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Doctors
beat Goathurst by 5 wickets
Goathurst 123 all out
Doctors 124 for 5
Doctors’ perennial
rivals Goathurst won the toss and batted under an overcast evening sky at
Cannington. They made a brisk start thanks to young J Clarkson (37) despite
Andrew Clark's departure, caused by a mix-up in which there could have been a
run out at either end. Clarkson and John
Hardwick caused mayhem for a few overs, even treating the normally miserly Phil
Barker (4-0-22-0) with no respect. Hardwick (25) departed, after playing
across the line to Richard Gower once too often. Goathurst, at 75 for 3 after
10
overs still looked set for a large total, but now enter James Murdoch. With
his deceptive action, likened by some to lobbing hand grenades, he blew the
Goathurst middle order away with a spell of 4-0-21-5, including two stumpings
by the fast hands of keeper Graham Fergusson. The latter was again in action
at the other end, where aggressive tailender J Griffiths was saved from a third stumping
off Jeremy Budd (2-8) by the umpire's somnolence. The two slow bowlers restricted
Goathurst to 123 all out which their wily captain Paddy MacLennan (himself
one of Murdoch's stumping victims after a rush of blood to the head) reckoned
to be 20 runs too few.
Doctors' reply began badly with the loss of
Powell for a duck, attempting a forcing stroke to off from a ball on middle
stump too early in his innings. Two more wickets followed cheaply before a
period of consolidation between in-form opener John Ogle and Charles Macadam.
However, some accurate bowling by R Hardwick (4-15) and Tim Webster meant
that when Macadam (7) was out, the score was only 72 off 14 overs, of which
Ogle, at times deprived of the strike, had contributed 50. Now enter magical Murdoch.
With crisp hitting and greyhound-like running from his first ball, he first
rotated the strike to Ogle, and then moved up a gear himself. When Ogle (68)
departed, the pair had plundered over 40 runs from 4 overs. Barker accompanied Murdoch as he raced to
32no off only 18 balls to secure the win with an over to spare. Ashen faced
MacLennan was to be heard later, trying to arrange a rematch during Murdoch's
summer holidays.
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