Tag: Hampshire v Lancashire

A Declaration That Backfired and a Great Bowling Performance

A look back at the final stage of Gloucestershire’s defeat at the hands of Worcestershire on Sunday and an account of a great bowling performance by Kate Cross today.

The Hampshire and Lancashire women’s sides are currently locked in battle in a one day match which I am listening to. That will feature later in this post, but first I look back to Sunday and a happening that may just have ensured that the county of my birth, Gloucestershire, will finish as wooden spooners in this year’s county championship.

A BIZARRE FAILURE

Gloucestershire were in dire need of a win in this match, and when they declared their second innings at 395-7, an advantage of 278, in a match in which the ball had predominated they may well have reckoned on getting it. By the time I joined the coverage of this match, Somerset having disposed of Essex, Worcestershire were about halfway to the target and had not lost a wicket. Daniel Lategan, a young opener who was still looking for his maiden first class hundred going into this innings was going superbly, and he duly reached the landmark. He went on after reaching the landmark, and by the time he was out, caught by Joe Phillips of young leg spinner Ed Middleton the score had reached 244, of which his share was 144, and the match was as good as over. Middleton added Beyers Swanepoel, a South Africa who Worcestershire had sent in at number three in spite his batting average only being 25 to his scalp bag, taking a return catch to get him for 22. That was the end of Gloucestershire’s successes. Adam Hose at number four was unbeaten on 4 at the end, with Lategan’s opening partner, veteran Jake Libby, unbeaten on 107 in an eight wicket win. The single worst feature of a horrible innings for Gloucestershire was the performance of Sai Kishore, an Indian international left arm spinner. Kishore should have been his team’s most dangerous bowler on the final afternoon and evening of a four day fixture, but his actual figures were 18-2-79-0 – wicketless and costing four and half runs an over.

CROSS PUTS LANCASHIRE IN CONTROL

Kate Cross has recently announced that she will be retiring from professional cricket at the end of the season. Today she reminded those who needed just what a fine player the game will be losing. She soon had Hampshire three down cheaply, her share of the damage being 3-11 midway through her fourth over. She added another wicket at the end of the Hampshire innings. The south coast side had a meagre 223 from 48.4 overs, and Cross had 4-33 from 9.4 overs. Lancashire are handling the chase well as I write this and I expect that they will win quite comfortably.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…

A Bittersweet Weekend for Hampshire

A look back at the finals of the men’s and women’s One Day cups – Hampshire v Worcestershire in the men’s version yesterday. Hampshire v Lancashire in the women’s today. Plus a photo gallery.

Both the Hampshire men’s and women’s sides played one day cup final matches this weekend, the men yesterday against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge and the women today against Lancashire at the Utilita Bowl. This post looks back briefly at both games.

YESTERDAY

The men’s final was heavily hit by rain with the Hampshire innings disrupted twice and reduced to 45 overs, and then the innings break massively extended, resulting in Worcestershire facing a DLS adjusted target of 188 from 27 overs. Hampshire’s innings had been largely dominated by left handed opener Ali Orr, who scored a splendid century, and was thus the person fourth-most responsible for Worcestershire facing a tough target (Messrs Duckworth, Lewis and Stern aka DLS being numbers 1,2 and 3 in the pecking order). Worcestershire kept in touch throughout, with chief credit going to Ethan Brookes who hit 57 off 34 balls. However Scott Currie, who had a superb day with the ball, bowled a magnificent 26th over in which he accounted for Brookes, Rob Jones and Tom Taylor, boosting his figures to a very impressive 5-35. Worcestershire ended that over on 175-7 needing 13 off the final over. Brad Wheal, a very experienced cricketer, including internationally with Scotland, had responsibility for bowling the final over of the contest, and it should have been within his compass to secure Hampshire the cup. Unfortunately he made a hash of things, and it took a mere four balls for the game to end, Worcestershire winning by three wickets with two balls to spare. Player of the Match awards nearly always go to members of the winning team, though on this occasion either Orr, Currie or a joint award might have been considered acceptable given how close it was, and Ethan Brookes, with that blazing 57, 1-52 with the ball and two catches got the award.

TODAY

Hampshire batted first and tallied a respectable 288, with big scores from Georgia Adams (77) and Maia Bouchier (66) while Grace Potts with 3-47 from nine overs was the pick of the Lancashire bowlers. Lancashire began the chase badly losing Alice Clarke to a run out by Freya Kemp for 3. Then Irish international Gaby Lewis and Seren Smale had a big partnership for the second wicket. When Smale fell for 72 and Fi Morris failed to get going, managing 9 from nine balls it was 183-3 from 35.4 overs, Lancashire needing 106 from 14.2 overs with a respectable but not outstanding batting line up – Kate Cross is a fine cricketer but number seven, where she was scheduled to come in, looks a place higher than would be ideal for her. Lancashire keeper and captain Ellie Threlkeld began the Lancashire revival with 32 off 30, helping the fourth wicket to add 60. Her dismissal, achieved by a combination of two Freyas, Kemp taking the catch off the bowling of Davies made it 243-4 from 43.5 overs, 46 needed from 6.1 overs, with the young Scot Ailsa Lister joining Lewis, by then into three figures and looking like the key player in the unfolding drama. With three overs to go 21 were still needed. The 48th over settled the issue, Lewis going after Georgia Adams to the extent of 16 from the over, which took Lewis to 141 not out from 143 balls, with 16 fours. Lister, herself capable of very fast scoring, levelled the scores with a four off the first ball of the 49th over, and after one dot ball then scored the winning single, with Lancashire have six wickets and nine balls to spare.

PHOTOGRAPHS

My usual sign off…