Gunnislake trekked into foreign territory on Saturday, arriving in the Devon town of Holsworthy for this Cornwall Division 5 East fixture. Six hours later they returned to the Duchy having been given a cricketing lesson and a 76 run defeat.
Holsworthy won the toss and chose to bat, which suited Gunnislake well, as captain Dinesh Thirupuvanarajah would have chosen to bowl. It looked a good call for Gunnislake as Holsworthy struggled in the early overs. Graham Murray, bowling off a shorted run-up as he recovers from a hamstring injury, got some life from the wicket. At the other end Lee Roberts was at his naggingly accurate best. It was Roberts who got the first breakthrough, with the score on 12. 12 for 1 became 24 for 2, then 35 for 3 and worse still for Holsworthy 42 for 4. Gunnislake were on a roll and Holsworthy were in trouble. When John Snell fell, bowled by Joe Organ, the total was still only 46 and the Holsworthy top order had gone. Except, that is, for captain Lyndon Piper, who at last found a worthy partner in young Lewis Chidley. They began to repair the innings, accruing runs at a steady rate. The score had reached a much more respectable 128 before Piper sliced a drive off Dean Organ’s bowling, well caught in the covers by Murray. Dean Organ took two more wickets, to bring the family total to six wickets, but a stubborn last wicket partnership saw Holsworthy to the end of their forty overs, finishing on 160 for 9. Piper was top scorer with 57, but Chidley proved a valiant aide with an impressive 27.
Would 160 be enough? Gunnislake would probably have settled for that at the start, but the total was a lot higher than had looked likely at one stage. And the Holsworthy bowling attack is a strong one at Division 5 level…..
The answer was not long in coming. The Gunnislake reply started slowly and never really picked up. Ryan Bridgeman, swinging the ball, tied down one end, with his ten overs going for only six runs, taking two wickets as well. All the Holsworthy bowlers chipped in, and only three Gunnislake players made double figures. The team held on until the 34th over, but never looked like challenging the Holsworthy score, limping to a second batting point before succumbing to the inevitable defeat. 84 all out will not be a score to be remembered! Eight of the Gunnislake wickets were bowled, giving the umpires a quiet afternoon. Three young lads chipped bowled well for Holsworthy: Lewis Chidley, Adam Lovejoy and Dan Lucas, which augurs well for their futures in the game.
Holsworthy were worthy winners, while for Gunnislake it is back to the drawing board and some batting practice.
Iconic Opticians Man of the Match: Lewis Chidley (Holsworthy).
Holsworthy II 160-9 (L Piper 57, L Chidley 27; D Organ 3-21, J Organ 3-29), Gunnislake 84 (L Chidley 3-15). Holsworthy II (19 points) beat Gunnislake (6 points) by 76 runs.
POSTSCRIPT.
The local cricketer had dragged his wife and child along to the ground to watch him play. As the match wore on they were plainly bored and shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Then the child brightened and turned to the mother, “They just shouted over”, she said. “I know” replied her mother wearily, ‘but don’t take any notice. It goes on and on and on”.