Rowles destroys St Benedict’s as he leads St David’s to victory
Jason Rowles continued his rich vein of form as he scythed an unbeaten century to lead St David’s Marist to an emphatic 10-wicket win over St Benedict’s College in their 50-over encounter on Raven Park Field One, at St Benedict’s, on Saturday.
St Benedict’s, who won the toss and elected to bat first, were bowled out for 236 in 48.4 overs. In reply, St David’s smashed 238/1 in 27.4 overs to claim victory.
On Wednesday, Rowles scored a brilliant 75 off 47 to inspire St David’s to a three-wicket win over HS Kempton Park in a T20 match. The opener had saved his best for the weekend. Rowles creamed an imperious unbeaten 140 off 80 deliveries (13X4s, 8X6s) as he shepherded his side to a dominant victory.
Rowles, who was adjudged to be the Player of the Match because of his outstanding innings and contribution with the ball, was in no mood to let the St Benedict’s bowling attack settle. He established a 37-run opening stand with Armaan Manack (13) from 4.3 overs. When that partnership collapsed, Rowles joined forces with Samrat Basu for an unbroken 201 third-wicket partnership.
Basu’s knock of an unbeaten 75 off 69 deliveries looked slow in comparison to Rowles’ innings, which was going at a strike rate of 166.67. However, Basu was not going at a pedestrian pace. His rate of 108.7 is a relatively brisk 50-over strike rate.
Earlier in the day, Christopher Emslie and the rest of the St David’s bowling attack saw to it that their hosts did not bat them out of the contest. Emslie bagged two wickets for 21 runs in seven overs as St David’s applied the squeeze. The spinner was one of five bowlers who walked away with a brace of wickets each. Jared Stern (2/28), Jason Rowles (2/43), Morteza Manack (2/44) and Kyle Butler (2/44), also took two wickets each.
However, St Benedict’s did not roll over and play dead, allowing St David’s to run them over. Marco Mendes and Matt Feiretag constructed an impressive 96-run fifth-wicket partnership that rescued the hosts from a middling total. Mendes scored an impressive 68 off 99, while Feiretag scored a 71-ball 57. However, their half-centuries were not enough to help St Benedict’s compile a winning total.
Summarised Scorecards:
St Benedict’s College 236 (Marco Mendes 68, Matt Feiretag 57; Christopher Emslie 2/21, Jared Stern 2/28); St David’s Marist 238/1 (Jason Rowles 140*, Samrat Basu 75*; Russell Jones 1/45) St David’s Marist won by ten wickets.
