Buckland Monachorum maintained their 100% record in Division 5 East after a convincing seven wicket victory over Gunnislake. To date only the weather has beaten Buckland Monachorum this season with only Lanhydrock seemingly in a position to catch them.
A dry and lively pitch greeted both teams, and on winning the toss Buckland asked Gunnislake to bat. Jamie Wright and Dan Pethick opened for Gunnislake, while Buckland tried the gentle pace of Toby McLuskie and spin from Harry Tredwin at the other end. The bowling big guns were held in reserve. Wright held firm at one end while Dan Pethick continued his rich vein of batting form. Pethick mixed careful defence with some silky off-side drives and pulled or swept anything off a length. After ten overs Gunnislake had reached 35
without loss, so Buckland turned to the pace of captain Adam Talbott and the left arm swing of Dan Rogers. But it took a run out to break through with the score on 53. Two more wickets quickly followed to leave Gunnislake at 71 for 3 at the halfway stage. Meanwhile Pethick weathered everything that the bowlers and wicket through at him, until a calamitous second run out saw him back in the pavilion. Gunnislake tried a quick single to deep mid-on and Buckland seized their chance. Talbott sent a bullet to the far end and Pethick was on his way, ten runs short of another century. Against excellent bowling and on a tricky wicket it was a magnificent effort. But at 123 for 4 and the star man out Buckland sensed that they were on their way.
Gunnislake’s middle order did its best, but it is a brittle thing. Only wides, Dan Davies and Billy Pitts made double figures, as the innings petered out for 155 with three overs unused and five runs short of a fourth batting point. Alex Rich enjoyed bowling at the tail, to finish with four wickets for a meagre eight runs.
Against the League leaders 155 seemed somewhat short of par, so Gunnislake captain Dinesh Thirupuvanarajah switched his bowling resources around. Pethick bowled with pace from one end, while the height of Danny Davies proved a handful from the other end. Pethick trapped Buckland opener Benjamin Perry LBW without scoring. Then one kept low as Jim Maunder was bowled by Davies. Blackmore quickly followed as Davies knocked back his off-stump with an out swinging ball; 43 for 3 and Gunnislake sniffed an upset. Two overs later Davies bowled Toby McLuskie with a ball that jagged back in and Gunnislake roared in celebration. Unfortunately, in the mayhem they missed the outstretched arm of the umpire, calling a front foot no-ball.
It was the last sniff Gunnislake were to get. Adam Talbott, batting at number three, had time to adjust to the variable bounce and pulled to great effect. McLuskie cashed in on his reprieve driving full lengths and pulling the short ball. Talbott was first to his half century and then settled for singles as he selflessly allowed McLuskie to reach the same milestone. Towards the end the result was never in doubt as Buckland raced home with nearly fourteen overs to spare. Talbott finished on 67 not out, while McLuskie was 50 not out in an unbroken century partnership.
Buckland Monachorum take a maximum twenty points from the match, while Gunnislake had to settle for a mere four. Four may seem a bit harsh for a battling display, but Buckland were clearly the better team and deserved their win. The League title race is likely to go to the final match of the season, when Buckland host second placed Lanhydrock II.
Scores: Gunnislake 155 all out (D Pethick 90; A Rich 4-8, T Halloran 2-37), Buckland Monachorum 158 -3 (A Talbott 90no, T McLuskie 50no; D Davies 2-36). Buckland Monachorum (20 points) beat Gunnislake (4 points) by 7 wickets.
A recording of the full match will be uploaded to Buckland Monachorum’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEWSIcIpOR-qhnbHFXJXQoA
