Cricket: Ramle beats Ra'anana in first game of season

By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
The 2009 domestic cricket season got underway on Friday, with a victory for Ramle. In a match dominated by the quick bowlers, Ramle defeated Ra'anana by 30 runs at Hadar Yosef, with Israel international Isaac Talkar shining with 6 for 30. Asked to bat first, Ramle were dismissed for just 112, with Gerrit Grundling grabbing 5 for 16 and Josh Lazarus, making his debut in Israel, 4 for 22. Take away the 47 extras gifted by Ra'anana, and a few lusty blows from Netanel Borgarker (18), and the score would have been even lower. But on a pitch with uneven bounce, anything over 100 was going to be tricky to chase. Within a handful of deliveries Ra'anana were 9 for 4, with Talkar having destroyed the top order, and a tricky chase had become almost impossible. Although lower order batsmen Rafi Schachat (21) and Des Moss (17) managed to score double figures, their efforts were nothing more than an excercise in embarrassment limitation . Talkar was given good assistance by new-ball partner Samson Eliezer (3 for 21) as Ramle completed the victory, with Ra'anana, missing a couple of key players, not making any significant strides to wiping out their 90-point penalty with which they start the season after not completing last years final.