BABYLON XI v BLAKE'S XI

At Drazi Home World, February 27, 28, 2260. Blake's XI won by 196 runs. Toss: Babylon XI.

Blake made the wrong call, and Sinclair asked him to bat on a hard-baked pitch. The rebels were quickly in trouble when Susan Ivanova removed Tarrant with her first delivery, courtesy of a spectacular catch in the deep by Marcus Cole. Soon after, Lyta Alexander bowled Zen, beaten for sheer pace, and Jenna watched helplessly as Blake and Gan were stumped by Kosh - a feat all the more remarkable as the ambassador wicket-keeper often seemed to have been at the opposite end only seconds before. When Avon survived only two balls, the score was a desperate 96 for five. Jenna finally regained the strike and brought up her fifty with three straight sixes. But umpire Servalan then answered a tricky lbw appeal in the affirmative, and Jenna returned to the pavilion for a gallant 52. Soolin, supported by a quickfire 32 from Dayna, struck out for her own fifty before Garibaldi's off-break tricked her and she too was leg-before, giving him a third wicket. Blake's XI were all out for a hasty 231, Lyta picking up four wickets for 64.

Replying for Babylon XI, Londo Mollari made a dashing start. He saw off two confident appeals from Soolin, both rejected by Servalan, with whom he was noticed exchanging pleasantries - evidently leading to the surprise announcement of their marriage the following evening. But next over, a ball from Dayna, who had already beguiled his opening partner G'Kar, brushed the stumps and a bail was partly dislodged. It never actually dropped, but Cartagia instantly raised his finger to give Mollari out. Meanwhile, Delenn, Captain Sinclair (for a golden duck) and Marcus fell in quick succession to Soolin, speeding in from the Green End. Sheridan held the innings together with a forthright 55, but Kosh seemed determined to avoid the action while wickets continued to tumble. Lennier, at No. 10, ran up a dogged 39 before Orac stumped him off Avon's bowling - though mysteriously one replay seemed to show Kosh, his batting partner, removing the bails. Babylon XI's innings closed, 21 runs behind Blake's, when Lyta failed to read Vila's slow left-arm spin and was bowled. But it was pace that had dominated play: Soolin collected five wickets for 77 and Dayna another three.

Jenna was determined to build on her side's advantage, and had already raced to 52 when Tarrant was bowled swiping at Lyta for only 29. Zen was trapped by his first ball, from Ivanova, in fading light, and play halted for the evening with Blake's XI on 95 for two - already 116 ahead. When they resumed in the morning, the men of the middle order again fell cheaply. But Jenna continued her high-flying form, reaching a dazzling hundred with her sixth six. She shared a spirited eighth-wicket partnership of 66 with Dayna, and looked as if she might carry her bat through to the end of the innings until she was finally caught on the boundary by Marcus, a well-earned wicket for Lennier, who also dismissed fellow leg-spinner Cally after her entertaining final stand with Vila. Again, Vila was the sole survivor. Ivanova had bowled unchanged for five wickets, though they came at a cost of 159.

Babylon XI needed 308 to win, which would have been much the biggest total of the match. They made a bad start when Mollari was given out at the end of the first over - Servalan having referred a stumping appeal from Orac to the third umpire, Sandman. At the same score, 17, G'Kar fell for Dayna a second time and Sheridan could not recapture his earlier form. Sinclair, however, played a captain's innings at his second attempt, smashing Dayna for 24 runs in five balls - only for her sixth, an in-swinger, to trap him lbw. After that, Soolin, aided by Blake's brilliant field placings, swept through the rest. She bowled even better from the Purple End than she had from the Green the previous day, and garnered six wickets. Only Garibaldi, lashing out for a couple of sixes, managed to carry the Babylonians into three figures, and his luck ran out at 111.

Blake's XI had won by a massive 196 runs. The Eighth Doctor, called to name the Player of the Match, had a hard task choosing between Jenna and Soolin, who had both set up Blake's XI with first-innings fifties, followed by a century from Jenna and 11 wickets in the match from Soolin. The Doctor eventually settled for Jenna, who had been on the field for most of the game and whose feisty batting had done so much to destroy the opposition's morale.

Woman of the Match: Jenna (adjudicated by the Eighth Doctor).

Close of play: Blake's XI 95-2 (Jenna 63*, Blake 3*).

Blake's XI
Tarrantc M. Cole b S. Ivanova8b L. Alexander29
Jennalbw b L. Alexander52c M. Cole b Lennier119
Zenb L. Alexander21lbw b S. Ivanova0
*Blakest Kosh b S. Ivanova23b L. Alexander5
Ganst Kosh b L. Alexander11st Kosh b L. Alexander10
Avonlbw b L. Alexander4st Kosh b S. Ivanova10
+Oraclbw b M. Garibaldi11lbw b S. Ivanova20
Soolinlbw b M. Garibaldi55st Kosh b S. Ivanova4
Daynast Kosh b M. Cole32lbw b S. Ivanova39
Callylbw b M. Garibaldi12b Lennier34
Vilanot out1not out15
N-b 11N-b 11
1/192/443/67
4/925/966/127
7/1448/1779/230
231
1/812/823/97
4/1075/1256/151
7/1558/2219/251
286

Bowling: First Innings- L. Alexander 4-0-64-4; S. Ivanova 3-0-63-2; M. Cole 3-0-56-1; M. Garibaldi 2.5-0-48-3.

Second Innings- S. Ivanova 8-0-159-5; L. Alexander 5-0-81-3; Lennier 3-0-46-2.

Babylon XI
L. Mollarib Dayna41(2) st Orac b Soolin11
G'Karc Zen b Dayna6(1) b Dayna6
J. Sheridanb Soolin55lbw b Dayna3
Delennc Jenna b Soolin1st Orac b Soolin11
*J. Sinclairlbw b Soolin0lbw b Dayna33
M. Colec Tarrant b Soolin7c Tarrant b Soolin4
S. Ivanovalbw b Dayna18st Orac b Soolin8
+Kosh Naraneknot out28c Vila b Soolin9
M. Garibaldilbw b Soolin8lbw b Dayna20
Lennierst Orac b Avon39b Soolin2
L. Alexanderb Vila6not out0
N-b 11N-b 44
1/362/783/83
4/835/1016/114
7/1348/1439/199
210
1/172/173/29
4/425/706/70
7/828/1039/105
111

Bowling: First Innings- Soolin 5-0-77-5; Dayna 4-0-75-3; Vila 2.2-0-33-1; Avon 2-0-25-1.

Second Innings- Soolin 4-0-60-6; Dayna 3.2-0-51-4.

Umpires: Cartagia and Servalan. Third Umpire: Sandman.

Referee: The Man in the Shack. Scorer: Marisu.


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