HE didn’t get to see any of it, but Blayney captain Jameel Qureshi couldn’t hide his disappointment upon finding out that his side had been smashed by more than an innings and 200 runs in their Bathurst District Cricket Association first grade match against Oxford Centennials on the weekend.
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The Saturday-Sunday game was over only an hour or two into the second day, after the hosts were dismissed for 37 in their first innings and 70 in their second.
Aaron Seymour starred with the ball and Josh Toole with the bat, the skipper making 144 as his side declared on 5-300.
There were some extenuating circumstances for Blayney: Qureshi and his brothers Imran and Yousuf were all unavailable, while bowling all-rounder Pirenu Nirmalendran was injured after bowling just four overs.
But for a side desperate to prove that their second-tier players can carry the load when their stars can’t prop them up, it was a deflating effort and earned them another entry in an unwanted list.
Their 37 was the second-lowest score in the history of the Bathurst-only first grade competition, behind St Pat’s Old Boys’ 26 at the Sportsground last season.
It gives Blayney the unwanted distinction of having five entries in the top 10 in only four seasons of competition.
“I wasn’t there to see it, but it isn’t good enough, plain and simple. From all reports, we were amazingly ordinary and you should never see a first grade side dismissed for those sorts of scores,” Jameel Qureshi said.
“You have got to show some pride in your performance; there was no pride in ours.
“We have seen in the past that our success has generally come when we bat for long periods and really dig in. It seems like no-one wanted to do that on Saturday and Sunday and it is very disappointing.”
Making matters worse for Blayney was the fact that they were actually in the running for the finals going into Saturday.
They still are to some extent – which is the only silver lining for the captain.
“We were missing some players, but there were guys in that side with two or three full seasons of first grade experience, so there is no excuse for what happened,” he said.
“It isn’t about how good you are at batting or bowling, it is about how much care and pride you want to show in your performance and having a go.
“On the other side of the coin, we were without a lot of key players. Myself and Imran weren’t there and Yousuf ... Yousuf has bowled really well this season and been quite steady at the top of the order with the bat.
“As much as he’s my youngest brother and he has copped a lot of crap over the years from me, he has done well and turned himself into a good first-grader, so we missed him too.
“The good teams, the good clubs, they stand up when they have good players out. We haven’t learned to do it, and it is something we have to learn.”
Meanwhile, ORC captain Trent Fitz-patrick says his side have no choice but to go all out in their remaining two matches to try to force their way into the top four.
They could also use some help from Blayney.
“We are in a tough spot now. Really, we could win both our remaining matches, finish with four wins, but if Rugby win a third match by beating Blayney they will make it very difficult for us to get in,” he said.
“The first thing for us is to try to find a way to beat Bathurst City this weekend. It will be tough – obviously, given that no one has done it yet – but I think we can if we play our best.
“If Blayney could beat Rugby in this match, Rugby have the bye in the last round, so it sets up a good contest between us and Blayney where if either team can get an outright or a big haul of bonus points, it might be enough.
“The bottom line of all that is, we have to win, and we have to play aggressive cricket. No choice.”