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Set Square lost to Doctors by 1 run Doctors 156 for 5 Set Square
155 for 5 Mike Watson
(1-13) cut short a promising opening partnership when Andrew Paisley chipped
tamely to midwicket. Graham Fergusson
and Oliver Budd clinically despatched anything fractionally off length with a
combination of pull shots up the slope at Crowcombe and cuts which raced away
downhill, and at the half way point Doctors were in a strong position at 86
for 1. When Fergusson and Budd both
retired on 30 not out there was a brief hiatus when Tom Langston ‘walked’ for
a stumping off Ray Lafun. Alan Dunkley
and Phil Barker sensibly rotated the strike and collected an occasional
boundary until Dunkley (26) became Olly Rew’s second stumping victim off
Lafun (2-15) who, in tandem with T.Ash (1-16), had kept the scoring rate in
check. A late flurry from the excellent
Barker (23 n.o.) and Robert Seymour (24 n.o.) pushed the total to a competitive
one on an excellent batting strip. Despite a
rapid, accurate opening spell from Ed Denton the Set Square openers Ash and
G.Metcalf compiled a sound partnership of 58 off 9 overs. Doctors’ ground fielding,
perhaps affected by the slope and uneven outfield, was not up to its usual
standard and when Ash and Metcalf each retired on 30 things got rapidly worse
as Olly Rew blasted 33 (retired) off 9 balls, including 3 sixes and 3
fours. Doctors finally took their first
wicket with the score on 91 when a perfectly pitched off break from Jeremy
Budd (1-33) bowled K. Watson but Ian Rew and D.Matthews combined to put the
home side into the comfortable position of needing 25 from the last 5 overs
with 9 wickets in hand. At his point
captain Barker brought himself on to bowl and promptly removed both batsmen,
Matthews (10) clean bowled and Rew (24) via a fine low catch by Jeremy Budd
at extra cover. Oliver Budd’s leg
breaks proved hard to get away until J.Fraser struck him for two lofted fours
but Budd (2-16) struck back as Fraser was well taken by Seymour at square leg
and Lafun was comfortably stumped by Fergusson. The scoreboard showed that 6 were needed
from the final over to be bowled by Barker (2-4). The captain responded magnificently with
six balls, all perfectly pitched on a line outside of stump and which yielded
only one run off the bat and a bye.
When the players returned to the pavilion there was some surprise to
find that the scoreboard had been wrong and the winning margin was just one
run. |
