Post date: Jun 26, 2016 9:06:15 AM
Rain all week made for a soggy strip at Millaton for another game against local rivals Lewdown. In a season where Briddy find themselves playing in a league well below where they should be, skipper Tim Shaw is trying to get as much of a game as possible by batting first at every opportunity. With some recent form, Charlie opened with Buzz Brimacombe and in gloomy conditions, it quickly became clear that batting was not going to be easy. Some wayward and 'unpredictable', Lewdown bowling didn't make it any easier and it wasn't long before Buzz fell for a juicy looking half-tracker but the unpredictable pitch caused him to mistime his attempted hook and a top edge was neatly taken by Lewdown skipper and wicket-keeper, Graeme Horn; Bridestowe 0-1. Dale Harris and Charlie Ewen then had a period of stolid resistance, putting away bad balls and blocking anything remotely straight until Bomber (14) got skittled by Andy Vernon with one that kept low and moved off the pitch, 22-2. Tom Mallett appeared to listen to Charlie's advice on straight bat, front foot shots being the order of the day before ignoring it completely and playing a back-foot pull across the line and Vernon cleaned him up without the scorers being involved, 22-3 bringing Tim Shaw to the crease. In a battle of two old men, Graeme Horn won with marginally faster reflexes seeing him stump Charlie (11) who was by this time getting frustrated with seeing Fluff bung down some of the poorest bowling ever to darken the Millaton square and succumb to that frustration by chasing another wide delivery that looked like it wouldn't actually make it as far as the stumps and not getting back in time having missed it. At 25-4, the BCC massive were talking about how they were going to defend something less than 100 as a total. Kieran Lee joined Shaw and both worked hard, concentrating on every delivery and whilst scoring was quite slow, stuck to the brief. There were a few chances for both however Lewdown's fielding was not great and a succession of dropped catches allowed the two Bridestowe batters to grow in confidence as the warm June sunshine slowly dried the wicket. Sailing serenely past the 100 total, first Shaw then Lee raised bats to celebrate half-centuries, for Lee his first one. as the score went past 175 and the pitch now playing much better, the pair accelerated the scoring and Soon BCC were past the 200 mark and Shaw was raising his bat for a second time, 100 up. Shaw eventually fell trying a dab to third man and not getting enough on it, was well caught by Horn for an entertaining 116. Dave Jopling (7) supported the by now, 'every ball is a coconut', Lee for a while before being caught at mid-wicket but stayed long enough for Lee to raise his bat once again to rapturous applause as he went from maiden 50 to maiden ton. With little time left, one-eye Butler (15 n.o) had some fun including a towering 6 into the field. So from a 'how are we going to defend 75?' conversation, BCC passed the 300 mark with Lee finishing on an undefeated 116. There was some small controversy at tea as Lee had run one short from a Shaw cover drive, costing the skipper a run, it was therefore agreed that Shaw had the moral high-ground and should really have pipped Lee by one run on the scoring stakes.
After a fine tea courtesy of the Joping's, BCC took to the field pretty confident that they had enough. Given the total, Shaw decided to rest himself and with Bomber carrying an injury, it was Gideon Pitchard and Corey Holliday to open the bowling. Corey showed how much he has progressed this season by putting in a very tidy shift, finishing his spell with 5-1-2-15 including an opening wicket maiden with every ball bang on line and length. Gids having missed a few games had spent his time off supporting the Chinese economy by purchasing a vast pair of new boots. The general thinking was that they would come in handy if anyone decided that Brexit was so bad they were going to cross the channel with each boot being big enough to comfortably act as an ocean-going barge for an average sized family. They were however, put to good use as in two spells he turned in magnificent figures of 9-0-3-25. Mallet (5-1-1-13), Ewen (3-1-1-6) and Jopling (4-3-1-4) all supported well and with Trev Turney and Andy Vernon blocking feverishly and with the pub open, BCC were just looking for the final wicket with Lewdown having managed 80. Despite Shaw and Bomber not bowling, Andy V and Trev T were protesting that BCC had returned to the opening bowler (Gids) and so Shaw (0.1-0-1-0) decided that it was time to give them a taste of opening bowling and flattened Vernons middle stump first ball with a sharp and straight delivery.
A good win with skipper Shaw doing his best to get as many people as possible a game despite a horrible mis-match. It will be important for The super-twos to hold their concentration and use this season as an opportunity to bat long and win. WIth Hatherleigh looking like the competition for promotion and riding high thanks to some cry-offs, the 2 remaining fixtures against them will be pivotal but it is equally important that BCC do not slip up again as it is sure to be a close race for the top spot.