NKO Rd 3: 1st XI vs Penzance, Home

Match report brought to you by legendary scorer Keith...

Bristol v Penzance, Royal London National Club Championship, 3rd Round, 4 June 2017
Bristol 125 (31.3 overs), R Hardwick 45, T Probert 28no, B Wadlan 4-24, J Ludlam 3-19
Penzance 40 (14.2 overs), R Morrison 4-23, T Probert 3-15
Bristol won by 86 runs (DLS method)

Bristol’s first team has featured in some peculiar games of cricket these last few weeks, but in the pantheon of bizarre cricketing episodes, this one must reign supreme, pushing the collapse of Bridgwater, the capitulation of Clevedon and the strange failure of Bristol to win at Frocester far into the shade.

First came the rain, which initially delayed the start by an hour and a half and reduced the match from 45 to 40 overs per side. It subsided sufficiently to allow a toss and eleven balls of the innings of Bristol, who had chosen to bat first, before returning with a vengeance to cause a further hour’s delay and a second reduction to 32 overs per side. Messrs Duckworth, Lewis and Stern would later add a single run to Bristol’s total as a result.

Within an hour and a quarter of the resumption, Bristol found themselves 58 for 7 in the 20th over as a procession of forlorn-looking home batsmen made their way back to the pavilion, undone by accurate Cornish bowling on a helpful pitch. In the seventh over, Penzance had lost the services of their opening bowler, Angove, who injured his ankle twisting in his follow-through to appeal (unsuccessfully) for LBW against Louie Shaw. He was helped from the field and took no further part in the game. But the other bowlers more than compensated for his absence.

A counterattack came, eventually, from Ralph Hardwick, who had entered at the fall of the third wicket and batted with unaccustomed restraint until the fall of the seventh, finally biffing the first ball of over number 23 over extra cover for four to raise a rare cheer from the Bristol supporters. He followed it up with three sixes, the first a free hit into the pavilion, the second just clearing the fielder at deep mid-wicket, and the third a satisfyingly clean hit over the sightscreen at the far end. He was stumped the next ball essaying a repeat performance but his departure brought Tommy Probert, who had contributed six to a partnership of 41 with Hardwick - easily the highest of the match – to the fore. In company with Pollard, he managed to eke out a further 26 valuable runs.

The visitors were firm favourites at the tea break: Bristol certainly needed early wickets if they were to stand any chance of competing. They got them in spades.

Edwards was the first to go, perhaps a little unlucky to be given out caught behind down the leg-side in the second over (judging by his reaction, the batsman certainly thought so). 3 for 1. A smart piece of keeping by Fin Trenouth, standing up to Richard Morrison, accounted for the other opener, Fletcher, stumped off a leg-side wide. 4 for 2.

Two balls later Smith wafted at a high, wide one and the appeal for caught behind was again successful. 4 for 3. An awful mix-up accounted for Purchase who set off for a suicidal leg-bye in the post-LBW-appeal confusion, then thought better of it, but could not regain his ground in time. 4 for 4 and still in over number 3. Two overs later, Collins padded up to Morrison and was bowled (8 for 5), and next over Wadlan gave a regulation catch to give Trenouth, behind the stumps so that James Bracey’s bowling talents could be available, his fourth dismissal (13 for 6).

The score had moved on to just 30 when Probert took the shoulder of Goldsworthy’s bat and Hardwick completed the catch in the gully. Ludlam top-scored for Penzance with 21 (the second highest score, aside from extras, was just 4) but when Morrison bowled him with the score on 38, it was all but over. Morrison and Probert completed their seven over allocations with the extraordinary figures of 4-24 and 3-15 respectively. Bracey needed just two balls to clean up Pobega which, with Angove unable to bat, was enough to see Bristol through to a fourth round meeting with Bath. The Penzance players meanwhile, along with the twenty-odd supporters who made the trip, had the three-and-a-half hour homeward journey to seek what all those present may long be searching for: an explanation for what had just happened.