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| > Norfolk CCC v Staffordshire CCC Match Report |
Whoever says Minor Counties cricket is boring certainly hasn’t been to watch Staffs play Norfolk in recent years. Following on from their dramatic tie in 2004 at Longton, the two sides once again managed to finish with their scores level after three days of twist and turn ended in dramatic fashion. The first day was overwhelmingly Norfolk’s, but Staffs hit back strongly to take the second day. The first session of the third day was undoubtedly dominated by Staffs before a complete turn around during the afternoon period. Honours were about even in the final session as Staffs battled to peg back the Norfolk victory chase.
At the end of all this, the home side wanted two runs from the final ball of the match, with two wickets remaining, to snatch the win. However the home side could only scramble a single to leave the game finishing as a draw. As they were batting when the scores finished level Norfolk gained an extra four points and finished with a total of 15 while Staffs, after a second successive draw of the campaign picked up 9 points.
Batsmen reveled in the Norfolk sunshine as Staffordshire set about set the home side on the final day and imposing total to chase for victory. Records tumbled as Staffs fifth wicket pairing of Kim Barnett and Liam Hughes resumed on their overnight 52 and 55 respectively with the visitors leading by 105 runs.
After a cautious opening thirty minutes, the pair got into their stride and dominated the home bowling attack in imperious style. Debutant Hughes, the elder of the two brothers making their first appearances for the county in the game, reached a superb first century before powering on to become the highest scoring debutant in the county’s history. Barnett continued to rollback the years as he followed up his first innings rescuing knock of 51 to also pass the three figure mark. Undeterred the pair went onto compile an unbeaten fifth wicket partnership of 300, and in so doing creating a new all time record in the whole of Minor Counties cricket for the fifth wicket and establishing a new all time record partnership for any Staffordshire wicket in championship cricket. On top of that Liam Hughes’ 184 became the highest score ever for a debutant playing for Staffordshire surpassing the 118 made by Keith Bell. Hughes 220 ball innings produced 26 boundaries and four sixes.
Barnett ended the day unbeaten on 126 (269 balls 8x 4’s) as the declaration came during the lunch interval with the pair having added a further 212 in the morning session to enable skipper Paul Goodwin to call a halt with the score on 413 for four. This left the home side 3 hours and 10 minutes plus the final 17 overs, to chase down a victory target of 318. In the end they fell one short while Staffs could bemoan a number of missed opportunities in the field to exert further pressure on the home batsmen. In the event Staffs sent down a total of 73 overs in their attempt to force the victory, before it came down to the final over bowled by Will Purser with Norfolk needing six to win and Staffs requiring three wickets. Ultimately just the five runs came and one crucial run out was made to leave both sides looking back at missed opportunities, while at the same time reflecting on their part in an enthralling three days cricket which kept a healthy crowd biting their nails right until the death.
Needing to put the home side under pressure the Staffs bowlers were made to pay for their lack of penetration and accuracy as Trevor Ward and Ben Patston quickly made inroads into their target. Left hander Patston continued to live dangerously but established the perfect platform for the home side’s victory push, smashing 107 from just
84 balls and hitting six sixes and ten boundaries, before becoming a first ever county wicket for off spinner Liam Hughes, caught at backward point by Jimmy Dawson with the second wicket falling on 166. Earlier Gareth Morris had removed Ward for 46.
At tea the home side had reached 197 for three from 40 overs, still needing a further 121 to win with seven wickets in hand. After the break left arm spinner Gareth Morris, playing his last three day game of the season for Staffs as a career change makes him unavailable, began to whittle his way through the home batsmen. His fifth wicket of the innings came with the score on 288, leaving the home team requiring a further 30 to win with three wickets standing and seven overs remaining.
With Chris Borrett having passed his half century still at the crease, Norfolk still remained favourites to win, but slowly the overs slipped by with runs being eked out before the dramatic finale. Borrett ended the day unbeaten on 89 but unable to steer his side home, while Morris ended the day with five for 97 from his 30 over stint.
Staffs captain Paul Goodwin admitted, “It had been nail biting” Reflecting back he continued, “We did very very well to get back in the game after the first innings. The bowlers did well to restrict them to just a 90 plus lead. The two Hughes brothers and. Kim (Barnett) were awesome for us .We would have been happy to have set them a target of 180 to 200 but to be able to set them 318 was a fantastic effort. In the end it was probably a fair result. It would have been hard on us if we had lost it after the effort we put in. They got into a strong position but the ever reliable Gareth (Morris) and Will Purser pulled it back for us in the end.”
Goodwin is justifiably proud of his young charges concluding, “We are learning all the time about the young lads. They keep coming in and doing the business.”
Staffordshire’s pre match preparations were blown out of the water by injuries to opening batsman Karl Quiney and strike bowler Craig Barker playing for their clubs on Saturday afternoon. Quiney was struck on the hand while scoring a half century for Wombourne and Barker sustained a back injury in Audley’s defeat at Longton.
To replace Quiney there was a late call up for 17 year-old Alex Hughes, who pulled out of a two day Derbyshire Academy match to make his Staffordshire debut alongside elder brother Liam, in what is believed to be the first occasion in the county’s history that two brothers have made their debut in the same match.
Barker made the trip to Norfolk hoping for an overnight improvement but it was decided with the cup semi-final against Bedfordshire just seven days in the future not to risk him and, for a second time this season, there was a late call for coach Kim Barnett to don his whites and fill the gap.
Heavy overnight rain meant a thirty minute delay at the start of proceedings after which Staffs were invited to bat first in overcast conditions. Staffs woes were then compounded by the loss of two wickets in Michael Eccles’ first over of the day. After Peter Wilshaw had opened the scoring their was a disappointing moment for Alex Hughes with his debut was cut short as wicket keeper Ben Harvey snapped up his leg glance from his first ball received. Stone’s Jimmy Dawson got off the mark with two before seeing his wickets dislodged as Eccles made a dream start for the home side.
Wilshaw was joined by Barnett and the pair responded excellently to the early pressure exerted by the home bowlers. The pair put together a partnership of 72 to pull Staffs back into the match but Wilshaw tried one big hit to many and perished for 35. Worse was to follow as Ben McGuire also departed without scoring in the same over to leave Staffs in trouble at 77 for four at lunch
Wickets continued to fall after the resumption with Barnett the eighth wicket to go down on 125 having batted for 207 balls for his 51, in an attempt to hold the Staffs innings together.
A ninth wicket partnership of 49 between Russ Ballard and Gareth Morris took Staffs to within one run of an unexpected batting point before Ballard fine 81 ball stay at the crease came to an end for 30. Gareth Morris secured Staffs their point and hit four boundaries in his unbeaten as the innings came to a close after 84.2 overs on 183.
Norfolk spinners Chris Brown and George Walker did the damage with figures of 5 for 54 and 3 for 44 respectively with Brown’s fifth wicket being the former Cheshire player’s 250th championship wicket for the county.
Norfolk openers James Spelman and Ben Patston wasted little time in setting about reducing the deficit compiling an opening partnership of 132 before Russ Ballard made the breakthrough having Patston caught at slip for 75. By the close Norfolk were just 48 runs adrift with nine wickets in hand and in a very strong position to build a commanding first innings lead.
After their very disappointing first day performance, Staffs hit back strongly on the second day to restrict Norfolk to a first innings advantage of 96. Resuming on 135 for one, Norfolk looked poised to build a commanding lead, but a much improved bowling performance meant they scored a further 138 for the loss of eight wickets as Staffs restricted the hosts to 279 for 9 by the close of their innings.
Stone off spinner Russ Ballard turned in a county career best 5 for 42, and with two wickets each for Gareth Morris and Will Purser, Staffs had bowled themselves back into contention in the game. By the end of the day Staffs had turned their 96 run deficit into a 105 lead, with six second innings wickets still standing, to give themselves an outside opportunity of snatching a win, which seemed highly unlikely at the end of the first day’s proceedings.
Captain Paul Goodwin was delighted with his player’s response saying, “We couldn’t have wished for anything better really. It has been an excellent response after our first day’s performance. We need to take it on from here tomorrow and see how it goes.”
Night watchman Chris Brown was first to go, superbly caught by the diminutive Ballard as he back pedaled at mid-off. Will Purser gained a second success in the same over having home skipper Carl Rogers snapped up at slip by Peter Wilshaw.
The introduction of Ballard into the attack brought three successive boundaries from his first three balls of the day but, after that early blip, he bowled superbly to peg back Norfolk’s hopes of pressing home their advantage. Former Kent and Leicestershire player Trevor Ward fell to Ballard, caught at mid wicket and was soon followed by Chris Borrett who perished in similar fashion at mid on. Opener James Spelman battled on to reach his century before being trapped in front of his stumps in the final over before lunch by Gareth Morris with the score on 240 for 6.
The wickets of Jon Trower and Ben Harvey earned a first ever five wicket haul for Ballard and then Morris ensured Staffs gained the four maximum batting points by bowling Michael Eccles.
Having performed well in the field, Staffs needed their batsmen to respond in similar fashion and openers Peter Wilshaw and Alex Hughes produced an opening partnership of 46 to reduce the deficit. After his golden duck in the first innings on his debut, 17 year-old Hughes was confidently off the mark with a crisp cover drive to the boundary to ease his nerves. The introduction of off spinner Chris Brown into the attack brought immediate reward as a leading edge from Wilshaw was pouched by the bowler himself, the Longton batsman dismissed for 19. Jimmy Dawson helped take the score on to 74 but, having opened his account with a boundary he perished next ball, caught at gully off Brown.
First innings batting hero Kim Barnett and Alex Hughes wiped out the 96 run deficit but, having established a slender 13 run advantage, Hughes was unfortunate to see Brown’s appeal for a catch at the wicket upheld. The youngster had fully justified his late call up
in his 122 ball stay at the wicket, striking five boundaries.
The second of Staffs’ 17 year olds in the side Ben McGuire, unfortunately suffered a pair as he became Brown’s second caught and bowled victim of the innings to swing the game back Norfolk’s way.
However this was to be the last success for the home bowlers as the elder of the Hughes brothers, Liam, emulated his younger brother by recording a half century on his county debut. Before the close the Wombourne player was followed to the 50 mark by Kim Barnett, who passed the land mark for a second time in the game after his late call into action.
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