Game 7: 1st XI vs Corsham 1st XI, Away

As always, legendary scorer Keith provides the review...

Corsham 1st XI v Bristol 1st XI, WEPL Premier 1, 17 June 2017
Corsham 220-8 (50 overs), S Collier 60*, K Noema-Barnett 2-34, V Lakhani 2-36
Bristol 222-9 (47.4 overs), J Bracey 92, M Brewer 57, T Foley 3-38, V Yadav 3-39
Bristol won by 1 wicket
At just before seven o’clock at the end of a day of unbroken sunshine, Neil Pollard willed the ball into the cover gap, the Corsham boundary fielder’s despairing dive failed to prevent it reaching the boundary, and Pollard fist-pumped to celebrate Bristol’s 1-wicket win. It was not the way the game had looked likely to end when, 12 overs earlier, Bristol had been 157-2, just 64 short of the victory target with James Bracey closing in on yet another hundred and Matt Brewer looking increasingly assured.
But Bracey holed out at deep mid-off for 92 and then it was a case of the boy stood on the burning deck for Brewer as 157-2 became 201-6. Kieran Noema-Barnett fell victim to a spectacular catch at mid-off by Foley; Jack Ellison swept a couple of fours but was given out LBW attempting another with a large front-foot stride; and Paul Redwood sacrificed his wicket in a horrible running mix-up.
Brewer remained composed however and was grateful when Foley served up a leg-side full toss which enabled him to bring up his maiden 1st XI fifty with a six, to add to his four fours. But the hiatus in the collapse was to prove brief as the seventh, eighth and ninth wickets fell within three runs of victory, to give the re-energised Corsham players a sniff of an unlikely win. First Brewer himself was bowled by Foley for 57, off 81 balls, then in the next over, off successive balls, Will Rudge and Tommy Probert fell LBW to Yadav, to the dismay of both batsmen.
The game featured numerous dropped catches by both sides (Bracey was dropped twice in one over, in the twenties) and also some fractious moments, particularly when Brewer was given not out caught behind off Yadav. The Corsham players’ loud and tedious chatter throughout the innings, presumably intended to unsettle the batsmen, seemed to have no such effect, including the barrage directed towards young Brewer, who seemed unfazed.
Both teams had started the game with only ten players at the ground: Yadav was en route from Bath station in a taxi, while Alan Hunt arrived a few overs into the game, changed into his whites in the car park and joined the rest of the Bristol team in the field.
Rudge pulled up, feeling his back, in his first over, and bowled two more at reduced pace before taking himself off and bringing on Probert. It was Probert who made the first breakthrough, Esau playing on pulling. Wickets fell at regular intervals throughout the Corsham innings: Pollard had Field LBW to the second ball of his spell. Morrison had an awful swipe at Vir Lakhani’s first ball and gave a gentle catch to Rudge at slip. Reed, emboldened by a pick-up off his legs for six off the last ball of Probert’s spell, hit Lakhani straight down Hunt’s throat at deep mid-wicket three overs later, and Yadav might have wondered whether the trip down from London had been worthwhile when he was bowled by Noema-Barnett playing an extravagant shot towards the leg-side. This left Corsham 90-5 in the 27th over. But Bristol could not finish the job. Partnerships of 67 between Collier and Wales, and 54 between Collier and Arney (who hit 30 at more than a run a ball) took them above 200, Collier being given a couple of lives along the way. Collier was also given run out only for Bristol to withdraw the appeal, Bracey admitting he had not had the ball in his gloves when he broke the wicket with the umpire unsighted.
Bristol started their chase, in pursuit of 221 to win, with positivity, Bracey hitting two fours in the first over, through mid-wicket and backward point. When King replaced Arney at the southern end, Bracey used the sweep to good effect while Fellowes cover-drove with aplomb. The openers were not separated until the score had reached 80 in the 16th over when Fellowes got underneath a ball from Foley and was caught at long on for 21. Hunt was caught at cover, and although Bracey and Brewer put on 51 together, the scoring rate was gradually slowing. Then began the collapse. Fortunately, Pollard’s batting skills were sufficient to allow Bristol to stumble over the line.

James Bracey 92

Matt Brewer 57