Hinckley v BOTWCC 2nd XI

Saturday 5th August 2006 - Hinckley SCG

Shipman Senior was once again at the helm with the official skipper still whining about silly little injuries (the girl).

Once again the old duffer let us down and lost the toss, with the home side putting us in to bat first. It was an unusual decision given the hard and true pitch but perhaps they remembered that at our place we almost held out for a draw batting second (until the last but one ball) and they perhaps didn't want to take the chance a second time. Anyway you take what you're given and a bat was what we had in this match, a game that really was a game of two halves. The first of which did little to inspire where the second half certainly did.

The usual opening pairing of Tagg and Russell kicked things off with Russell doing his usual bit, punishing anything short and wide, and he got plenty, and Taggy playing with the seasoned and slightly more cautious approach. Both eventually holed out well below their now finely honed averages of 48+ apiece when both were bowled in close succession with Russell 28 and Tagg on 18. Kelvin Creasey finally enjoyed his first trip to the square but failed to produce heading back to he pavilion having troubled the scorers for only one run, again clean bowled.

Sonny Warne, in his final game before heading back home to Thailand for the winter, came in and looked confident and played some very well timed and mature shots before he too fell to a C&B on 23.

And this is pretty much where things started to go a bit sideways.

Rich Stenning came in an continued his below par season and managed a season average equaling 8 and Rob Morley, the last of the recognised batsmen, (Shipman will probably be mortally wounded by that, but there you go) realising responsibility now fell on his shoulders to make things happen. Burton were at this stage 97 for 5 off 26 overs. Not world beating but still within the range for setting a defendable total.

But, like I said, things had started to go a bit sideways.

Shippo got his usual quick fire runs, 12 to be precise, including a huge 6 before he was bowled out going for another big'n over the bowlers head.

And this, according to the score book, was the last of the run scorers for Burton. Bearing in mind he was in at number 7 that's a pretty poor showing. The next three batsmen, Jack Child, Kev Morley and Sam Shipman all hung their heads in mortal shame and to a man traipsed back to the club house to a chorus of well deserved and ironic quacks and a few choice comments.

With the team now on 127 for 9 in the 37th over, things looked grim. And they really were. Because all Burton had left was Rob Morley with no support other than the incoming Penton, which generally signaled trouble and that the innings was very near to a close. Not on this day however.

Rob Morley manipulated the strike marvelously and hit all that was hittable for some very important runs while Penton supported at the other end facing about one ball an over, just to maintain optimum strike positions. He did in fact only hit the ball once in his entire 6 overs at the crease, which might sound bad, but he didn't have to. Hitting the ball would probably have got him out and that would have been the end of that.

It was Morley who broke the partnership, ironically, falling to an LBW in the 43rd over. He wasn't happy about that, but when has a batsmen ever been happy with an LBW?

Still, the partnership was worth a very important 32 runs and although his part was small (no silly nob gags here please) Penton left the field after having batted for 6 overs, faced 5 balls and scored no runs. Rob however was top scorer with the bat on 30 and perhaps the most important 30 runs he'll score this season. (If you've done the maths here, you'll have worked out that the extras were actually the highest scorer with 39).

Burton finished on a well below par 159 all out after 43.3 overs. It was hardly a total to defend, especially for a home team to have to chase on a nice hard and even track. 10 wickets was a must for victory, but surely the target was too low for a team like Hinckley given their season thus far.

After tea, the second innings got going with Penton being relegated to the 1st change slot and Rob Morley and Jack Child opening the bowling.

Both bowled very well and did exactly what was asked of them. They gave almost nothing away and severely frustrated the opening order of the Hinckley batters.

The first wicket finally fell in the 11th over when the home team tried to run a 3 and took on the arm of Sonny Warne who had chased one to the mid off boundary. Bad move. Sonny picked up quickly, turned and threw straight over the stumps and in to the hands of the waiting Rob Morley who removed the bails and sent the first scalp packing. A few overs later Rob got the other opener by toppling his middle peg after bamboozling him with a variety of deliveries.

Jack Child (12-3-19-1) also got in to the action and took the days most vital wicket of J Beasley, who was so costly for us in the first match and we knew can bat all day if need be. He fell for only 8 on this day. Rob (12-3-38-2) then finished his spell with a wicket maiden and once again toppled the middle stump and sent wicket number 4 home with his tail between his legs.

As the Burton openers finished their 12 overs each, Hinckley were 60 for 4 off 24.

A sniff of a victory was in the air and thanks to the very economic bowling of messers Morley (despite the efforts of his brother Kev trying his damnedest to spoil his figures letting a plethora of easy balls go past and under his feet for boundaries) and Child, the next two or three bowlers had something to go for.

Enter Penton, who enjoyed his first over and then left the field with a bit of a runny-bottom problem. Shippo took the place of Penton's second over as he couldn't bowl for an over having been off for one, and Sam Shipman bowled a few at the other end. Sam had a good couple of overs before being punished for a offering few too many short deliveries and being hit for 14 off one over. With the home team chasing such a small total, Daddy Shipman took him off and put himself on at the other end.

Penton, who was still seething after having three catches put down off his bowling and too many falling safe between fielders, was next to strike with the most plumb of LBW's you'll get all year (not even a home umpire could question it) and Shipman, not being one to be outdone, followed soon after with not one, not two but three wickets. One caught by his best fielding buddy Mike Tagg, a stumping by Kelvin Creasey and then clean bowling the third. That was his last over and he returned excellent figures of 3 for 19 of 6 overs.

What happened next was something that even the finest of chroniclers will struggle to put in to words.

In short, Penton (8-0-32-3) took 2 wickets in the same over. In more detail he firstly gifted an easy catch to Sonny Warne at Mid off (and god know's he had to catch it having already dropped one already off Penton) and then, and here's the killer, Penton bowled the last ball of his 8th over to the number 10 who chipped it up and forced Penton into the most spectacular high, one-handed caught and bowled you'll see in many a season. It was a marvel to behold for sure.

Not only that, but it was the last wicket of the Hinckley innings (had you been counting?) and Burton had somehow achieved the impossible. 10 wickets for 133 runs.

Defending such a meager total was unlikely at best, but the Burton attack held true. It was set up beautifully by Morley and Child and finished comprehensively by Penton and Shipman. This was again only made possible because of the last wicket stand of 32 and having only won by 26 runs the point is well proven.

24 points it is then. A good performance by all (okay, most) and one in the eye for The Waltons. Good night Jim-Bob.

Next week, at home to Thornton. 24 points here is a must to keep promotion hopes alive and hopefully scupper Waltons chances of the same.

Match report by Grant Penton 6-8-05

BACK