Post date: Jul 8, 2013 7:51:33 PM
The weather was set fair once again as BCC looked to bounce back from an agonisingly close defeat at Whimple.
Lee was unable to captain the side and with vice Mark Fog on football tour with paceman Dan, it was left to his brother Tom to skipper his first DCL game. Tom won the toss and decided to bowl, preferring to chase with a well under strength bowling attack, which were at least boosted by Belstone boys Ryan and Matty Dennis. Tom opened up with himself and Ryan, who both kept to a tight line and length early on. Ryan got the breakthrough in slightly fortunate fashion as Bone played on to a low full toss. In at number three was the first of the dangerous Barriball brothers, Charlie. He struggled to play off the back foot on a track which had deceptively little bounce. He and Powell did begin to find some timing before Jacko on at first change (yes really) managed to rebuild the pressure, which resulted in Charlie hitting a waist high full toss straight to Matt at mid-on. At the 16 over mark we took the first drinks break in the heat, and with the score at 38-2, it was a great start by all accounts. After drinks the Wayfarers kicked on, with Billy Barriball and Powell hitting anything loose to the boundary. Cal Mal tightened things up from one end and it was him who got the breakthrough, with Pat sharply stumping Billy. It ended a fine innings of 45, as well as a more than useful 90 run partnership that was starting to look ominous. Their next bat, Meadows, hit a few boundaries before Cal got another, this time caught in the deep by Phil. Cally then made it 3 when he got opener Powell caught at Cow by Charlie for a well made 50. Jacko returned to the attack and got rid of the dangerous Creddy bowled for a duck, leaving the Whitchurch innings teetering at 155-6. Neilo managed to get rid of Towl caught for just 1 and captain Tom also got his first wicket at the death, to leave the visitors 8 down for 183. After a few lusty blows and edges, Whitchurch closed on 197-8 from thier 45 overs. Unfortunately, we were not able to bowl the visitors out, but we did keep them under 200, which was good going with so many of our usual attack out of action.
With Mark unavailable, James and Jack headed out to the crease to open after tea, hoping to get BCC off to a solid start. James pulled Sambells to the boundary in the first over and Jacko also started well with a push through the covers. The opening partnership was broken soon after though as James looked to go back to one banged in short by Vernon, only to watch the ball stay low and crash into the stumps (should've known better...) At number 3 was our leading run scorer Phil, who stroked a few to the boundary before he was bowled by a beauty from Vernon. Jacko hit Sambells out of the attack, which saw the introduction of spinner Kerswill. He had an immediate impact, bowling Ian for a duck and things went from bad to worse, as skipper Tom Fog went to the same bowler, caught and bowled, also for a duck. That left us at 54-4 and new bat Neilo read the situation perfectly, as he smashed the new bowler over the hedge. He followed that with a lovely leg glance for 4 before he too was bowled going back by Towl. Kerswill's unbelievable spell continued as new man Ryan Dennis went in a similar manner to Tom, chipping back to the bowler as he reached forward for the ball. Whilst all of this was going on, Jacko passed his 50, and continued to play some lovely strokes (I bet he couldn't believe what was happening at the other end!) Pat managed to provide some support, smashing both Kerswill and second spinner C. Barriball to the boundary. The jubilation was short lived though, as he was bowled by Barriball, bringing dad Charlie to the crease. After almost helping to save a similar situation in the away fixture earlier in the season, he knicked one from Vernon which hit the man at first slip, who caught it on the third attempt. At 91-8, we were on the verge of an embarrassing loss, and by far our lowest score of the season. Debutant Matty had other ideas though, striking a few boundaries off the back foot to take us past the 100. Jack clearly appreciated the support as he began to open up as well, hitting boundaries all around the ground. Runs continued to come at a rapid rate and at 150-8, there were more than a few nerves creeping into the Whitchurch camp. The 85 partnership meant that we had moved to within 20 of a remarkable victory, but Matty then skied a short ball from Billy Barriball and was well caught in the outfield for a brilliant 50. With 10 overs still left, Cal walked out, looking to block out and give Jack a chance to win us the game. The batsmen crossed, so Jack was on strike, but took a single straight away, leaving Cal with 4 balls to survive. He successfully blocked out 2 balls, before one hit his pads and crashed into the stumps. It meant that we had lost another thriller, but to be fair, we had done well to get as close as we did from the position the top order had left us in. Frustratingly, we had been bowled out for 178 with 9 overs still to bat, and were way above the required run rate. The other batsmen had just not managed to hang around with Jack who carried his bat for a sensational 74no. We did at least manage to pick up another 8 points, but we definitely need to push on in the latter half of the season! Next up is a trip to Kilmington, with BCC looking to get back to winning ways!