Opening Series Tilts Surrey's Way
Home against Yorkshire to open the season is a special moment...for Gerald Thomas he looked visibly stressed a bit on the opening pitch at 38 degrees. Game One certainly wouldn't have quelled his nerves as Yorkshire knocked around Jake Day to a 6-3 win that wasn't as close as the score suggested.
A sleety day on Saturday meant we got an early season doubleheader on Sunday and it was a warriors effort from local lad and marketing star Rory Hughes that got Surrey off to a good start. Thomas tried to get by without Hughes in game one but the veteran kind-hearted Nigerian Uche Obioma put runners on and Hughes cashed in 3 as Yorkshire overcame a 4-1 deficit to force extras. Hughes, with runners on 2nd to start every inning, fired 3 clean extra innings before Sunzamul Saha walked it off in the 12th.
Later that afternoon Hughes threw 2/3rds more of an inning as Surrey scored 8 runs in the 8th to overcome a 2 run deficit as Saha doubled and homered in the same inning.
Players of the Series
DJ Kadak 6 IP, 1 R, 7/0 K/BB
Rory Hughes 4.1 IP on Sunday, 2 wins, 1 ER, 4 K
Sunzamul Saha 6/15, 3 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R
Disaster Series
Reggie Bailey 3-13, picked off 2 of the 4 times he reached base and messed up several makeable plays in the field. Nerves for the big signing?
Leroy Maema, the South African who is rumored to never arrive more than 30 minutes before the game and to still not know the training staffs name was 0-6.
Elsewhere
Auckland went into Perth and surpisingly swept the Scorchers. The rumors of Mumbai's demise might be accurate, they were pummeled in Lahore, scoring just 2 runs and losing all 3 games.
Up Next
A trip way down south to take on the undefeated Auckland Tuatara in New Zealand.
Big News
It was not just lip service, Jake Day is a loyal Brown Cap. A 7-year extension was signed by the 28 year old Canadian ace, about a 10% increase on this years salary but he probably could have gotten more on the open market. A huge piece alongside Labourdette and Bailey for the future.
