A medical doctor dispensed some medicine of his own on Saturday. Only it wasn’t in a surgery but on the cricket pitch.
Dr Gerard Christian smashed an impressive 53 for Welly’s against BrightStaff Greenies Too at the Smith Road Oval. Greenies looked in danger of a heart attack as Dr Christian battered them.
BrightStaff Greenies Too batted first and lost their openers early. Up stepped Craig Scott to steady the innings and the big South African batted superbly, hitting 42 before being stumped. Andrew Dean hit 30 for Greenies and tail ender Dave McGrath pitched in with 15. Their 150 all out was not a huge target in a 40-overs match.
Dr Christian opened Kirkpatrick Clark and they built up a solid foundation for Welly’s. Clark went first for 12 and the doctor built his innings as patiently as a surgeon performing heart surgery to hit 53.
Christopher Williams kept the run rate steady for Welly’s and finished with Dave Howell unbeaten on 32 as they reached their target with seven wickets down to win by three wickets.
BrightStaff Greenies Too captain Richard Thomas said: ‘This was a bit disappointing. We were tight in that game to win but we just didn’t have enough runs on the board. We lost a few early wickets and just never really recovered. It’s one of those games we want to forget and move on, I think.
‘Craig Scott was in good form. I’m pretty sure he’ll be playing for the first team soon. He provided the backbone once a after last time he scored 70-odd. We didn’t have many plus points but that was certainly one of them.
‘Our next game is Pro Plus at the school’s pitch so again that is a must-win because we really need to get back on the winning track.’
Dr Christian raised Greenies blood pressure with his fierce batting and fulfilled his prediction last weekend that he would be in this paper soon. ‘I’m glad for that,’ he laughed. ‘I hope for many more. I usually perform very well against Greenies. I’m not really sure but this was my third half century against them.
‘I always save my energy for them. I hope they’re not aware of that otherwise it won’t be so easy to score runs.
‘It was an especially pleasing innings, helped by the fact that we won. Had we lost it wouldn’t have meant as much, but it was a significant half century.’
Dr Christian has started the season well. He top scored with 37 in the first match against Pro Plus. ‘I’m in good form starting off in Division Two. Hopefully, I can convert to some runs in Division One.’
Is he tempted to go for a pro place when Cayman form a Stanford-backed side? ‘Not at all. Medicine is my profession. I’m a general practitioner at the Health Services Authority. This is just my hobby. I hope the spectators enjoyed it, I certainly did!’
Related Videos
