Gunnislake’s four match winning streak came to an abrupt end on Saturday when Werrington’s fourth team cruised to a ten wicket win.
Gunnislake won the toss and once again elected to bat, on account of players stuck in holiday traffic. Barrie James again showed age is no barrier, holding the first half of the innings together, with a season’s best 28 runs. This was in the face of some very accurate seam bowling from Werrington’s own elder statesman, Brian Baker, bowling in tandem with a series of younger players. At the mid point Gunnislake had reached a steady, but unthreatening, 56 for 2. James received support from Brian Martin and Gary Primmer, but it was the arrival of Iain Barker that saw an increase in tempo. Three quick boundaries, including a maximum six, saw the Werrington field scatter, with five on the boundary. It worked for Werrington, as Barker had to be content with milking singles, before a final onslaught got things moving again. Late cameos from Adrian Cameron and Sylvan Pook helped the score to a final 147, with Barker unbeaten on 40. Nick Ward took three wickets for Werrington, benefitting from the late risky slogging, as Gunnislake sought to set a competetive total. Brian Baker’s figures of ten overs for only twelve runs also deserve a mention.
Gunnislake’s total was higher than in some recent matches, but the Werrington batting was known to be strong, so the visitors were now firm underdogs. One over into the reply, Werrington had reaffirmed the pecking order. They started off as if it was a T20 match, or perhaps fearing the scudding grey clouds might intervene? Either way, the first over yielded nineteen runs, and while the pace fell off a bit, the run rate remained stubbornly up around six an over. Nigel Dennis drove hard and far and received good support from Andrew Smeeth. Three hard half chances came and went and regular search parties were sent into the adjacent fields. “Please sir, please can we have our ball back”? The bowlers were rotated regularly to little avail, and a tiny wisp of drizzle came and went. Gunnislake were finally put out of their misery in the 24th over as Dennis crashed yet another four. He will be ruing the lack of runs in the first innings, as he finished 90 not out, ten short of his century. Smeeth, at the other end, finished on 39 not out. The bowling? Well, perhaps we will move on.
An average performance from Gunnislake was no match for Werrington’s batting. Perhaps the question is, how did we manage to win the home game? Never mind, move on we will, with a trip to Launceston in a fortnight, to be followed by the final home game of the season against Callington. Spectators welcome at Hawkmoor as we will aim to finish the season in style!
Quote of the Week
Cricket is a most precarious profession; it is called a team game but, in fact, no one is so lonely as a batsman facing a bowler supported by ten fieldsmen and observed by two umpires to ensure that his error does not go unpunished.