Rathkeale on the ropes after stunning first day

Gary Caffell
Flight Centre Lansdowne has Rathkeale College well and truly on the ropes after a stunning first day of their two-day Bidwell Cup cricket match at Rathkeale Oval on Saturday.
Led by a commanding unbeaten innings of 133 by Simon Butler, Lansdowne was all out for 254 and then rolled the students for a meagre 48 runs, forcing them to bat a second time.
By stumps at the end of the day, Rathkeale was 16 for one in their second innings, still a massive 190 runs away from making Lansdowne bat again. Despite their overall dominance, Lansdowne started shakily in the first innings, losing its first two wickets for just 32 runs, but then a 68-run partnership between opener James Adamson and Butler steadied the ship.
Adamson's departure with his score on 23 and the team at 100 signalled the start of a steady fall of wickets, but Butler's determination to keep going was the defining factor of the innings. In all, he knocked up 23 fours and a six in his innings of 133 as wickets fell at regular intervals around him. Main destroyer for Rathkeale was Dion Van Deventer, who picked up 7 for 64 from his 20 overs while J. Hurley picked up two wickets and J. Holmes one.
Rathkeale's innings was a disaster almost from the start.
They lost their first three wickets for just nine runs, before a mini-partnership of 28 runs between Holmes and Van Deventer had Rathkeale hopes rising.
But with Holmes' departure went Rathkeale's composure and they lost their remaining six wickets for just 11 runs. Choi Jackson snapped up four of the Rathkeale scalps, with Robin James grabbing three wickets, and Brock Price two.