Cricket- County Division Four (East)
Tideford v St Newlyn East
You could have set your clocks by it. On the stroke of 2 o'clock the breeze stiffened, the clouds began to assemble and we all knew it was going to get worse. St Newlyn won the toss and elected to bowl first on a wicket which was very hard and had something there for both batsman and bowler.
Within 11 overs St Newlyn had captured 3 wickets but had conceded 66 runs, the vast majority of which had been scored by Will Geach. Today it was 68 in 58 balls, five weeks ago against the same side it was 51 in 35 balls, that makes a total score against St Newlyn of 118 in 93 deliveries.
What can a bowling side do when it is facing a side that has 11 players at its disposal who all have a current average of over 20 and have experienced openers coming in at eight and nine.
In the 22nd over two quick wickets fell as Tideford piled on the runs, an excellent catch by A Knott at backward square leg disposing of Lindfield who again chipped in with a useful 32. Mark Peachey on his second outing of the season took his time to settle but was still able to keep the scoreboard moving at 6 an over with the able assistance of Mark Lister.
Once both had departed, Peachey for 42 and Lister for 34, Dave Lockett the Tideford Captain knew he had the runs in the bag to win the match. The big question was the amount of time necessary to capture maximum bonus points. At 16:45 with only 38 overs completed he called in his batsmen and tea was taken.
J Hawken stood out as the one bowler who combined real pace with good direction and fully deserved his three wickets and M Thrussel saved countless runs behind the stumps.
Once the first 10 overs had been completed it was obvious the Tideford total was not going to be overhauled. To their credit the St Newlyn batsmen knew this and batted sensibly in the quest of as many bonus points as possible. As the batsmen were grinding out the runs it became apparent that the only thing that stood between Tideford and a nlnth successive win was the weather.
As the light began to worsen and drizzle was felt in the air both Lockett and Geach were replaced. At one end was Mark Peachey with his slow off-breaks off five paces and at the other Danny Copp with his fast/medium whizzers off five paces. The second 24 overs must have only taken just over the hour as the conditions just got worse and worse.
Knott fully deserved a half century but was stranded on 48 at the end and Thrussel rounded an excellent all round performance with 32 not out.
The game was played under trying weather conditions but it was enjoyed by all and one would like to say it was a pleasure competing against a good competitive side who enjoy the game as much as we do.
Scores - Tideford 234-9 (W Geach 68, M Lindfield 32, M Peachey 42, M Lister 34, D Lockett 21; J Wills 2-66, J Hawken 3-34, A Morecombe 3-67, A Knott 0-25). St Newlyn East 183-5 (M Dixon 39, M Hocking 15, B Punter 25, A Knott 48 n.o., M Thrussel not out 32; D Lockett 1-38, W Geach 1-23, M Peachey 3-68, D Copp 0-27, G Snowdon 0-19).
Tideford (17) bt St Newlyn (8) by 51 runs.