Longton won the toss and elected to bowl in cool, overcast conditions at the Old County Ground. Morning rainfall left the outfield damp underfoot. But the wicket was hard with a good covering of grass.
The first hour will be crucial for both sides. If Longton can make early inroads while the ball is still new, they could gain an early advantage. While batting is at its trickiest. If Porthill get through the new ball, batting will become easier as the ball gets softer due to the wet outfield.
Having struck 2 early boundaries, Alex Thorley took a sharp catch at mid-wicket to remove John Hancock in the third over to leave the score 11/1. Longworth struck 3 consecutive boundaries in the 7th over as he began to find some rhythm after a slow start. Steele was then trapped LBW off the bowling of Hope to leave Porthill 29/2.
Without addition to score, Ewan Farnell struck with his first delivery when Longworth top-edged on an attempted pull to present wicketkeeper Coxon with the simplest of catches and leave Porthill in serious trouble. The first 35 minutes certainly belonged to Longton.
Farnell then trapped Matt Coxon LBW as Porthill slumped to 40/4 in the 10th over. Two balls later, Oliver Shirley was bowled by an absolute beauty that nipped back off the seam and kissed the top of leg stump, leaving Porthill’s innings in tatters.
After a period of relative calm, Louis Allison was bowled when he had an almighty slog at Nalin Priyadarshan. It was an unnecessary shot given the state of the Porthill innings. It plunged them into further danger at 48/6.
Porthill’s troubles worsened when Ben Holt was caught and bowled by Priyadarshan, leaving Porthill 50/7. He was another Porthill batter to be dismissed playing a poor shot. Tom Hope bowled a fine 9-over spell from the scorebox end, finishing with figures of 9-3-20-1 as he made the most of the helpful conditions.
Priyadarshan claimed his third victim when Lakshitha Manasinghe could only feather a catch through to Coxon from a ball that turned and bounced on him from the Longton off-spinner. Manasinghe had batted with patience for his 21, but his dismissal left Porthill 69/8 shortly after the drinks break.
When Kilgariff was bowled for 10 by Priyadarshan, the writing looked to be on the wall for Porthill as they were 70/9, but a spirited last wicket stand of 28 between Kesteven and Barker (20*), at least lifted the score to 98 all out. Barker played two fantastic drives during his innings, showing he’s more than capable of batting higher than number 11.
Priyadarshan was the pick of the Longton bowlers; he thoroughly deserved his 4/17 of nine probing overs. He was ably supported by Ewan Farnell, who finished with 3/14. His early 3-wicket burst was instrumental in Longton gaining the early advantage that they never gave back.
Longton’s innings began brightly, with five boundaries being scored in the opening 4 overs before Matheesha Perera chipped Matt Coxon to Craig Barker at mid-off to leave Longton 20/1.
Coxon had words with umpire Edge after a caught behind was turned down immediately after the wicket of Perera. Thorley walked across his stumps shortly after and was pinned LBW by a fired-up Ben Holt as Longton were reduced to 21/2.
The new ball was again causing problems for the batters. It felt at one stage, after the wicket of Thorley, that a wicket could really fall at any moment. The left arm angle of Holt was very problematic for the right-handed batters when he found his range.
Matt Coxon took a sharp catch at second slip off the bowling of Ben Holt as Coxon’s brother Andrew departed playing a loose drive, leaving Longton 33/3 and the game very much in the balance.
Coxon then had Tom Hope caught behind after a lengthy deliberation between the umpires to check if the ball had carried through to keeper Kilgariff. When he was eventually given out, Longton were teetering at 40/4. There looked to be some afters between batter Hope and the Porthill fielders as he left the field.
Coxon took his third wicket when he bowled Tinsley with a delivery that flattened his off stump as he tried to drive through the off side. The wicket came after multiple stoppages in play as spectators constantly walked in front of the side screens by the Sydney Barnes stand. The wicket reduced Longton to 47/5, and the atmosphere was electric. Two balls later, Lee Ridgeway was dropped at second slip, leading Coxon to roar to the heavens in dismay.
Ridgeway departed, caught in the gully by Hancock, to a delivery that rose from the length, again bowled by the tireless Coxon in his ninth and final over of a fantastic spell from the Sydney Barnes stand end. Coxon’s heroic speed produced figures of 9-4-19-4 as he and Holt had reduced Longton to 53/6 after 17 overs.
Priyadarshan struck 3 boundaries in a row off Kesteven to push Longton to 77/6 as the momentum began to swing in Longton’s favour, as the Porthill change bowlers couldn’t keep up the pressure.
Hancock drew a false stroke from Priyadarshan when he attempted a drive, only to chip it back for a routine caught and bowled, leaving Longton, 81/7 and the game on a knife-edge. Mack then played an immaculate cover drive to inch the score to 85/7.
Ewan Farnell struck back-to-back boundaries off Hancock to take Longton to the brink of victory at 97/7. He was lucky not to be bowled 2 balls later as he went for glory. Mack was then nearly spectacularly caught at mid-wicket by the diving Manasinghe as he drew the scores level.
Fittingly, it was Farnell, who bowled so well in the first innings, who struck the winning runs as the Longton fans in the Nathan Butler stand celebrated wildly. The match was played in front of bumper crowds, who, if they had paid to get in, would have definitely got their money’s worth.
The match swung one way then the other throughout the afternoon. Despite their low first-innings total, Porthill bowled fantastically. Coxon, especially, was unlucky to be on the losing side. A word must be said for Barker, whose unbeaten 20 nearly got Porthill enough to defend.
Brodie Mack made a composed 14*, showing maturity to pull Longton out of the hole they found themselves in at 53/6 when a fired-up Coxon and Holt still had a few overs left in the tank. He was patient while others around him played their shots as the winning line came into sight.
Again, this was a fantastic advert for village cricket. To see a ground as full as Porthill was today is superb. The Nathan Butler stand was full, and there was a good helping of fans in the Sydney Barnes stand too. It was a pleasure to be there today.
Long live village cricket.
