Gunnislake were able to field a strong team for their August bank holiday weekend trip to Werrington, while Werrington were rumoured to have selection problems with, sources tell us, 16 players unavailable. Despite some scares along the way Gunnislake did eventually return to winning ways, coming home with a four wicket victory and the maximum 20 points.
Werrington won the toss and chose to bat, opening with the former first team player Nigel Dennis and Dan Inman. Dennis gave a sharp chance to slip in the second over, but survived. After the initial scare Werrington played steadily, but the run rate stayed stubbornly under three an over. Gunnislake captain Dinesh Thirupuvanarajah had a particularly miserly opening spell, his seven overs going for a meagre eight runs. Meanwhile Graeme Murray toiled valiantly uphill and into the wind, but also without success. The first breakthrough came in the eighteenth over when Dennis sliced James Boundy to point. Two more wickets quickly fell, including Tyler Jasper who was unluckily run out when Lee Roberts, attempting a caught and bowled, merely diverted the ball onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
This wicket brought Anthony Sachs to the crease and with Inman they began to repair the damage. The run rate was beginning to accelerate as the innings entered the final ten overs. But Mark Everett, coming on as second change in the 34th over struck with three quick wickets, including the dangerous Inman for caught for an excellent 52. At the other end Murray was given a spell downhill, to devastating effect. He showed what straight full pitched bowling can do, with three victims clean bowled. In a trice the game had changed, Werrington’s batting had collapsed in a manner perhaps more reminiscent of Gunnislake. James Boundy took the final wicket in the thirty-ninth over as Werrington were all out for 136.
This was a modest total on a good wicket with a fast outfield, but Gunnislake have contrived to lose from this position before! The start did not go well, with two quick wickets, but also a series of no-balls as Inman struggled to find his bowling rhythm. Then calamity; star batsman Russ Holloway was given out. Watching colleagues thought he was adjudged caught after hitting the ball into the ground, but it was later revealed that the umpire gave a leg before wicket decision. There can be no complaints though as the umpiring culprit was a Gunnislake man!
Another quick wicket left Gunnislake in trouble, but with Boundy and Murray at the crease there was still hope. Careful retrenchment might have been the order of the day, but Boundy and Murray had other ideas and took the attack to Werrington. Boundy pulled three sixes and Murray hit one well beyond the long-off boundary. The score rattled along at over five an over, with Werrington’s depleted bowling attack coming in for some punishment. With victory in sight Boundy missed one, to be bowled two short of what would have been a well-deserved half century. Enter Billy Pitts: “stay with him and don’t get out”. Pits had not read the script: he smashed two cuts to the boundary and in less than 26 overs it was indeed over. Murray remained unbeaten on 40 and Gunnislake had ultimately won by a relatively comfortable four wickets.
The win gave Gunnislake the double over Werrington and leaves them fifth in the table, with only two matches left. However, rivals Holsworthy and Bude have tough matches to close the season, so much remains to play for. Whatever the outcome, for a third season in a row the team are making progress. If they can fix the inconsistency then we should be able to continue to look upwards.
Iconic Opticians Man of the Match: Graeme Murray, but with an honourable mention for James Boundy.
Werrington 136 (D Inman 52, A Sachs 40; M Everett 3-17, G Murray 3-31). Gunnislake 140-6 (J B0oundy 48, G Murray 40no; D Inman 3-48). Gunnislake (20 points) beat Werrington IV (6 points) by 4 wickets.
Umpiring Lesson (Number 2), Law 36.1: Out LBW
The striker is out LBW if all the circumstances set out in 36.1.1 to 36.1.5 apply.
36.1.1 The bowler delivers a ball, not being a No ball
36.1.2 the ball, if it is not intercepted full-pitch, pitches in line between wicket and wicket or on the off side of the striker’s wicket
36.1.3 the ball not having previously touched his/her bat, the striker intercepts the ball, either full-pitch or after pitching, with any part of his/her person
36.1.4 the point of impact, even if above the level of the bails,
either is between wicket and wicket or if the striker has made no genuine attempt to play the ball with the bat, is between wicket and wicket or outside the line of the off stump.
36.1.5 but for the interception, the ball would have hit the wicket.