In a yo-yo season Gunnislake once again contrived to lose to the team bottom of their division. On this occasion St Minver II were the beneficiaries of the Gunnislake largesse. Having stumbled their way to 185 for 7 off 40 overs, Gunnislake were ultimately helpless as St Minver knocked off their reply in only thirty overs, running out winners by six wickets.
St Minver won the toss and asked Gunnislake to bat. Sam Graber and Dan Pethick found it hard going against accurate bowling on a pitch that offered occasional bounce. Pethick was first out, caught at mid-off when checking a shot initially intended for long-off. Graber looked good, but after 12 overs the score had only crept up to 22. Two overs later Graber offered a caught and bowled, gratefully accepted by Neil Meneer. From there things did improve for Gunnislake, with Paul Hollow and Janes Boundy upping the scoring rate and taking the score to 73 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Soon after Boundy gave a catch to short cover and in the same over Gunnislake captain Dinesh Thirupuvanarajah was trapped LBW without scoring. All eyes now turned to Paul Hollow, who looked assured, but was often confined to singles as the St Minver field was spread. Hollow received some support from Kevin Beare and then Stephen Lees, as Gunnislake pushed on past 160 and a fourth batting point. But Hollow perished for a career best 73, chasing a suicide single in the final overs. Lees was bowled and Gunnislake finished on a below par score of 185 for 7. Meneer and Nigel Hocking finished with two wickets apiece for St Minver, in what was now a very open game.
The St Minver reply set off at a pace with great gusto. They played as if there was nothing to lose, in the knowledge that their tail was if anything more brittle than the famous Gunnislake one. On a fast outfield St Minver found the boundary with great regularity, with the score rattling along at five an over. Sam Hocking crashed four fours before missing a slower ball from Dinesh, which clipped the top of middle and off; 25 for 1, but reached in 5 overs when Gunnislake had taken thirteen.
From there St Minver captain Charlie Edwards played an anchor role, while Joshua Sanders set about the bowling. Sanders eventually fell LBW to Paul Hollow, but only after flailing the Gunnislake attack for 62 runs, including five sixes. At 121 for 2 and only 22 overs gone St Minver were in the driving seat. There was a glimmer of hope for Gunnislake as Jim Hall went cheaply, and then Edwards skied a catch to mid-off, to be out for a well earned 50. But it was not to be, Neil Meneer continued the onslaught, with 24 off one over (two sixes and three fours). And that 24 was enough as St Minver cantered home with six wickets and ten overs to spare.
It was not a bad performance by Gunnislake, but they fell slightly short in every department, and St Minver were able to chalk up a rare win and claim 19 points. Their reward is to climb off the bottom of the table, but with one game left they are destined for division six cricket next year.
Gunnislake face promoted Gorran in the final match of the season, with only two points separating Gorran and Wadebridge in the race for the title.
Gunnislake 185 for 7 (P Hollow 73, J Boundy 30, S Lees 22; N Meneer 2-34, N Hocking 2-50), St Minver II 188 for 4 (J Sanders 62, C Edwards 50, N Meneer 43no). St Minver II (18 points) beat Gunnislake (6 points) by six wickets.