Cricket- County Division Eight (East)
Lanhydrock II v Looe II
On a very rare warm Saturday afternoon, Looe visited the grounds of Lanhydrock. After winning the toss, Lanhydrock elected to open the batting.
Looe set about their innings with the usual H Balman and A McDonald combination of experience and sometimes unusual stoke play. It wasn't long before Balman got into his stride, pushing the ball into the various gaps in the field with ease, when, suddenly and while going for a quick single, Macdonald appeared to be shot down in full flow, eventually scrambling home in a fish-like fashion only to be carried off the field of play with a pulled leg muscle.
Enter G Pryce-Hughes, with Balman continuing on his way, and the score reached 47 when Balman mistimed a shot sending it skywards which saw the fielder drop the ball to the ground, only to find both batsmen in the middle of the wicket - exit H Balman, run out for 30.
New batsman Richard Balman, increasing with confidence every match, came to the crease. The runs continued to flow to 98 when a bowling change made G Pryce-Hughes' eyes light up like Eddystone Lighthouse, resulting in his shot being caught by an eager Lanhydrock fielder. In stepped Captain Nick Alan, wanting to step up the run rate. He set about the task with two boundaries, the latter going for the full amount over the bowler's head. Some hard hitting and carefully placed shots by both batsmen saw the score rise to a reasonable amount before Balman Junior finally went for a superb 46, caught behind in the 47th over. Looe ended their innings on 203 for four, with Nick Alan unbeaten on 60.
After the tea break, Looe gathered themselves together with ten and a half players, MacDonald trying his hardest to stand up straight after his theatrical injury earlier in the day. With temporary opening bowler Giles Lane launching down various uncontrollable swinging deliveries, it appeared to be a bad start for Looe until the fourth over, which saw a superb catch by G Pryce-Hughes off the bowling of Nick Alan.
Now was the time for Lanhydrock's answer to Conan the Destroyer, V Blake, to take his stand. Openers Austin and Blake managed a total of 81 runs before Pryce-Hughes caught Blake from Phil Matthews' fourth over. Drinks were taken and the persistence of Keith Levitt's stubborn swing bowling paid off as wickets fell at a constant rate, Levitt finishing off with a handful of wickets. Not even a brave 26 from Oliver failed to stop the rot. Nick Alan and Richard Balman had finished off the tail-enders by the 45th over, with Lanhydrock's score on 160. In all, this was a pleasing victory for Looe, who had an under-strength bowling attack.
Looe (20 pts) beat Lanhydrock by 43 runs.