“Catches win matches” will always ring in the ears of those who played with Ian Pemberton, long time guru of Callington Cricket Club and still an avid reader of this column. And never was it truer than for this match.
Gunnislake won the toss and chose to bat (always easier for organising the teas). Ian Mill and Stephen Lees opened, but Lees soon gave way to Adam Emmerson, fresh from his knock of 83 last week. Wise move captain! Emmerson was dropped at mid-off when still in single figures, a hard hit ball, but straight to the fielder, and this turned out to be a costly mistake. Patient at first, the score accumulated slowly and steadily. There were a few groans from the boundary (“come on chaps this is a 250 wicket”) but the star batsmen had read up on previous Gunnislake collapses and stuck to their task. 60 for 1 at drinks: time to speed up a little, and so they did. The young spin attack of Werrington, so deadly in the return fixture had no luck, so Werrington had to turn back to old campaigner Adam Paynter. He broke the stand at 111, bowling Mill, and Brian Martin quickly followed. But Emmerson was in the groove and ramped up the run rate, before falling to a sharp caught and bowled to Paynter. By then Emmerson had scored his maiden century: congratulations sir! Good support from Adrian Cameron at the end saw Gunnislake close on 197 for five, almost the same score as at Ladock last week. It was not enough then, and with some powerful and experienced Werrington batting to come it seemed as if it might be light again.
Tea was taken, including some excellent pork pies from Iain Barker (Iain complained that he did not get a mention in last week’s report – happy to oblige this week ). Meanwhile, back at the cricket, Werrington opened with Nigel Dennis (season average 113) and Adam Paynter (season average 20). Fortunately Nick Ward (2017 season average 128) has been promoted to the third team. Gunnislake returned fire with Paul Lees and Iain Barker, Lees gradually returning to fitness after his serious knee injury. First blood came quickly, with Lees bowling Dennis in the first over. A wicket from Barker followed, with Ian Mill (unsure on the scorecard) taking a good catch in the slips and Lees quickly had another. Werrington were stuttering on 23 for 3, and Gunnislake had their nose in front. Could Werrington regroup? No, Paynter fell to Barker! It seemed to be down to Martin Wills (season average 23), who took a liking to the boundary. The required run rate was up to eight an over, but the scoring rate was matching it. Wickets fell at the other end until Wills found support from Brian Baker. But then came the second catch of the tale: Wills hit one a bit early and high, Brian Martin hovered under it at deep mid-on and took the catch! Wills trudged off just short of his half century and the game was up. The run rate climbed, three more wickets fell and Werrington were all out for 111. Paul Lees was pick of the bowling with 4-27, but Pook, Barker and Jefferis all chipped in with solid support and wickets. The home team had tasted victory, an all too rare occurrence this season; savour it well lads.
Gunnislake held five catches and dropped none. Werrington dropped Emmerson early on and somehow Dennis departed for a duck. It’s a funny old game……..
Gunnislake (19 points) beat Werrington (four) by 86 runs.