Hem Heath vs Meakins.
Hem Heath won by 3 wickets.
It’s quarter-final action in the Talbot Cup today as two high-flyers in Premier A go head-to-head for a place in the semi-finals.
Hem Heath crushed Bagnall Norton in the first round by 6 wickets before thrashing Longton by 109 runs to book their place in the quarter-final. Meakins secured a narrow 22-run victory on the road at Knypersley in the first round before a comfortable 70-run victory at Whitmore secured their passage to this point. Both teams secured big wins in the league yesterday, so today should be a fascinating contest.
Meakins won the toss and elected to bat on a bright sunny afternoon, which should be conducive to run-scoring.
Ash Shaw pulled the first ball of the match from Liam Banks behind square for a boundary. Bilawal Bhatti bowled Shaw with the first ball of the 2nd over when he went for an ugly mow across the line, leaving the visitors 5/1. Oliver Tucker cut powerfully through the covers two balls later for his first boundary. Sam Moores chipped tamely to mid-wicket off Banks to leave the visitors 12/2 in the 3rd over. An inside edge from Jalat Khan flew to the fine leg fence in the next over for a very streaky boundary, moving the score to 19/2.
Tucker pulled a short ball from Banks past mid-on for his second boundary in the next over. Khan picked up four overthrows in the 6th over when Callum Leese’s throw missed the stumps at the striker’s end and ran away to the boundary as he tried to run out Khan. A fine extra cover drive followed from Khan as Meakins moved to 31/2. Bhatti then bowled him with a beauty from round the wicket that angled in and nipped away from him, before clipping the top of off stump. The visitors fell into further danger when Tucker nicked Bhatti through to Matt Hodson, leaving them at 33/4.
Amaan Tariq drove Bhatti through the covers for his first boundary in the 10th over when he over-pitched. Banks strayed down the leg side in the 13th over, resulting in 5 wides. Jack Hammond was dropped at 1st slip later in the over when he offered a sharp chance to Tom Hodson at 1st slip when he played a loose shot outside off stump. Hammond cut banks past point for a boundary in the 15th over as the visitors went past 50. A sweetly timed extra cover drive from Tariq raced away for his second boundary in the next over. An under-edge beat keeper Matt Hodson two balls later and ran away for a streaky boundary as 9 runs came from the over.
Hammond picked up 5 when he pushed into the offside and set off for a single. Leese picked up the ball and threw it to the bowler’s end, but nobody was backing up, and the ball ran away to the boundary. Meakins reached 81/4 after 20 overs when drinks came on to the field. The 5th wicket partnership between Tariq and Hammond was worth 48 as they looked to recover from their poor start. Leese trapped Tariq LBW with the first ball after drinks to break the partnership.
Hammond guided Leese smartly to the third-man boundary when he opened the face two balls later before two twos into the legside rounded out the eventful over, moving Hammond to 30*. Karl High drove Dan Richardson through extra cover for his first boundary in the 24th over, moving the score to 96/5. Nazakat Ali removed High in the next over when he was caught at backward point by Richardson as the visitors lost their 6th wicket with 97 on the board.
Hammond pulled a short ball powerfully behind square for his 4th boundary in the 26th over. Jon Clowes struck Leese for six over cow corner before pulling a short ball around the corner to the square-leg boundary, as 12 runs came from the next over. Clowes flicked Ali over short fine leg for a boundary in the 30th over to move the score to 138/6. He slapped Ali through the covers for his 3rd boundary when he dropped short in the 34th over, moving to 34*. Hammond was dropped on the mid-wicket boundary in the next over before Clowes lifted the ball over short fine leg for his 4th boundary. Hammond brought up his 50 later on in the over with his 5th boundary. It had taken him 70 balls, and he’d dug his side out of the early hole they found themselves in.
Another powerful cut brought Clowes another boundary in the next over, moving the score to 167/6. A leading edge from Hammond flew over backward point and raced away to the boundary in the 37th over. An excellent back cut from Hammond dissected short third man and backwards point as he picked up another boundary in the 38th over. Clowes was then caught by Richardson off Ali for 46 when he got a top edge attempting a big shot into the legside. A flick off his pads brought Hammond another boundary in the 39th over before he pulled a Bhatti slower ball behind square for a second boundary in the over.
His fine innings of 74 was ended in the final over when Zephryn Hunte caught him on the leg-side boundary off the bowling of Ali. Robbie Holmes struck a mighty six onto the carpark as Meakins closed on 203/9 from their 40 overs. Hammond’s knock had got them into a good position at the tea break. He added 86 with Clowes for the 7th wicket as they rebuilt well from the poor start. Clowes played a good hand with 46, and Meakins now had a competitive score on the board. Bhatti returned figures of 3/47 from 7 overs after his early burst with the new ball put the visitors in trouble. Ali’s slow left-arm picked up 3/36 as he found assistance from the wicket. Hem Heath will have to bat well if they’re going to chase these runs down in the second innings.
Matt Hodson lifted a delivery from High over square leg for the opening boundary in the 1st over of the reply. He flashed at a wide ball from Tariq in the next over, and the ball flew through the vacant second slip and away for a streaky boundary down to third man. A fine pull shot over the leg-side brought Hodson his 3rd boundary in the 3rd over as he started positively. A sweetly timed straight drive from Banks brought him an effortless boundary in the next over. An inside edge flew past short fine leg for the second boundary of the over, moving the score to 25/0.
A crisp drive through extra cover brought Banks his third boundary in the 6th over before a powerful drive flew back past Tariq for another boundary off the next ball as Hem Heath’s good start continued. A square drive from Banks beat point for his 5th boundary in just the 7th over as he quickly moved to 22. Zain Ul Abidin made the breakthrough for Meakins in the 8th over, trapping Hodson LBW for 15 to leave the home side 43/1.
Banks smashed an overpitched delivery from High to the extra cover boundary in the 9th over. Richardson survived a big appeal for LBW in the next over when Abidin trapped him on the crease. Abidin got his man, though, two balls later when another appeal was upheld by umpire Morley, leaving Hem Heath 51/2. Callum Leese was run out in the next over when he was involved in a mix-up with Banks. Banks played the ball into the offside and set off for a quick single; Leese hesitated and gave up the ghost halfway down the wicket as he was out by yards.
A flick from Banks through mid-wicket brought him another boundary in the 12th over. Bhatti clipped to fine leg boundary in the 14th over, moving the score to 70/3. After some steady accumulation, Bhatti slapped Abidin over the leg-side for the first boundary in 6 overs as the home side reached drinks at 92/3 with Banks on 36 and Bhatti on 26. The 4th wicket stand was worth 40, and Hem Heath had begun to rebuild well after they lost three quick wickets. The DLS score was reading 92 on the scoreboard, so it was anybody’s game at this point.
Khan put down a tough chance on the long-off boundary in the 23rd over. Bhatti smashed a flat catch at him, and he dived forwards, got his under the ball, but it popped out when his elbows hit the ground. Banks ran the final ball of the over past short third man for a boundary, bringing up the 100 for the home side. Bhatti slog swept Tucker for an enormous six over deep square leg to begin the 25th over. Controversy then followed when Clowes took a catch on the boundary edge. The player was certain he’d not stepped on the rope, but the Hem Heath players close to him thought he had. After a lengthy consultation between the umpires, Bhatti was given out for 36, leaving the score 110/4. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife as the tension between the teams began to build following the decision.
Hunte drove Clowes down the ground for a boundary to round out the 25th over. Hem Heath now needed 84 from the final 15 overs. Hunte ramped Clowes for an extraordinary six over fine leg in the next over when he strayed down the legside. Banks reached his 50 with a drive over mid-off later in the over, which raced to the boundary. It had taken him 78 balls and contained nine fours. Hunte picked a boundary up in the next over, striking powerfully through mid-wicket to move the score to 138/4. Tariq bowled Hunte when he looked to work the ball through the legside in the 30th over, leaving the score 143/5.
Banks slow-swept Tucker for a big six into the nets in the next over as he moved to 62. An excellent back cut then dissected short third man and point to run away for his 10th boundary. Tariq dismissed Banks for 69 when he smacked a short ball to Moores, who took a good catch at mid-wicket as Hem Heath fell to 163/6 in the 32nd over. Tariq claimed his 2nd wicket when he bowled Tom Hodson in the 34th over to leave the home side 169/7.
Ali smashed an extra cover drive to the boundary before pulling a short ball from Tariq, rounding out the over with back-to-back boundaries. Hem Heath now needed 26 runs from the final 6 overs. Khan bowled a tight 35th over, leaving the home side needing 24 from 30 balls. A delivery from High bounced in front of Hammond and ran away for 4 byes in the 36th over before George Leese whipped High through mid-wicket and away to the boundary before cutting powerfully behind point for back-to-back boundaries to take the score to 195/7 at the end of the over.
Four byes began the next over when Khan got one to spin sharply and beat batsmen Ali and keeper Hammond. Three singles followed to move the score to 202/7 at the end of the 37th over. Ali sealed a 3-wicket victory from the first ball of the next over, pulling High through mid-wicket for the winning boundary. He finished unbeaten on 24 from just 18 balls, playing a gem of an innings to get his side over the line. Leese finished unbeaten on 12 as he shared an unbroken stand of 37 with Ali to seal Hem Heath’s place in the semi-final. Banks played a fine hand with his classy 69 that was full of eye-catching strokes. He really is a joy to watch when he’s in full flow. Abidin finished with figures of 2/32 from 8 overs and Tariq 2/41 from 5 overs, but it wasn’t enough for the visitors.
It was a fantastic game of cricket that provided great entertainment all afternoon. It was a shame there had to be a loser, but this game was worthy of a semi-final played in front of a healthy crowd. The match was played on a wicket that offered assistance to the bowlers throughout and provided good competition between bat and ball throughout the day.
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