Hem Heath won the toss and elected to field on a bright sunny afternoon. The wicket had a good covering of grass and looked like it was going to offer plenty for the bowlers.
Liam Banks then gave Hem Heath the perfect start when he claimed three wickets in the opening over. After a big shout for LBW against Jonathon Gidman was turned down from the first ball of the game, Banks beat his forward defence with the very next ball to send him on his way back to the pavilion. Rohan Vallabhaneni was then trapped LBW next ball to leave Castle 0/2 after 3 balls of their innings. Matters then got worse when Mohammed Ishtiaq was adjudged caught behind from Banks’ 5th delivery. Ishtiaq was unimpressed with the decision and gestured that he’d struck his pad with his bat and not the ball. When he finally left the crease, Castle were in deep trouble at 0/3.
Bilawal Bhatti was then expensive as he couldn’t support the ever accurate Banks as the Castle rebuilding mission began. Ill discipline was not helping Hem Heath either. Bhatti bowled several leg-side wides as he couldn’t find his range early on. Topley also bowled two front-foot no-balls in his opening over, but they went unpunished by the Castle batters.
Kasun Ekanayaka finally punished a Topley front-foot no-ball in his following over when he dispatched the free hit for 6 into the seats in front of the pavilion as Castle continued to rebuild. Topley took the 4th wicket in the 14th over when he got a ball to get big on Ekanayaka. The ball hit the shoulder of the bat to present the bowler with the easiest of return catches. Ekanayaka had batted well for his 28, and in Partnership with Ryan Hassett, they had done a good job of recovering a doomed situation after Banks’ early burst. The Ball that got Ekanayaka was not the first ball that misbehaved during the innings so far, suggesting that batting might not get easier as the match continues.
Banks finished his impressive 9-over spell with figures of 3/19. He’d also bowled 3 maidens as he gave very little to the batters; they had to work hard for every run they scored.
Castle were 72/4 at the halfway stage. Run scoring became difficult when the slower bowlers were introduced into the attack; they bowled a stump-to-stump line, and with pace off the ball, singles were the order of the day as boundary hitting became increasingly hard. Hassett broke the shackles in the 27th over when he struck Callum Leese for a big six over long on. It was a clean strike, and the ball comfortably cleared the boundary.
The castle 100 came up in the 31st over when Mo Rameez pulled a Leese long hop for six over deep square leg. It was a rare bad ball from the off-spinner who’d bowled with great control throughout his spell. Dan Richardson then removed the stubborn Hassett in the next over when he finally got one past his defences. Hassett had made a patient 36 from 103, which contained four 4’s and one 6. His patience had ensured that Castle were not rolled over after Banks’ early burst.
Rameez then chipped the simplest of catches to Banks at mid-wicket off the bowling of Prime in the following over as Castle lost two quick wickets. Rameez had made a patient 25 and was just beginning to open his shoulders when he was dismissed. Guy Bridgett then hit prime for a mighty six over cow corner in the 37th over, and he looked to get on with proceedings. In the following over, he struck another boundary of the bowling of Richardson this time.
The returning Bhatti then conceded another two boundaries in the 39th over as Hem Heath’s pace on option didn’t appear to be working. It had been much harder to score against the slower bowlers in the middle period of the innings. Bailey then struck Topley for six straight over his head in the next over as Castle went past 150 in the 40th over.
Bridgett then disdainfully dismissed a Bhatti short ball over mid-wicket and out of the ground for an enormous six as he was really looking to up the ante. Leese then returned to bowl Bailey and end a partnership of 52, which was beginning to look dangerous with Bridgett. Joe Thorne then struck a straight six off Prime in the following over as Castle reached 172/6 at the end of the 43rd over.
Bridgett was unfortunate to be stumped in the next over when he hit the ball into his foot and wandered out of his ground, not knowing where the ball had gone. Keeper Hodson was quick to pounce on the loose ball and whip off the bails with Bridgett still short of his ground. Bridgett made a very good 34 off just 21 balls to push his side into a good position. Thorne struck another six later in the over to keep the momentum up.
Bhatti bowled a tidy final over, only conceding six singles as Castle finished on 186/8 from their 45 overs. They will be extremely happy with that score after what happened in the first over of their innings. Hem Heath bowled well, but they let their advantage slip towards the end of the innings and will have some work to do to win this match.
Hem Heath started well when Matt Hodson cut Thorne for a boundary through point in the opening over. Bailey then began with five wides before Hodson tamely chipped to mid-wicket, where he was easily caught by Thorne as Hem Heath were 12/1 after 2 overs. Thorne then bowled the dangerous Banks with an absolute beauty that nipped away and beat his defensive stroke to leave Hem Heath in further trouble at 17/2. Hem Heaths woes worsened when Prime drove loosely at Bailey and was easily caught by Ishtiaq at first slip as they slumped to 21/3 in the 4th over.
Bailey then trapped Leese LBW when he went back to a ball that kept a touch low, it struck him below the knee roll, and he couldn’t really complain about the decision. There were a few afters with the Castle fielders after the decision was given. Hem Heath had slipped to 25/4 after a frantic start to the innings. Dan Richardson was then controversially given out caught at second slip in the following over after he was adjudged to have edged the ball onto his pad whilst playing a forward defensive stroke. The ball ballooned up and was well caught by the diving Vallabhaneni. I don’t think he edged the ball because of the way it came off the pad, and he couldn’t have been given out LBW as it hit him outside the line of off stump whilst he was playing a shot. It would also have gone over the top of the stumps as it hit him well above the knee roll. It was a poor decision from umpire Ian Stewart, in my opinion, but it left Hem Heath in further trouble at 30/5.
Upon completion of the over, Thornes impressive 6-over spell was completed. It finished with figures of 2/24. He bowled with high pace throughout and was unlucky not to finish with more wickets, but in partnership with Bailey, they had put Hem Heath severely on the back foot.
Bhatti was then well stumped down the leg side by keeper Hassett when he lifted his foot whilst attempting to turn a ball around the corner. It was sharp work by Hassett, who had the bails off in no time. Rameez then spun a leg break back through the defences of the defiant Ben Pugh, who’d battled hard for his 10 runs as another Hem Heath wicket fell to leave them 44/7. Tom Hodson then came out and showed positive intent from the off. He cut Rameez for a boundary through point, then slog swept him for six over cow corner as the Hem Heath 50 came up in the 17th over.
Bailey’s impressive 9-over spell yielded figures of 4/20 as he’d bowled tremendously as an attacking off-spinning option with the new ball. He turned his off-break considerably and caused many problems for both right and left-handed batters. He offered very little width and was rarely short throughout his spell, making the batters earn every run they scored off him.
Hodson continued to be aggressive; he struck two more boundaries as Hem Heath reached 71/7 at the halfway point of their innings. Hodson had made 24* as the Castle bowlers struggled to break the 8th wicket partnership, which was beginning to build slowly but surely between himself and Wilson Roe. The partnership was eventually broken when Roe nicked an attempted cut shot through to keeper Hassett off the bowling of Ekanayaka. Although Roe only made 6 from the 53 deliveries he faced, he had supported Hodson well as they attempted to rebuild the innings. Hodson followed shortly after for a well-made 31 when he nicked Jack Wilson behind, and Hassett took another catch as Hem Heath lost their 9th wicket with 81 runs on the board. Number 11 Topley was then dismissed 4 balls later again caught by Hassett, this time down the leg side as he attempted a pull but could only glove it behind as Hem Heath were bowled all out for 85 to lose by 101 runs.
Castle thoroughly deserved their victory. Their batsman dug them out of the early hole that they found themselves in after Banks’ unbelievable first over that reduced them to 0/3. Ryan Hassett had a fine day with both the bat and the gloves. His patient innings was instrumental in getting them back into the game. The bowlers then bowled superbly after the tea break to convert the victory. It was Hem Heath’s first defeat of the season, and they’ll need to bounce back strongly next week if they are to challenge for the title this season.
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