Kelly's a perfect 10 for St George's

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3: The reality of claiming ten wickets in Cup Match still “hasn’t really set in” for Stefan Kelly.

The right-arm fast bowler copped the prestigious Cup Match MVP Award after nearly single-handedly destroying Somerset at Wellington Oval last week.

Kelly bagged superb match figures of ten for 99 to become only the 11th player in Cup Match history to claim ten or more wickets in a match.

He said: “Taking ten wickets was really good and to be honest it hasn’t really set in.

“Not many players can say they have achieved that in Cup Match and I just wanted to put my team in a good position.”

Despite not feeling up to par Kelly claimed four for 26 in Somerset’s first innings and six for 73 in the second to place St George’s firmly in the driver’s seat.

He added: “I didn’t feel in any good rhythm over the entire two days. I didn’t feel I was bowling the best that I could have. But I still got the job done and I was pleased with that for the team.

Confident

“Most of the guys know I usually tend to find the odd spots where it (the ball) might do a bit and try and hit those areas consistently really.”

Among those praising Kelly’s menacing bowling display was former St George’s Cup Match fast bowler Adrian King, who claimed 35 wickets in the classic between 1978 and 1987.

He said: “Kelly is a seasoned player who is head and shoulders over the rest of the bowlers because he’s a smarter bowler.

“Bowling is not just running up and carrying your arm over, you have to try and figure a way to get the batsmen out, and you can see when Kelly bowls he is thinking and is more steady than all of the other bowlers.

“He bowled at the stumps and thought of many ways to get the batsmen out. I don’t think the pitch did anything to assist the bowlers. But whether the pitch is good or bad you have to bowl at the stumps, and that’s what Kelly did.”

After laying a solid foundation for St George’s to push for victory, it was perhaps fitting that Kelly (one not out) was at the crease when Lionel Cann (49 not out) hit the winning runs off Malachi Jones to spark joyous scenes around the ground.

Kelly recalled: “I just wanted to be out there because I was pretty confident we had the game. I told Lionel everything was okay and we were going to win the game.”