JS Sports Vince Lindo T/20 cup quarter final 3rd July.
Norton-In-Hales vs Meakins.
Meakins won by 33 runs.
A place at finals day is at stake in this mouth-watering quarter-final clash tonight.
Norton-In-Hales are 4th in Premier B and have made their way to this stage with narrow victories over Wood Lane and Alsager. They’ve also won the last two league fixtures and come into this game in red-hot form. Salman Khan has racked up 506 runs so far this summer, with the impressive Jack Furnival not far behind him with 466 as they look to upset high-flying Meakins tonight.
The Visitors come into tonight’s fixture having comfortably defeated Stone in the last round, but they were dismissed for only 71 by Audley in last weekend’s league fixture. They remain 4th in Prem A and will be looking to avoid an upset as they look to make finals day once again. Jalat Khan will be a key man for them tonight. He’s in a rich vein of form with 439 runs and 20 wickets so far this season.
Meakins won the toss and elected to bat in bright but breezy conditions. Callum Wilshaw struck the first boundary of the evening when he pulled a short ball from Chris Dyer through mid-wicket. A second followed in the next over when he hit George Walker over mid-wicket. Sam Moores lifted Dyer over extra cover for his first boundary in the 3rd over before Wilshaw struck two further boundaries in the 5th over. He drove Eddie Warrington through the covers before hitting him for an enormous six over the clubhouse when he strayed onto his pads, as 13 runs came from the over, and Meakins made their way to 42/0. Wilshaw began the final over of the powerplay with a straight six that hit the top of the side screen before Moores smashed a short ball through point for another boundary as they made their way to 57/0 after 6 overs.
Moores’ 3rd boundary came in the next over when he ramped Jack Furnival over the keeper’s head as the opening stand continued to grow. Wilshaw smashed his 3rd six, the biggest of the lot, when he hit Salman Khan into the car park, moving to 40*. He got a life in the next over when he skied Furnival into the leg side, but no fielder could complete the catch, and the chance went begging. Moores then drove the final ball of the over exquisitely through extra cover as the score moved to 85/0 after 9 overs. Wilshaw brought up his 50 with two boundaries in the next over. He struck powerfully through mid-wicket before a misfield on the long off boundary took him there in just 33 balls with six 4s and three 6s. It had been a fine display of hitting from the youngster, and he never missed a chance to score throughout.
Furnival finally made the breakthrough when he had Wilshaw caught at point for 54 with the score on 96. Pete Wilshaw was then trapped LBW by Khan in the next over as the visitors fell to 99/2. Moores rounded out the over with a straight six as he moved to 33*. Khan and Furnival had done a good job of pulling things back for the home side after Meakins’ rapid start. A second wicket for Furnival followed when he bowled Jalat Khan with a ball that nipped away from the left-hander. Moores struck another boundary when Khan dropped short in the next over as he kept the scoreboard ticking over. Simon Mugava was then bowled by an absolute beauty from Sajith Lama Hewage as Meakins slipped to 119/4. Walker then returned to trap Moores LBW for 42, as the Meakins collapse continued; they’d now lost 5/24 as the home side charged back into the game.
Jon Clowes struck a mighty blow over mid-on that went all the way for six in the 17th over as they made their way to 133/5. Another six for Clowes followed in the next over before he edged past third man as he moved to 22* from just 10 balls. He was dropped in the covers from the final ball of the over as Meakins began to wrestle back the momentum. Jack Hammond cut Hewage through point to start the 19th over before he flicked him through square leg, as 13 runs came from the over as they were finishing strongly. Hammond smashed Dyer over mid-wicket for a big six in the final over before he sliced a full toss through point, four more followed when he drove through extra cover as the wheels were starting to come off for the home side. Hammond was run out off the final ball for 33, which he made from just 16 balls. He added 61 with Clowes (26*) in just 27 balls as they closed on 182/6 from their 20 overs.
Furnival was the pick of the bowlers; he finished with 2/24. He was supported by Khan, who claimed 2/34, but the rest of the bowlers struggled to keep a lid on things. Norton’s fielding had been scratchy throughout, and they had gifted Meakins 20 runs, which could be crucial in the outcome of this game.
Furnival lifted Karl High over mid on in the 2nd over for a maximum before he drove him through extra cover for another boundary as he was quickly into his stride. A reverse sweep over square leg off Mugava followed in the next over as he moved to 18* from 11 balls. Amaan Tariq was pulled through mid-wicket before he heaved another boundary through the leg side as they ended the 4th over on 29/0.
Isaac Foster was dropped on the mid-wicket boundary in the next over before he was caught in the covers two balls later as Mugava made the breakthrough. Khan then smashed his first ball for 6 over square leg when Mugava dropped short. Furnival continued to attack; he struck Tariq over mid-on for his second maximum to begin the final over of the powerplay. He smashed the next ball past mid off before he was caught at point off a leading edge two balls later for 36 off just 19 balls as Norton fell to 47/2. Five penalty runs came from the final when the ball hit the helmet behind Hammond.
Khan belted Mugava for another huge six over mid-wicket to begin the 7th over. Hewage swept a loose delivery from Jalat Khan behind square for his first boundary as they moved to 72/2 in the 9th over. High returned to remove Hewage when he nicked behind to Hammond attempting a cut. Khan drove the final ball of the over handsomely through the covers as Norton made their way to 80/3 at the halfway point of their innings. They required 103 from the final 60 balls to secure their place at finals day.
Khan survived a big LBW at the end of the 11th over as he attempted a sweep. Moores put a difficult chance down at mid-wicket when Khan miscued another sweep in the next over. The ball hung high in the air, but he couldn’t complete the catch. Khan then cut behind point before smashing a short ball for an enormous six over mid-wicket as 17 runs came from Oliver Tucker’s first over. Warrington then smashed Pete Wilshaw through mid-wicket for another boundary as runs began to flow. Tucker made the crucial breakthrough when he bowled Warrington in the 14th over before Mugava took a fine catch on the mid-wicket boundary to remove Khan for 35 as the game swung back towards Meakins as the home side fell to 115/5.
Dyer pulled a Wilshaw long hop through mid-wicket as Norton needed 61 from the final 30 balls. Tucker was struck over for another maximum over mid-wicket by Dyer before he holed out to Pete Wilshaw off Jalat Khan. Henry Hine was bowled two balls later as the left-arm spinner claimed his 2nd wicket and effectively put the game to bed. Ronan Farnell drove High through the covers in the 18th over before High took a fine catch off his own bowling to dismiss Matt Waller. Hammond stumped Harvey Sidwell off Khan before Farnell drove Tariq down the ground for four as Norton closed on 149/9 to give Meakins victory by 33 runs. Khan finished with 3/15, and he was superb once again. He was well supported by High (2/24) and Tucker (2/25) as they just had too much for the home side in the end, as they secured their place at finals day alongside Moddershall, Checkley and Hem Heath.
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