Gunnislake returned to winning ways with a convincing win against a below strength St Minver, running out victors by six wickets. But it could have been worse for St Minver…..
Gunnislake won the toss and chose to bowl, hoping for a bit of help from a pitch exposed to some early rain showers. Captain Dinesh Thirupuvanarajah, back from a week away, was keen to get at the visitors, bowling from the Tamar End, but it was Graham Murray who struck in his first over, bowling Steven Hawke for 4. Loanee Josh Sanders took the attack to Gunnislake, but in an eventful over from Dinesh, 14 runs were scored and Sanders was bowled. Captain Charlie Edwards looked good and held up Gunnislake for a while, but then wickets began to tumble. With only nine players, St Minver were in dire trouble at 37 for 7. But father and son Nigel and Sam Hocking (AKA Ben Stokes) began a rescue act reminiscent of Ben Stokes and Jack Leach at Headingley in 2019:
Sam decided attack was the best form of defence, while Nigel chose studious defence. Eight fours and four sixes later, Sam passed his fifty, with Dad on a mere single. But eventually their fun was over, when Nigel spooned a catch to mid on. By now St Minver had a respectable 102 on the board. Graham Murray was again the outstanding bowler for Gunnislake with 6 wickets for only 14 runs. Gunnislake were well in front, but their batting has been brittle for the last three years……
With only 21.3 overs bowled a decision was made to start the Gunnislake reply rather than have an early tea. Sam Graber looked in fine form for Gunnislake, driving off the front and back foot, and received steady support from Kevin Beare. Gunnislake seemed to be cantering to a win when Graber skied a catch to a wide and deep mid-off, with 38 well crafted runs to his name. Then Kevin Beare repeated the trick, except to mid-on, Paul Hollow missed a straight one and Gunnislake’s nerves began to fray. However, playing his first game of the season, Ross Potter, batting at number three steadied the ship, playing with calm authority. Despite losing one more wicket Gunnislake reached their target with more than half their overs to spare. Potter finished on 17 not out, while Nigel Hocking made up for his single run with all four Gunnislake wickets.
And so a six wicket win appeared in the records. It’s supposed to be a team game, but two performances stand out for St Minver: Sam Hocking’s batting and Nigel Hocking’s bowling. For Gunnislake it was Graham Murray with the ball and Sam Graber with the bat. Gunnislake’s win sees them sneak into the top half of the table again, but a sterner test lies ahead, with a trip to high flying Gorran next on their schedule.
St Minver II 102 all out (S Hocking 57no; G Murray 6-14, D Thirupuvanarajah 2-38), Gunnislake 105-4 (S Graber 38, K Beare 24, R Potter 17no; N Hocking 4-22). Gunnislake (20 points) beat St Minver II (4 points) by six wickets.