Match Report
ST ANNES PULL VICTORY FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
Chorley 135
St Annes 136-8
Gerry Wolstenholme
St Annes snatched a dramatic victory from the jaws of defeat against Chorley in the Thwaites Smooth Beer Cup tie at Vernon Road on Sunday. Replying to Chorley's modest 135 all out, they were in serious danger of defeat at 35-6 but a tremendous 74-run stand for the seventh wicket by Russ Bradley and David Bartholomew carried them towards their target. And once Bartholomew was out, Bradley carried on the good work and was still there at the end when victory came by two wickets at 136-8.
That looked a long distance off when the innings began as Adrian Darlington was leg before wicket to Stephen John in the first over for five and he was followed back to the pavilion in the second over by Gareth Evans, leg before wicket to Bill Smith and Adam Cotton, caught by Neil Senior, and with neither batsman scoring, it was 7-3. When Bill Smith bowled Steve Twist for a third duck of the innings in the fourth over it was 12-4 and then 19-5 when Geoff Love was caught and bowled by Bill Smith for nine in the sixth over.
A slight recovery followed but then Duncan Whalley returned a catch to John and he was gone for 14 at 35-6 in the ninth over. Fortunately St Annes had such stalwarts as Russ Bradley and David Bartholomew at numbers seven and eight and the pair took on the Chorley attack. They scored runs all round the ground and resisted the constant change of bowling. They had added a precious 74 runs when Bartholomew, 43 from 48 balls with six fours and one powerful straight six, was leg before wicket to John at 109-7.
Roger Banks made only one before hitting a catch to Ross Demming off Bill Smith and that was the game back in the melting pot with St Annes at 111-8. But Bradley was still there and from then until the end of the innings he dictated the game. He kept the strike as best he could, protecting more than useful second teamer Paul Williams, who, when faced with the bowling, did all that was asked of him.
And when Bradley scored the winning run there were still six overs and five balls remaining as he finished with 43 not out from 78 balls with five fours. Williams remained defiant with a worthy one not out as St Annes were home by two wickets at 136-8.
And all this followed a quite dramatic innings from Chorley who lost their first wicket in the fourth over when Michael Critchley was leg before wicket to Banks for two at 6-1. Banks enticed Tom Smith, 13, to edge a ball to be caught behind by Whalley at 20-2 in the eighth over. Darlington then had Jim Fazackerley, eight, caught at long off by Paul Williams at 44-3 in the 12th over. The fourth wicket was lost when Stephen John edged Twist to Whalley and that was 49-4 in the 13th over.
Twist bowled Neil Senior, six, at 55-5 and one run later Kyle Dixon gave Whalley his third catch, this time off Darlington. Nigel Heaton and Paul Greenwood stopped the rot and added 69 in 15 overs before the former was caught at extra cover by Twist off Darlington. Banks returned to bowl Ian Oakes for nought and Paul Greenwood, 30, holed out to Darlington at long-off from the bowling of Twist. Michael Baer then finished off the innings by bowling Bill Smith for three and with Ross Demming not out one, it was all over at 135 from 35.5 overs.
Twist finished with 3-15, Banks 3-25, Darlington 3-35 and Baer 1-29 but the real drama was to come when St Annes batted and pulled out of the fire a game that at one time looked good and lost. Although nothing was riding on the game, it all made for splendid entertainment for a good sized crowd who appreciated the afternoon's cricket.
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