Pyestock Turn up the Heat
With Fun in the Sun
Bedhampton Mariners CC Vs Pyestock CC
Sunday 19th August 2012
Weather Conditions: Sunny and Hot.
Pitch Conditions: Wicket: firm, flat, Outfield: Green, fast.
If Pyestock were hoping for a less tense result than last week’s 1 wicket victory against Bagshot they would not have been happy as this match against Bedhampton Mariners evolved into a thriller.
The immediate threats were evident, as last season Bedhampton eased to a 41 run victory with M.Hovey and indeed the whole side impressive throughout.
Losing the toss and being put into the field on a day with temperatures pushing 30 degrees wasn’t the favoured approach then, with the Pyestock faithful , but they went about the tasks in front of them well.
Captain Neil Butler struck in the first over, bowling Waderman for a golden duck to leave the hosts 1 for 1.
Only 5 overs later and Chris Heath put Pyestock into a clear, but early advantage by producing a wonder over, bowling both Donagan and Collins.
When, in Chris’s next over Bradshaw also lost his bails, everything seemed to be clicking into place for the visitors, although it was clear that with dangerman Hovey sitting tight in the pavilion, all of the hard work could be so easily undone.
Chris picked up his fourth wicket in three overs dismissing opener H.Hovey who offered a routine catch to Mark Padwick at mid on to leave the hosts 42 for 5 from only 10 overs.
Neil decided this was the time to make a double change, as with his bowlers limited to 8 overs apiece, wanted a full range to choose from as the expected onslaught drew ever closer.
Billy Leader and Dan Heath took over the bowling reigns and kept things tight, although Whitfield seemed to enjoy the slower pace of the leg-spin provided by Dan.
In only the 15th over, Pyestock picked up their 6th wicket as Billy bowled Ward-Goldman, and in the process allowed M.Hovey to the crease.
Immediately his class was evident and was showing straight away the form that powered himself to 102 last season playing the Pyestock attack with ease.
After a couple of overs knocking Billy and Dan into the gaps for a couple of runs each time, Pyestock got lucky and picked up what was probably their most prized wicket of the season and with it seemed to have changed the game massively in their favour. Hovey pulled Dan powerfully into the leg-side and started to set off, only for a wonderful piece of fielding by Glenn Taylor to stop the ball in its tracks. Launching the ball back to the bowler, was not enough as Whitfield had sensed the danger and retreated back into his ground, Hovey however was stranded halfway up the track and quick thinking by Dan saw the ball down the wicket-keepers end in a flash for Vaughan Newcombe to remove the bails with Hovey a couple of feet short.
Pyestock celebrated like they had just won a major trophy, and now felt that bowling out Bedhampton for a very reachable target was well within their ability. Whitfield however, had other ideas, and batted brilliantly to keep the scoreboard ticking. He was ably supported by Wilkes and Quade and captain C.Hovey as the hosts proved that there was no tail to their batting, the final 3 wickets yielding 115 runs.
Billy took the wicket of Wilkes, but began to tire in the heat and was replaced by Taylor who bowled admirably against experienced and powerful batting eventually getting the reward she desired by forcing Quade into a loose shot, snaffled by Neil Butler for her third wicket of the season.
Captain C.Hovey was the last man in, but batting anything like the traditional number 11, finding the boundary early on with ease. As the innings started to get away from Pyestock for the first time in the day, the score moved passed 150. Whitfield accelerated as the conclusion of the 40 overs approached it looked as if pyestock would be chasing a score in excess of 200.
Just 14 balls from the scheduled end of innings however Taylor, who had been reintroduced a the opposite end tempted Whitfield into a lofted drive to mid-on, only finding Glenn Taylor, lurking in the deep. From only 96 balls, he had contributed a fine 79 to his team’s final total of 192.
In reply, Pyestock started strongly, with Chris Heath, standing in for the absent Jon Ford ably supporting Glenn Taylor’s early assault of the hosts bowling. Quade and M.Hovey were seemingly unable to stop Glenn pounding the boundary with regular frequency while Chris managed to rotate the strike and prevent slowing the scoring rate.
By the time the tenth over had been and gone, the score had moved onto 60 without loss taking a lot of pressure off of the run rate as Glenn continued to give the bowlers a lot to think about as the match wore on. His half century was achieved in only 45 balls to give a sense of the rate that the innings was moving.
An over later however it was all over as H.Hovey managed to coax the opener into a loose drive, only to fall to a good catch.
The more patient Chris was now joined by Colin Butler and inevitably the scoring rate slowed. Though the pair did use some loose bowling by Donogan to move the score passed the 100 mark leaving only 93 to win off of more than 22 overs with the huge advantage of 9 intact wickets.
Knocking these runs off however proved a mammoth task as Bedhampton counter-attacked with a flurry of wickets that barged Pyestock’s thoughts of an easy win to the side and presented themselves with a genuine chance of victory.
To start, Chris topped edged an attempted sweep to the grateful hands of H.Hovey, to give Collins his first wicket. He was soon followed back to the pavilion by brother Dan also caught off the bowling of Wilkes. Colin succumbed the same way before Wilkes second wicket was obtained, bowling Billy for only 1 run.
123 for 1 had become 135 for 5 in the space of only 6 overs and Pyestock now had a true battle on their hands.
In the ascendency, Bedhampton continued to apply the pressure as Vaughan Newcombe and Mike Carpenter looked to stop the boat rocking, however they were both soon bowled by the deadly duo of Wilkes and Collins leaving the visitors staring at defeat that looked impossible only 11 overs earlier.
At 162 for 7, Captain Neil Butler and Paul Heath came together at the crease, forming an experienced partnership that would be capable of handling most situations with the bat. Together they worked hard at repairing the deficit and pulling Pyestock towards their target.
With 5 overs left, it looked like job done as the pair had hauled their side to 182 for 7 needing only 11 for victory, when disaster struck. A single pushed to M.Hovey in the covers was a little too quick as the fielder pounced to produce an accurate throw and run out the Pyestock number 9 for a patient 9 runs.
Taylor Newcombe joined Neil in the middle and looked solid until being bowled by Collins to add a further twist to this fascinating contest. 14 balls remained and 8 runs were still required as last man Mark Padwick emerged to commence Pyestock’s final stand.
Three singles from the 39th over, including a heart-in-mouth moment as Mark dropped the ball at his feet and set off to everyone’s surprise, allowed Pyestock the opportunity of needing 5 runs from the final over with confident Neil on strike.
The Pyestock skipper had every right to feel confident as well, as he picked Collins first ball up as clean as a whistle, launching it out of the ground for a victorious 6 runs completing victory for his side.
With only 5 balls to spare this was up there with the close matches this season at Godalming and Peper Harow, but to beat a side with such undoubted quality was a pleasing aspect for Pyestock, and the outstanding level of friendship and hospitality shown by Bedhampton Mariners CC is unrivalled in the Pyestock fixture list, it is hoped it will continue for many more years.
Bedhampton Mariners CC 192 All Out (A.Whitfield 79)
Pyestock CC 194 for 9 (G.Taylor 56)
Pyestock CC won by 1 wkt