil our roles we are as good as anybody.
?In our innings we had the platform set by Anurag Singh and StephenFleming, David Hussey pushed the game away from Hampshire in the middlebefore Chris Read and Mark Ealham came in and hit quick runs.
?That?s the formula we?ve been trying to work to all season because ourbowling has been good and our fielding has improved massively.
?That was the case again at the Rose Bowl because Ryan Sidebottom andAJ Harris had them 23-3 with their best three batsmen out. I think wewould have won even more convincingly if the rain hadn?t come down.?
After solid batting from Singh and Fleming, who put on 97 for thesecond wicket, Hussey increased the tempo with 75 off 53 balls, withfive sixes and six fours, before Read and Ealham finished the inningswith quick runs.
Sidebottom and Harris had the home side in big trouble before a heavyshower left Hampshire chasing 10 runs an over, a task which provedimpossible.
It gave us fifth place in the final table and Newell believes the side can go on to better things next year.
He added: ?We came good in the end and I think since we beatGloucestershire at Cheltenham College in early August we have playedwell.
?Next season I will be looking closely at the make-up of the team and Ithink that this side, with the addition of a couple of others from thesquad, is the strongest we have available.?