Game Five: 1st XI vs Frocester 1st XI, Away

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

Frocester v Bristol, WEPL Premier 1, 3 June 2017
Frocester 213-8 (50 overs), L Gegg 72, N Trainor 44, T Probert 2-29, D Jones 2-32
Bristol 209 (48.5 overs), J Bracey 70, R Sillence 32, T Drake 3-38
Frocester won by 4 runs

A nerve-tinglingly tight game ended in a demoralising 4-run defeat for Bristol as their batsmen failed to chase down a Frocester total that the bowlers did well to limit them to. Pounds Close has not been a happy hunting-ground for Bristol in recent years, and they failed to exorcise the demons as Roger Sillence perished looking for the boundary that would have secured victory.

Frocester’s total was built around a careful, but occasionally explosive 72 from Louis Gegg, and a painstaking 44 from captain Nick Trainor. They were reduced to 78-3 in the 18th over when Ralph Hardwick terminated a partnership of 56 between Gegg and Wand by inducing the latter to play on to his stumps. The opening bowlers Dan Jones and Tommy Probert had earlier accounted for Qureshi and Naish respectively for single-figure scores. Trainor then joined Gegg to put on 43 in 15 overs. Trainor was watchfulness personified, taking 48 balls to compile the 12 that he contributed to the partnership which ended in unfortunate fashion when Gegg couldn’t prevent the ball bouncing and spinning back on to his stumps after he played defensively to Pollard. That Frocester were able to add a further 90 in the remaining 17 overs of the innings was in large part due to the impetus added by Perera who hit two sixes in an over from Louie Shaw to bring that bowler’s spell to an abrupt end, and finished with 33 off 30 balls.

Bristol’s openers began positively, James Bracey cover-driving the first ball of the innings for four and repeating the shot, even more silkily, a few overs later. At this point Frocester posted a sweeper on the cover boundary, but Bracey simply hit the next one a bit straighter for another four. Fin Trenouth hit four boundaries of his own at the other end in compiling 23 at nearly a run a ball before he was bowled by Cave who replaced the eratic Perera from the road end. Will Tavare then took seven off the last over of Martin’s opening spell, including a four to the untenanted fine leg boundary.

There followed a period of five overs in which Tavare faced just four balls as Bracey moved from 23 to his half-century in imperious fashion. This purple patch included a lofted drive towards the cow-field in Drake’s first over, a drive that just eluded mid-on’s fingertips and a pick-up through mid-wicket off consecutive balls by Cave, another pick-up off his legs just behind square off Drake, and an exquisite off-drive that scattered diving fielders in its wake.

Tavare, finding himself back on strike after his period of spectating picked up four with a perfectly executed ramp off Drake. He completely missed a reverse swipe next ball and then put the unorthodox shots back in the locker, but shortly afterwards he edged to slip.
Bracey was becalmed for a while, but broke free with an expansive lofted off-drive off Drake and a pull from a rare short ball by Cave for his ninth and tenth boundaries. These were to be his last, though, as Cave, in his last over, trapped him LBW; according to the bastman, the first one the bowler had got to nip back all day.

This prompted a Bristol collapse as Shaw edged to second slip and Rudge and Ellison both fell without scoring. Ellison seemed unsure as to whether the ball had been cleanly taken by Wand at second slip, but the umpires had no such doubt. Hardwick contributed a brisk 10 before chopping on to his stumps, and Probert went one better, but was clean-bowled by Perera a ball after creaming him to the point boundary.

Roger Sillence had stood firm at the other end, square-cutting Perera for four but otherwise dealing in risk-free singles and studied defence. But on Probert’s dismissal, Bristol still needed 32. The 8.4 overs remaining should have been ample, but that only two wickets were left was more of a concern.

For nearly six overs, Sillence found determined support from Neil Pollard and the experienced pair inched their team closer to the target. In the process they saw off the remaining overs from Frocester’s pace bowlers, leaving just the spin of the Trainors, father and son, standing between Bristol and a win. But Pollard was LBW off the first ball of the 48th over with 12 still needed. Jones played out the rest of the over, leaving Sillence facing at the start of the 49th with a run a ball required. A wide was the only addition off the first three balls, then Bristol hearts leapt as Sillence just manged to clear a jumping deep mid-wicket, and the boundary, to reduce the requirement to five. But his stumps were shattered by the very next ball, and Bristol’s hopes were shattered with them.