Cricket- County Division Six (East)
Menheniot II v St Neot
After a hard-fought win against Foxhole the previous afternoon, the Taverners travelled to local rivals Menheniot. It was another hot, still afternoon and when Menheniot Captain McLaughlin won the toss, he had no hesitation in electing to bat.
The lively and accurate opening attack of Stafford and Bunt soon had the Menheniot batsmen of Wiltshire and Tunnadine tied down. It wasn't long before Tunnadine, anxious to get off the mark, flashed at a wide delivery from Bunt and was well-caught by Tamblyn at gully.
Harrison was next to go, caught at slip and Menheniot were 10 for the loss of two wickets. This only brought in Australia-bound Lee, who immediately started to accelerate the innings before a mix-up brought the downfall of Wiltshire as he was run out. With the innings at 25 for three, skipper McLoughlin set out his stall and, along with Lee, kept the scoreboard going. The introduction of Clapham and Watts to the bowling attack kept the scoring rate at a minimum as both batsmen were dropped behind the bat.
As the sun beat down, drinks were always a welcome interruption to play and kept the field going. Then, after 31 overs and 132 runs, the guile of Watts tempted McLaughlin into a Mark Butcher-type sweep that he top-edged to Clapham at leg slip for a fine 49. Lee, now playing freely and timing his shots well, was next back as he edged behind off the tireless Clapham. With the 200 in sight, the remaining batsmen eyed up the flight of Watts and tried to score the boundaries with only Handley having any real effect. Watts used all his experience to turn a long afternoon in the field into another five-wicket haul as Menheniot finished at 198 for nine, this despite the final swoosh of the bat from Glover.
Chasing a total of nearly 200 for the second time in a weekend, the Taverners were full of their own style, confidence and humour. Searle and A Kent went out to open and faced Lee and the fired-up S Taylor. It wasn't long before Taylor exposed Searle lack of foot movement and bowled him.
Like the Menheniot innings, the Taverners had their own collapse as Lee struck, having AK caught by Taylor at third man and then Taylor forced Tamblyn to edge behind. Bunt was then bowled by Tunnadine to leave St Neot on 46 for the loss of four. As per the first innings, a partnership then developed as the innings were taken from a shaky start to one of match-winning proportions. This was thanks to the Taverner's own left/right hand combination of Nicholls and Clapham.
They both had their share of the luck before settling down and taking the innings past the 100 mark. Nicholls was the first to reach an individual score of 50 before he was caught behind off Daddy Goldsmith. This partnership had added 109 in 25 overs. Clapham reached his 50 before he was dismissed by an excellent diving caught and bowled from Tunnadine. With the score of 179, it was left to Pearce and GK to see the Taverners home at 199 for six. The Taverners had won another long, hard game and once again a fixture between these two sides was played in a good spirit, although it was a bit more tense that the previous encounter.
Scores - St Neot 199-6 (C Clapham 64, K Nicholls 57, M Pearce 18, A Kent, A Tamblyn, A Tunnadine 2-37, S Taylor 2-52). Menheniot 198-9 (D Lee 74, B McLaughlin 49, J handley 22, D Watts 5-59, M Bunt 2-22).
St Neot (19 pts) beat Menheniot (seven) by four wickets.