Calmore Sports captain Mark Lavelle, who took 3-19 and later hit the 'winning' tie clinching run [James Robinson]
Captain Mark Lavelle was mobbed by his jubilant team-mates after scoring the 133rd run which enabled Calmore Sports to tie a pulsating and feisty Voneus Village Cup sixth round clash with Goatacre and progress to the last eight of the national competition by virtue of losing fewer wickets.
Calmore needed four runs from the 40th and final over of a rain affected match bowled by Jack Haines to overhaul Goatacre’s 133 all out.
Come the last ball, their score stood at 132-8 and everything hinged on the left-handed Calmore batsman to scramble a single and tie the scores.
All 11 Goatacre players were almost breathing down his neck on the Loperwood Park square, but Lavelle still managed to find a gap and sprint the single Calmore needed to grab their place in today’s quarter-final draw.
It was a frantic end to an oft frenetic round of 16 tie which saw Calmore spring a major shock. Twice Lord’s winners in their heyday, Goatacre currently top the West of England Premier League’s First Division and had high hopes of walking through the Grace Gates in mid-September.
But they ran into a Calmore side that fielded out of its skins to reduce Goatacre to 86-8 before Ewan Kenny emerged at number nine to hit a classy 36 not out and lift the visitors score to 133, the ninth-wicket adding a crucial 42.
For Calmore, Shaun Johnson took 4-40, Lavelle a miserly 3-19, Mike West 2-23 and left-armer Steve Wright an immaculate 1-10 off his eight overs with the new ball. The one-handed diving slip catch that James Manning took to earn Wright his wicket belonged to another level. It was magnificent.
Profligate
Although Will Brewster went for a fourth ball duck, Calmore regained the initiative they had surrendered through Matty Taylor and left-hander Ben Johns who, with the aid of some profligate new ball bowling, eased their reply to 92-1 by the 27th over – when it rained !
Calmore only needed another 42 off 13 overs, with nine wickets in hand. Goatacre were on the ropes, but the untimely rain break gave them an opportunity to recharge their batteries.
As so frequently happens, the stoppage led to a wicket; in this case two. Johns, who was batting so well, went for a suicidal single and was run-out by Brad Dawson (92-2). Four runs later, Johnson drilled a head-high catch to mid-off and Calmore were 96-3.
The pressure was on. Even more so when, after another rain break, Calmore lost further wickets at 99, 104, 109, then two in consecutive balls to make it 120-8 with three overs left. Among the fallers was Matty Taylor, who underpinned the innings with a fine 45.
Goatacre stoked up the pressure by appealing for almost anything and everything – intimidatory tactics that got them precious little joy from the officials and, in the writer’s opinion, should have slapped down with penalty runs for excessive appealing.
Calmore needed eight runs to win off the last two overs and four off that last. It was pulsating, nerve jangling stuff.
They eventually won a great game of cup cricket – full of good and, sadly, bad - by the slenderest of margins and are now only two wins away from Lord’s …
Statistics note: Goatacre conceded 26 extras, 16 of them wides. Food for thought, perhaps ...
Calmore needed four runs from the 40th and final over of a rain affected match bowled by Jack Haines to overhaul Goatacre’s 133 all out.
Come the last ball, their score stood at 132-8 and everything hinged on the left-handed Calmore batsman to scramble a single and tie the scores.
All 11 Goatacre players were almost breathing down his neck on the Loperwood Park square, but Lavelle still managed to find a gap and sprint the single Calmore needed to grab their place in today’s quarter-final draw.
It was a frantic end to an oft frenetic round of 16 tie which saw Calmore spring a major shock. Twice Lord’s winners in their heyday, Goatacre currently top the West of England Premier League’s First Division and had high hopes of walking through the Grace Gates in mid-September.
But they ran into a Calmore side that fielded out of its skins to reduce Goatacre to 86-8 before Ewan Kenny emerged at number nine to hit a classy 36 not out and lift the visitors score to 133, the ninth-wicket adding a crucial 42.
For Calmore, Shaun Johnson took 4-40, Lavelle a miserly 3-19, Mike West 2-23 and left-armer Steve Wright an immaculate 1-10 off his eight overs with the new ball. The one-handed diving slip catch that James Manning took to earn Wright his wicket belonged to another level. It was magnificent.
Profligate
Although Will Brewster went for a fourth ball duck, Calmore regained the initiative they had surrendered through Matty Taylor and left-hander Ben Johns who, with the aid of some profligate new ball bowling, eased their reply to 92-1 by the 27th over – when it rained !
Calmore only needed another 42 off 13 overs, with nine wickets in hand. Goatacre were on the ropes, but the untimely rain break gave them an opportunity to recharge their batteries.
As so frequently happens, the stoppage led to a wicket; in this case two. Johns, who was batting so well, went for a suicidal single and was run-out by Brad Dawson (92-2). Four runs later, Johnson drilled a head-high catch to mid-off and Calmore were 96-3.
The pressure was on. Even more so when, after another rain break, Calmore lost further wickets at 99, 104, 109, then two in consecutive balls to make it 120-8 with three overs left. Among the fallers was Matty Taylor, who underpinned the innings with a fine 45.
Goatacre stoked up the pressure by appealing for almost anything and everything – intimidatory tactics that got them precious little joy from the officials and, in the writer’s opinion, should have slapped down with penalty runs for excessive appealing.
Calmore needed eight runs to win off the last two overs and four off that last. It was pulsating, nerve jangling stuff.
They eventually won a great game of cup cricket – full of good and, sadly, bad - by the slenderest of margins and are now only two wins away from Lord’s …
Statistics note: Goatacre conceded 26 extras, 16 of them wides. Food for thought, perhaps ...
