Scorecard

Hungerford v Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 2XI- Saturday on Tue 06 Jul 2004 at 6.15
Thatcham Town Cricket Club Lost 15 runs

Match report Hungerford became the winners of the inaugural Lakeside Plate Competition with a fine 15 run victory over last years Trophy winners, Thatcham B, at Falkland CC on Tuesday evening. Having introduced the Plate Competition for the first round losers of the main Trophy Competition, sponsors Lakeside Superbowl must have been pleased with the continued interest and support generated for the tournament as a healthy crowd watched an entertaining match which could have gone either way, right to the last over.

Thatcham 'B' won the toss and inserted Hungerford and skipper Jamie Fisher may have been surprised to see former Hungerford favourite Jason Laney walk to the crease with Matt Heelan. Laney was unable to play in any of the previous rounds of the competition due to commitments with his current club, South Wilts, however, the former Hampshire opener made up for his previous absence and provided the main impetus for the Hungerford innings as the pair added 33 for the first wicket before an out of touch Heelan departed to Voller for 19. The introduction of spinner Perry Moore then brought about two more wickets as Hungerford skipper Danny Williams and Spencer Annetts both departed in quick succession to leave the score at 41 for 3 in the fifth over.

Laney then took charge however, dominating the strike in what was to prove a match winning partnership with Danny Bowsher, who supported his senior partner well as the pair added 70 for the fourth wicket in just six overs. Fisher, in desperate need of a breakthrough, turned to the evergreen Tim Mahoney for inspiration and the vastly experienced seamer came up trumps, clean bowling Bowsher for a more than useful 25 and ripping out the Hungerford middle order in quick succession to put the brakes on what looked like a probable 170 to 180 total.

All the while Laney maintained fluency at the other end and having passed the 50 mark in just 31 balls, he took advantage of anything too wide or full to ensure that Hungerford passed 150 and remained undefeated on 90 with 10 'fours' and 2 'sixes', as the innings closed on 158 for 8 from the 15 over allocation. Mahoney was the pick of the Thatcham 'B' bowlers, finishing with 3 for 15 from his three over stint.

In reply, Thatcham 'B' got off to a solid start through Matt Watts and Robb Fraser. The pair added 38 for the first wicket and looked well set to do some serious damage to the total when the nagging line and length of Wooldridge (2 for 25 from 4) forced Fraser to chip the ball to Annetts at short cover. Wooldridge then drew the finest of snicks from Stephen Bird from a useful delivery just two balls later into the eager gloves of Dave Bull, reducing Thatcham 'B' to 38 for 2.

This brought last years Trophy Competition hero Rakesh Patel to the crease and, with the steady Watts at the other end, Patel (17) restored stability to the innings. Indeed, he was just looking to expand his shots when South African overseas player Mark Bingham had him caught on the boundary by a spectacular combination catch as Laney used all his top flight experience to pluck the ball from the air and then toss it back in field to Heelan as his momentum carried him over the line.

The quick loss of Paul Jenkins, Moore and Watts for a well worked 32 left skipper Fisher with a severe challenge as his side entered the penultimate over on 106 for 6 and needing 53 to win from just sixteen balls. Having bowled out his best bowler on the night Wooldridge, Danny Williams turned to Laney to bowl his occasional off-breaks and Fisher saw the chance to take advantage by launching a ferocious attack on the bowling, smashing three huge 'sixes' and two powerful 'fours' in a ten-ball over that finally went for 32 runs, Fisher sensibly grabbing a single off the last ball to retain the strike against Bingham for the last over of the match.

With 21 still required and having clipped a 'two' over mid-wicket, Fisher looked to build on the adrenaline generated from the previous overs' drama but fell LBW to Bingham's well pitched up second delivery as the big man departed for a whirlwind 46, taking with him Thatcham 'B's last real chance of victory. Fisher left the field to the biggest reception of the day and despite the efforts of Thatcham 'B's lower order, Bingham maintained discipline with both line and length and took two more wickets to finish with fine figures of 5 for 29, closing Thatcham 'B's innings at 143 for 9.

Official ceremonies were completed as umpires Tony Wimbush and Roger Beard nominated Laney as the man of the match and Hungerford skipper Danny Williams gratefully received the Plate from sponsor Paul Quaintance. Thanks were also given to John Keep for keeping the scorebook and to Wilson Carlisle and Falkland CC for hosting another entertaining evening's local cricket.

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 2XI- Saturday Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 9 wickets
0
143		        
Matt Watts Bowled  32
Robb Fraser Caught  12
Stephen Bird Caught  0 1
Rakesh Patel Caught  17
Jamie Fisher Lbw  46 1
Paul Jenkins Bowled  5
Perry Moore Run out  5
Simon Hood Not Out  3 2
Nick Voller Lbw  0
Tim Mahoney Bowled  0
Gary Hadfield Not Out  0

Hungerford Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Hungerford Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 8 wickets
0
158 (0.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Thatcham Town Cricket Club Thatcham 2XI- Saturday Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Gary Hadfield2.002200.0011.00
Nick Voller4.0043143.0010.75
Perry Moore3.0037218.5012.33
Tim Mahoney3.001535.005.00
Rakesh Patel3.0033133.0011.00

  • Umpire :
    Tony Wimbush
  • Scorer :
    John Keep