A heroic batting display by James Boundy gave Gunnislake some respectability, but his 87 was ultimately in a lost cause. Gunnislake fell to a seven wicket defeat away to Gorran who remain unbeaten this season. With five key players missing and captain Dinesh Thirupuvanarajah playing through tonsilitis, it was nevertheless a respectable showing from the Gunnislake team.
Dinesh won the toss and chose to bat; a decision that looked slightly dicey as three Gunnislake batsmen quickly came and went. It was left to the captain and James Boundy to begin a rebuild, taking the score to 50, before Dinesh became the fourth batsman to be bowled. Joshy Varghese then provided steady support for Boundy and together they took the score to 82 at the halfway point of the innings. Jamie Tabb and Ben Prynn bowled unchanged throughout with two wickets each from some fast, if occasionally erratic, bowling.
Gunnislake had advanced the score to 125 when Varghese fell for a valuable 15. From there normal service resumed as Gunnislake suffered a mini collapse, with the next three batsmen gathering a meagre one run between them. At this point Boundy decided attack was the best way forward, advancing down the pitch to despatch Pascoe around the ground. But Pascoe had the last laugh as Boundy missed a straight one, to depart for a fine 87. There followed a cameo last wicket partnership of 24 runs as Darcey Shorten perfected the snick through the slip cordon and Paul Lees heaved merrily to leg. With one over spare the fun came to an end as Shorten presented Gorran with a catch, Gunnislake ending on 175 all out. The second highest scorer was once again extras, with 35 runs, a valuable number 12 for the Gunnislake team!
Gorran’s reply was expected to be swift. But in the third over opener Jamie Tabb reached for a wide one, and only just got there, snicking through to the keeper, 3 for 1. It was, however, a false dawn for the visitors. 13 year old Leo Constantine, opening the innings at number one, played with calm assurance, being particularly strong on the offside. Charlie Prynn became a second wicket for Dinesh, with the score on 43, but that only brought Dan Pascoe to the crease. After a circumspect start he hit out to all parts. Three balls were pressed into action, with Gorran players scurrying in adjacent fields to retrieve the lost balls. Eventually Pascoe holed out to long-off, where captain Dinesh held on to a good catch. Pascoe’s 77 had come off only 46 balls. And so it was left to Constantine to claim a maiden 50 in adult cricket and steer his side home to a comfortable seven wicket win. Constantine finished with an impressive 63 not out, while Gunnislake were left to rue several difficult catches going down.
At the halfway point in the season Gunnislake find themselves sixth in the League, just in the bottom half. Well clear at the top are Gorran and Wadebridge III, who have both managed to win all their games. This curious state of affairs came about because they were due to play each other on the Saturday when Cornish cricket was an almost total wash-out. Gunnislake have generally acquitted themselves well, but if only they could field their best eleven every week, something rather better could be possible. In the meantime, well done to James Boundy, Dan Pascoe and especially Leo Constantine.
Gunnislake 175 (J Boundy 87, M Extras 35; O Matthews 3-34, D Pascoe 3-48). Gorran 177 for 3 (D Pascoe 77, L Constantine 63no). Gorran (20 points) beat Gunnislake (5 points) by 7 wickets.