Gloomy scenes at Eaton Socon as heavy rain during the between innings interval leads to Liphook & Ripsley's Village Cup fifth round tie being abandoned and the outcome decided by a protracted bowl-out.
There will be no return trip to Lord’s for Liphook & Ripsley in this season’s Village Cup after the beaten 2018 finalists were eliminated in a bowl-out at Eaton Socon - heavy rain between innings having caused their fifth round tie on the banks of the River Ouse in Cambridgeshire to be abandoned.
Liphook had been dismissed for 132 when the rains came, leaving the outfield soaked and the umpires with no alternative than to enforce a bowl-out, in which all 11 players from each team bowled at an unguarded set of stumps.
The bowl-out went into sudden death and it wasn’t until 16 rounds had been bowled before Eaton celebrated a 5-4 win, Chris Martin (twice), Rob Nicklin and wicket-keeper Grant Rouse being the only Liphook players to hit the stumps. None of them is a recognised bowler.
Ironically, Eaton Socon had beaten Guildford-based Blackheath in a bowl-out in the previous round, with the victory over Liphook sending them next door into Hertfordshire and a quarter-final tie with Redbourn (earlier round conquerors of 2019 winners Reed) on Sunday.
Although they remained optimistic, Liphook might have been stretched to defend a modest 132 – Eaton conceding 18 wides (eight of which went to the boundary) before settling into a decent length.
Three of Liphook’s top five were trapped leg before trying to work straight deliveries, the innings falling away from 79-3 (Rob Nicklin 23) before Suman Ganguly (39) and Grant Rouse looked as though they might launch a middle-order revival before both departed with the visitors’ score at 103.
The Liphook tail added 29 before the innings ended in the 37th over. Whether 132 would have been a competitive total is purely academic ....
* Cookham Dean, who knocked out Sarisbury Athletic in the previous round, were beaten themselves, with WEPL visitors Frocester chasing down 164-7 to win by four wickets with 14 balls to spare.
Liphook had been dismissed for 132 when the rains came, leaving the outfield soaked and the umpires with no alternative than to enforce a bowl-out, in which all 11 players from each team bowled at an unguarded set of stumps.
The bowl-out went into sudden death and it wasn’t until 16 rounds had been bowled before Eaton celebrated a 5-4 win, Chris Martin (twice), Rob Nicklin and wicket-keeper Grant Rouse being the only Liphook players to hit the stumps. None of them is a recognised bowler.
Ironically, Eaton Socon had beaten Guildford-based Blackheath in a bowl-out in the previous round, with the victory over Liphook sending them next door into Hertfordshire and a quarter-final tie with Redbourn (earlier round conquerors of 2019 winners Reed) on Sunday.
Although they remained optimistic, Liphook might have been stretched to defend a modest 132 – Eaton conceding 18 wides (eight of which went to the boundary) before settling into a decent length.
Three of Liphook’s top five were trapped leg before trying to work straight deliveries, the innings falling away from 79-3 (Rob Nicklin 23) before Suman Ganguly (39) and Grant Rouse looked as though they might launch a middle-order revival before both departed with the visitors’ score at 103.
The Liphook tail added 29 before the innings ended in the 37th over. Whether 132 would have been a competitive total is purely academic ....
* Cookham Dean, who knocked out Sarisbury Athletic in the previous round, were beaten themselves, with WEPL visitors Frocester chasing down 164-7 to win by four wickets with 14 balls to spare.
Liphook cricketers anxiously await their chance to bowl in the Village Cup bowl-out drama.
