On a difficult batting track at Les Quennevais, Romerils defeated the champions by 31 runs to become the first team to beat them in 39 matches – SCF’s last league defeat was mid-season in 1999.And SCF’s reverse has cost them the leadership of the division as Caesareans have now overtaken them after they beat St Ouen by 41 runs.
In the other match Old Victorians won by 44 runs against Old Codgers.Romerils, who only had ten players, had Danny Coyne to thank for their total of 140, Coyne top-scored with 52 after a solid innings with just one boundary and three sixes.SCF were undone by some excellent bowling from former Island quickie Mark Saralis, whose ten-over spell, inclusive of four maidens, resulted in five wickets for 19 runs.Romerils skipper Nigel Crocker, a former SCF player, said: ‘I still can’t believe it.
We are a new club and we’ve beaten the champions of the past three seasons.’Danny’s innings was top notch while Mark I’m sure will have put himself back into Island reckoning because his form was excellent.
Taking the wickets of five of the top six in the best side in the Channel Islands was a brilliant return for him.’Matt Hague and Steve Carlyon went to deliveries that were unplayable, both came forward to play defensive shots and the ball popped up around their noses and both gloved it.
The pitch was very difficult to play on for both teams.’Crocker’s side have now won four games on the trot.He added: ‘Our target is to finish in the top four to gain a place in the CI KO Cup for next season.
We’re currently third, all enjoying our cricket and hopefully we will achieve our target.’SCF skipper Tony Carlyon said: ‘We had the worst of the conditions, the wicket was brutal.
But fair play to Romerils they bowled well and gave us enormous problems.’If we could have seen Saralis out for the loss of two or three batsmen I think we could have kept our run going.
We’ve recovered from collapses before and I thought we were going to do it again when Mark Reynolds took us from 50-odd for seven to 100 for eight but unfortunately we didn’t go on from there.’We’ve had a magnificent 38-match unbeaten run and I don’t think it will ever be been.
We’ve had some good wins and some narrow wins while we’ve also been extremely lucky with the weather as well.’Caesareans moved into top place after they beat Old Codgers by 42 runs.
