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Sat 02 Jun 2018 · Premier One
1st XIBath CC - 1st XI
345/6
167
1st XI - Game 5 - Bristol 345/6, Bath 167
Will Rudge3 Jun 2018 - 20:42
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Bracey and Young dominant
Bristol v Bath, WEPL Premier 1, 2 June 2018
Bristol 345-6, J Bracey 160, W Young 116, T Hankins 3-73
Bath 167 (35.5 overs), T Hankins 47, N Pollard 5-24
Bristol won by 178 runs
Bristol’s dream top six came together in the same side for the first time in the season and fired like a space rocket freshly topped up with kerosene. An extraordinary second wicket partnership of 273 in 42 overs between James Bracey and Will Young propelled the home team’s total towards the stratosphere and set up a thorough trouncing of reigning WEPL champions Bath. With Bristol also completing a win in the corresponding 2nd XI clash at North Parade swiftly enough to get back to the club in time to watch the denouement, and the 3rds recording a victory too, it was a glorious day for Bristol. And with weather to match and a larger than usual crowd in attendance ahead of a double birthday celebration in the evening it was a day that will long be remembered in the annals of the club.
An adequate supply of superlatives is not available to describe the batting of Bracey and Young. Bracey hit a staggering nine sixes and eight fours in his 139-ball 160, repeatedly depositing the ball into the tennis courts with a pick-up off the legs or a sweep. He also mixed in a couple of lofted drives over cover for six as well as some sumptuous drives along the ground. Young’s 116 included eleven fours (including an audacious ramp shot off Adam Kelly) and one six, and came off 129 balls.
Both had to work extremely hard at the start of the innings, after Bristol were inserted by Bath and Bracey lost his opening partner Trenouth LBW in the second over. The ball nipped around and Bath’s seam trio of Kelly, Muchall and Harry Hankins posed some awkward questions. Bracey had a slice of luck when he hit an aerial drive that landed just in front of cover in the seventh over, and didn’t find the boundary until his 28th ball (by which point he had only made three). Even then his cover drive only just reached the boundary: the outfield was slower then normal after the heavy rain earlier in the week.
Although Young’s first ball yielded four to the fine leg boundary, he seemed to have a particularly scratchy start and was dropped by keeper Padgett down the leg-side. But he greeted the arrival of the spin of Tom Hankins into the attack with a confident drive to the off-side boundary and never looked back.
Having weathered the early storm, to the tune of 63 for 1 off 21 overs, and seen off the dangerous Muchall’s opening spell of 8-3-19-1, the pair went from strength to strength, sharing the strike equally and matching each other run for run.
Young brought up his fifty (off 79 balls) and the 100 partnership (off 154) with a pull behind square leg, and in the next over Bracey reached his own half-century off 81 balls with a pick-up for four over mid-wicket, which he immediately followed with the first of his sixes in the same general direction but slightly squarer.
Then the carnage began in earnest. The next fifty took just 27 balls, the one after that 34, and the next a mere 24. Some exceptional running made Bath’s relatively blameless fielding look ragged. The visitors used eight bowlers, a couple of whom had their spells truncated and departed the scene nursing painful figures. There was confusion when Jack Scrivens, who had bowled a tidy four-over spell from the pavilion end, was not allowed by the umpires to return from the far end five overs later due to the restrictions on under-age bowlers.
Young reached his century off 116 balls with a clip off his legs which just evaded the deep backward square leg fielder’s dive, and Bracey joined him on three figures in the following over with a routine straight drive for a single.
It was the eighth bowler used, Bath captain Greg Hay, who finally ended the partnership, inducing his Central Districts team-mate Young to spoon a catch to short fine leg. By now Bracey was inhabiting another planet, progressing from 100 to his final total of 160 in just 25 balls. When he was finally caught off a skyer at mid-on with the total on 302 to give Tom Hankins the first of three expensive wickets, just 21 balls of the innings remained. Will Rudge employed eight of these to score a quick-fire 17 and Louie Shaw required just seven to rustle up a further twenty including an enormous six (the twelfth of the innings in total) over deep backward square off the penultimate ball.
Bristol’s total of 345 proved well beyond Bath. Opener Wells was first to go, chopping a ball from Noema-Barnett on to his stumps. The second wicket was the crucial one of Hay, LBW to the same bowler after an beseeching appeal from the Bristol fielders and much deliberation from umpire Sakhamuri.
Ash Joyner’s first ball just clipped Charlie Brain’s off-bail to leave Bath 56 for 3 and in the next over, Tommy Probert twice found the new batsman Paul Muchall’s inside edge and twice watched in disbelief as the ball raced to the fine leg boundary. The sight of Sakhamuri’s raised finger in response to an LBW appeal against Sam Young off the first ball of Probert’s next over went some way to alleviating the bowler’s distress.
Muchall and Tom Hankins then started to counterattack, taking ten off a Probert over then fifteen off the Joyner over immediately after it. But with such a huge target, the odds were always against Bath and before long Muchall skied a catch off Rudge, which Joyner held safely at mid-on, and then Tom Hankins top-edged a reverse sweep off Pollard and Joyner held on to a more difficult running catch, narrowly avoiding a disastrous collision with Rudge.
Pollard then mopped up the tail: Scrivens and Kelly both fell caught behind by Bracey in the space of three balls, the latter at the fourth attempt. Padgett hit one down Shaw’s throat at mid-off and Harry Hankins danced down the pitch and was stumped by a country mile. Pollard finished with five wickets for 24 (five for eight in 18 balls, wicket to wicket). On a normal day such a spell would have been remarkable, but today it was a mere footnote to the batting of Bracey and Young.
Bristol 345-6, J Bracey 160, W Young 116, T Hankins 3-73
Bath 167 (35.5 overs), T Hankins 47, N Pollard 5-24
Bristol won by 178 runs
Bristol’s dream top six came together in the same side for the first time in the season and fired like a space rocket freshly topped up with kerosene. An extraordinary second wicket partnership of 273 in 42 overs between James Bracey and Will Young propelled the home team’s total towards the stratosphere and set up a thorough trouncing of reigning WEPL champions Bath. With Bristol also completing a win in the corresponding 2nd XI clash at North Parade swiftly enough to get back to the club in time to watch the denouement, and the 3rds recording a victory too, it was a glorious day for Bristol. And with weather to match and a larger than usual crowd in attendance ahead of a double birthday celebration in the evening it was a day that will long be remembered in the annals of the club.
An adequate supply of superlatives is not available to describe the batting of Bracey and Young. Bracey hit a staggering nine sixes and eight fours in his 139-ball 160, repeatedly depositing the ball into the tennis courts with a pick-up off the legs or a sweep. He also mixed in a couple of lofted drives over cover for six as well as some sumptuous drives along the ground. Young’s 116 included eleven fours (including an audacious ramp shot off Adam Kelly) and one six, and came off 129 balls.
Both had to work extremely hard at the start of the innings, after Bristol were inserted by Bath and Bracey lost his opening partner Trenouth LBW in the second over. The ball nipped around and Bath’s seam trio of Kelly, Muchall and Harry Hankins posed some awkward questions. Bracey had a slice of luck when he hit an aerial drive that landed just in front of cover in the seventh over, and didn’t find the boundary until his 28th ball (by which point he had only made three). Even then his cover drive only just reached the boundary: the outfield was slower then normal after the heavy rain earlier in the week.
Although Young’s first ball yielded four to the fine leg boundary, he seemed to have a particularly scratchy start and was dropped by keeper Padgett down the leg-side. But he greeted the arrival of the spin of Tom Hankins into the attack with a confident drive to the off-side boundary and never looked back.
Having weathered the early storm, to the tune of 63 for 1 off 21 overs, and seen off the dangerous Muchall’s opening spell of 8-3-19-1, the pair went from strength to strength, sharing the strike equally and matching each other run for run.
Young brought up his fifty (off 79 balls) and the 100 partnership (off 154) with a pull behind square leg, and in the next over Bracey reached his own half-century off 81 balls with a pick-up for four over mid-wicket, which he immediately followed with the first of his sixes in the same general direction but slightly squarer.
Then the carnage began in earnest. The next fifty took just 27 balls, the one after that 34, and the next a mere 24. Some exceptional running made Bath’s relatively blameless fielding look ragged. The visitors used eight bowlers, a couple of whom had their spells truncated and departed the scene nursing painful figures. There was confusion when Jack Scrivens, who had bowled a tidy four-over spell from the pavilion end, was not allowed by the umpires to return from the far end five overs later due to the restrictions on under-age bowlers.
Young reached his century off 116 balls with a clip off his legs which just evaded the deep backward square leg fielder’s dive, and Bracey joined him on three figures in the following over with a routine straight drive for a single.
It was the eighth bowler used, Bath captain Greg Hay, who finally ended the partnership, inducing his Central Districts team-mate Young to spoon a catch to short fine leg. By now Bracey was inhabiting another planet, progressing from 100 to his final total of 160 in just 25 balls. When he was finally caught off a skyer at mid-on with the total on 302 to give Tom Hankins the first of three expensive wickets, just 21 balls of the innings remained. Will Rudge employed eight of these to score a quick-fire 17 and Louie Shaw required just seven to rustle up a further twenty including an enormous six (the twelfth of the innings in total) over deep backward square off the penultimate ball.
Bristol’s total of 345 proved well beyond Bath. Opener Wells was first to go, chopping a ball from Noema-Barnett on to his stumps. The second wicket was the crucial one of Hay, LBW to the same bowler after an beseeching appeal from the Bristol fielders and much deliberation from umpire Sakhamuri.
Ash Joyner’s first ball just clipped Charlie Brain’s off-bail to leave Bath 56 for 3 and in the next over, Tommy Probert twice found the new batsman Paul Muchall’s inside edge and twice watched in disbelief as the ball raced to the fine leg boundary. The sight of Sakhamuri’s raised finger in response to an LBW appeal against Sam Young off the first ball of Probert’s next over went some way to alleviating the bowler’s distress.
Muchall and Tom Hankins then started to counterattack, taking ten off a Probert over then fifteen off the Joyner over immediately after it. But with such a huge target, the odds were always against Bath and before long Muchall skied a catch off Rudge, which Joyner held safely at mid-on, and then Tom Hankins top-edged a reverse sweep off Pollard and Joyner held on to a more difficult running catch, narrowly avoiding a disastrous collision with Rudge.
Pollard then mopped up the tail: Scrivens and Kelly both fell caught behind by Bracey in the space of three balls, the latter at the fourth attempt. Padgett hit one down Shaw’s throat at mid-off and Harry Hankins danced down the pitch and was stumped by a country mile. Pollard finished with five wickets for 24 (five for eight in 18 balls, wicket to wicket). On a normal day such a spell would have been remarkable, but today it was a mere footnote to the batting of Bracey and Young.
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