Porthill vs Checkley.
It’s matchday 8 of the season, and both sides come into this fixture having lost their previous fixtures. Porthill were beaten in a low-scoring thriller at Hem Heath by 3 runs, and Checkley were bowled out for 166 chasing 200 to beat Newcastle and Hartshill. So both teams will be looking to bounce back strongly today. There’s been rain around in the build-up to this fixture, so there should be plenty in the wicket for the bowlers.
Porthill won the toss and unsurprisingly elected to bowl in breezy and cold conditions at the Old County ground. Matt Coxon found movement straight from the off as he went past James Kettleborough’s outside edge three times in the opening over. Kettleborough struck Craig Barker through mid-wicket for the first boundary of the day in the next over. Barker then began to trouble the batters as he, too, found movement from the surface early on. Kettleborough cut Barker through the covers for a boundary as the score moved to 11/0 in the 6th over. Tom Carrigan soon got going when he clipped Coxon through the leg side for his first boundary in the next over.
Coxon found Kettleborough’s outside edge in the 9th over, but he was unlucky to see the ball fly over second slip’s head and away to the third man boundary. It was a loose shot from the Checkley captain after some sustained pressure from the home side’s bowlers. Barker then found Carrigan’s edge in the next over, only for the result to be the same. Kettleborough played a false shot off the bowling of Ben Holt in the 13th over as he again drove loosely, and the ball flew over backward point for a couple of runs. Holt had maintained an accurate line of angling the ball across the right-hander, and he was unlucky not to get his reward. Carrigan cut Coxon through point for a boundary to end the 14th over with the score on 39/0.
Kettleborough then took three boundaries off the next over, bowled by Holt. A cut through backward point was followed up by a classy flick through mid-wicket, and an extra cover drive that went to the fence rounded out the over and brought up the visitors’ 50 in the process. Kettleborough was beginning to show all of his class, and things were starting to look worrying for Porthill skipper John Hancock as he made his way serenely to 32*. Carrigan then flicked Coxon to the fine leg boundary in the next over as runs began to flow. Some accurate overs from the Porthill bowlers followed, as only 10 runs were scored in the next 5 overs, and the score moved to 61/0 after 20 overs. Kettleborough was then well caught by Hancock low down at mid-wicket as Holt finally made the breakthrough with the score on 65.
Michael Allen flicked Tom Mason handsomely through mid-wicket as he began his innings in fine style. After a period of being tied down, Carrigan finally broke the shackles when he smashed Holt over long-on for a towering maximum in the 25th over as he moved to 33. Allen then skilfully ran Mason away to the third man fence for his second boundary of the day. Checkley had reached 87/1 at the halfway stage of their innings. The batters had fronted up well against a disciplined Porthill bowling attack; they’d accumulated well and punished any bad balls. Carrigan had been extremely patient for his 35 and was setting a good platform for his team.
Allen pulled off-spinner Tom Kesteven for a boundary through mid-wicket in the 29th over before he launched a short ball over the ropes for a maximum to bring up the Checkley 100. Carrigan struck his 5th boundary when he pulled Mason away in the same area as the Porthill bowlers struggled with their lengths after the drinks break. Carrigan dispatched another short ball from Kesteven to move to 47* and push the score along to 113/1.
Allen then rather gifted his wicket to the home side when he picked out Coxon perfectly on the mid-wicket boundary when he flicked a leg stump half volley straight down his throat as he had to depart for 28. Allen had looked in good touch and would have been disappointed to get out in such a way. Carrigan’s 50 came up with a single into the leg side off the final ball of the 33rd over. His innings had been an excellent show of patience and had contained six 4s and one six. It came off 92 balls and took 136 minutes. He then drove Barker down the ground for another boundary as the score moved to 123/2. His fine innings was ended two overs later when Barker ran one across him, and he got a fine edge through to Will Killgariff behind the stumps.
Nils Priestley began his innings well when he flicked Holt over square leg for consecutive boundaries. He then picked up a Holt short ball and smashed it for 6 over mid-wicket in a dismissive manner. He smeared Coxon through the covers for another boundary as the score went to 158/3. Barker trapped James Abbotts LBW for 12 in the 44th over to leave Checkley 164/4. Abbotts was not impressed with the decision as it appeared to be sliding down the leg side. He later told me that he actually hit the ball as well, so well done, umpire Kam Padania, for getting that one totally wrong. He’d battled hard for his runs and shown good defence as the ball continued to move around off the surface. Barker finished with impressive figures of 3/31 from his 13 overs as he bowled with great control and offered very little to the batters.
Priestley then struck Coxon for two boundaries. The first was a powerful drive down the ground that beat mid-off, and the second was heaved into the leg-side as the fielder on the fence didn’t seem to pick the ball up until it was too late. Sithembile Langa then nicked one past Killgariff that went to the third man fence as 13 runs came from the 47th over. Priestley pulled a Mason delivery through square leg for another boundary before he drove Coxon over his head for a one-bounce four as he moved to his 50 in style. It took him balls and contained seven 4s and one mighty six.
Langa then clipped Mason away through mid-wicket for another boundary as the score moved to 210/4 in the 50th over. He pulled Holt away through the leg side as he added another boundary to the total, as he and Priestley kept the scoreboard ticking over. A club down the ground resulted in another boundary as the batters were really beginning to cut loose. A deft flick from Priestley beat the short fine leg fieldsman in for another boundary from the first ball of the next over. A lofted drive over mid-off brought him another boundary later on in the over.
Having been dropped at extra cover in the next over, Langa smashed the next ball into the school playing fields for a huge maximum before he smashed a flat six straight down the ground as the Checkley score approached 250. Langa had moved to 37* in what seemed like no time as his assault on the bowling continued. Hancock then began to protest with the umpires as he was warned about his side’s slow over rate. Mason bowled a tidy 54th over before all hell broke loose in the last.
Priestley smashed Holt’s second ball through the covers for a boundary before Langa helped a short ball over square leg for a one-bounce four before he drove the next ball, which was a front-foot no-ball down the ground for another boundary. He hit the next ball for a glorious maximum over extra cover to go to his 50 before he smashed the final ball high over deep square leg for another maximum as 28 runs came from the over. Langa reached his 50 off just 34 balls, and he finished unbeaten on 58, which included six 4s and four 6s. His partner Priestley finished on 76 from 64 balls with ten 4s and one six as they added an unbeaten 119 for the 5th wicket. 74 runs came from a riotous final 6 overs as the Checkley batters cut loose in devastating fashion. They eventually closed on a mammoth 284/4 from their 55 overs. Holt conceded an eye-watering 104 from his 13 overs as he bore the brunt of the brutal ball striking. The innings took a staggering 233 minutes to complete, and Porthill could face an over-rate penalty for this. Barker was the pick of the bowlers, but he wasn’t backed up, and Porthill now have a massive job on their hands to save this game.
Tom Steele began the chase positively when he struck Langa for two boundaries in the first over. The first was a lovely drive through extra cover before he drove well down the ground. Richard Cooper then took a fine catch running in off the fine leg boundary when Tom Longworth top-edged an attempted pull off EJ Laverty in the 4th over. Laverty then removed Hancock next ball when he got one to nip back and beat his defences as the ball smashed into the top of the middle stump to leave Porthill in early danger at 12/2. Steele clipped Langa through the vacant square leg area for his 3rd boundary in the next over.
Louis Allison drove handsomely through extra cover in the 7th over for his first boundary as the score moved to 24/2. Steele followed this up with a further two boundaries in the next over. He drove Laverty through point before clipping him through square leg when he strayed onto the leg stump. Another clip through mid-wicket followed this time off Charlie Lewis for his 6th boundary in the opening 10 overs.
Steele was then run out in farcical fashion in the next over. He survived a big shout for LBW only to be ball watching when Allison called him through for a quick single. Allen then swooped in from gully and threw the stumps down at the bowler’s end with Steele short of his ground to leave Porthill in further trouble at 37/3. Allison drove through extra cover to end the over before Coxon pulled Lewis through square leg. Cooper was welcomed into the attack by a clip through the leg side that ran away to the boundary to bring up the 50 for the home side. Allison struck another two boundaries in the next over when he drove a full toss down the ground before driving yet again through extra cover to end a productive over for the home side. Coxon then smashed Cooper for boundaries through the leg side in his next two overs as he dropped short too often. Allison ended the 17th over with a fine back foot punch that went all the way to the rope before Coxon drove Jack Farrington through the covers as runs were beginning to come thick and fast for Porthill.
Coxon moved to 32* when he pulled a short ball from Farrington to the leg side boundary in the next over. Allison then drove Farrington over extra cover for a wonderful maximum as the score raced to 94/3. Coxon then swept Priestley behind square for his 6th boundary. Allison slapped Farrington down the ground for his own 6th boundary of the day as the Porthill 100 came up in just the 22nd over. Two more boundaries for Allison came in the 24th over when he drove Farrington through extra cover and drove him over mid off on the next ball as he seemed to be finding the boundary at will.
Allison was then adjudged LBW for 44 in the next over as he attempted to sweep Priestley. His front leg was well down the pitch, and the ball struck him above the knee. It was another poor decision by umpire Padania as his poor match continued. Allison was just beginning to get on top of the bowling, and it was a shame to see him lose his wicket in such poor fashion. His innings was full of classy drives through the offside and was very pleasing to the eye. He’d added 76 with Coxon for the 4th wicket as they’d given their side a slim chance of victory.
Cooper then began his second spell with a long hop that Coxon smashed straight at Allen at mid-wicket. It went low and hard, and Allen was unable to take the difficult catch. Coxon then blasted a rare short ball from Priestley away to the square leg boundary. A lovely sweep behind square followed as he made it two boundaries in three balls. Coxon was 46* at drinks with the score on 123/4. It had been a good fightback from the home side’s batters after they were reduced to 12/2 early on. Coxon then skied Cooper high into the air after the drinks break, but none of the two fielders who were converging on the ball could take the catch, and the chance went begging.
Oliver Shirley was then caught at short fine leg when he attempted a sweep off Priestley. After surviving a tough caught and bowled chance, Kilgariff was bowled by Priestley with the next delivery as Porthill lost two wickets in the over to slump to 123/6. Coxon went to a well-made half-century with a single into the leg-side in the 33rd over before he miscued a sweep and was well caught by a diving Langa at mid on. Coxon’s innings contained eight 4s and one six, and his dismissal left the home side 128/7 with 22 overs remaining.
Holt then holed out on the mid-wicket boundary, where Richard Williams took a simple catch to give Priestley his 5th wicket and leave Porthill staring down the barrel at 131/8. Mason mistimed a drive off Cooper and was well caught by Lewis running back at mid off as the 9th wicket went down. Priestley deservedly then took the final wicket when he bowled Barker to finish with figures of 6/19 from 11.5 overs as he secured a 146-run victory for his side.
Checkley had been excellent with bat and ball today. Their batsmen set the game up in difficult batting conditions early on, and they were back up well by their bowlers after tea. Porthill were deducted a point for slow over rate on a day they’d rather forget as their tough season continues.
Leave a Reply