Meakins vs Eccleshall.
Red ball cricket returns this week as both sides look to recover from heavy defeats. Eccleshall had won three in a row and were the surprise leaders before they were well beaten at home by Leek. Meakins had won two in a row before suffering a heavy defeat at home against Hem Heath, leaving both sides needing to bounce back if the weather permits.
Meakins won the toss and elected to bat in cool, damp and windy conditions. The wicket was green in colour and offered good bounce and carry in the opening overs. Conditions were not ideal for batting, so the batters will have to work hard for their runs.
Sam Moores played two good shots early on as the Eccleshall bowlers were too short in the opening overs. A further two boundaries sweetly struck through the covers by Moores took the score to 23/0 after 5 overs as he looked in fine touch. Ash Shaw took two boundaries from the 8th over when he first clipped well off his pads through the leg-side and then drove magnificently through extra cover to finish the over.
Moores was then lucky in the following over when he mistimed a drive, and the ball sped through the vacant mid-wicket area and away to the boundary before he edged to third man for a second boundary in the over to take the score to 40/0. He then played a glorious lofted on-drive to finish the over as Meakins continued their good start in the bowler-friendly conditions. The Meakins 50 came up when Moores lofted a delivery over extra cover and into the boundary fencing for a maximum. The shot was timed superbly and was played with great balance as he continued to show his class.
Matt Wright finally made the breakthrough for Eccleshall when he got a ball to nip back and trap Moores LBW for a well-made 37, leaving Meakins 54/1 after 11 overs. Moores was just beginning to get on top of the bowling, so it was a crucial wicket for Eccleshall. Wright then claimed his second wicket when Shaw was adjudged LBW two overs later. Shaw was well forward, and the ball struck him above the knee roll. From my position, it appeared to be going over the top of the stumps, but he was given out, and Eccleshall had taken two quick wickets to stifle Meakins momentum.
Callum Wilshaw was then caught in the covers as he tried to force a drive off the impressive Wright as Meakins slumped to 61/3. They had now lost 3 wickets for 7 runs in 5 overs as they were in danger of wasting their good start. Pete Wilshaw then struck two good boundaries in the following overs when he first clipped Oliver Palmer through mid-wicket before punishing a rare short ball from Wright when he pulled him powerfully over square leg. Wilshaw then had a touch of luck when he edged one through the vacant second slip when he attempted a big drive later in the over.
Jalat Khan then smashed Palmer over cover in the next over as the score moved to 91/3 in the 22nd over. Wilshaw and Khan had battled well after the Meakins wobble. They’d shown good patience as they began to rebuild. Wright’s impressive 11-over spell from the factory end yielded figures of 3/35 as he bowled well with the new ball once again. Wilshaw then drove powerfully through mid-off as 6 runs came from off-spinner Murvin Abinash’s first over. Khan then pulled a Palmer delivery away to the mid-wicket fence as the 100 came up in the 24th over.
Wilshaw was dropped on the mid-wicket boundary in the 27th over when he skied an attempted slow-sweep off the bowling of Abinash. The ball went high in the air, and the fielder was unable to hang on. To make matters worse, Wilshaw then struck a boundary two balls later when he played an excellent straight drive to round out the over.
Eranga Dissanagge broke the partnership shortly after the drinks break when Wilshaw was brilliantly caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Rhys Owens. Wilshaw had struck the ball powerfully and flat, but Owens did well to make ground to his left-hand side and take the catch while still on the move. Simon Mugava was then bowled by Abinash in the next over as Eccleshall once again took two quick wickets to get themselves back into the game. Jack Hammond then chipped tamely to mid-wicket to give Dissanagge his second wicket in as many overs as Meakins slumped to 130/6. The spinners were bowling excellently and causing the batters problems. Abinash consistently beat the outside edge of Khan’s bat during this period.
Khan broke the shackles when he swept for a boundary in the 37th over as he continued to accumulate steadily. A pull through mid-wicket in the following over took him to 43* as he began to share a useful partnership with Karl High. Khan brought up his 50 when he pulled Wright to the mid-wicket fence for his 6th boundary. It had taken him 95 balls in testing conditions as he held the Meakins innings together. He played an excellent straight drive down the ground, which went all the way to round out the over before rain stopped play after the 44th over had been bowled. An early tea was taken when it was decided that the rain was set in.
Khan sliced Wright behind point for another boundary when play resumed after the tea interval. This boundary brought up the 50 partnership for the 7th wicket as Meakins continued to build towards a good score. A mighty blow from Khan followed in the next over when he advanced down the track to Dissanagge’s delivery and smashed it onto the pavilion roof as he moved to 71*. High then ran Muhammad Khan to the third man fence before Khan struck another two boundaries as he began to put his foot down.
Dissanagge broke the partnership when High was given out LBW when he was attempting a sweep in the 48th over to leave Meakins 204/7. The pair had added 74 very useful runs. Khan smashed Abinash through mid-wicket to move his score to 85. He then cut a short wide delivery through point and followed it with a deft sweep to move to an excellent century from 127 balls. His innings contained twelve 4s and two mighty 6s and was the backbone of the innings for his side. Another boundary from a misfield followed as he moved to 104 at the end of the 52nd over. Oliver Tucker then played a wonderful reverse sweep from the first ball of the 53rd over before Khan was finally run out by Chris Plant when he attempted a quick single from the next ball. Tucker continued to attack as he struck 3 more boundaries in the next five balls before Jon Clowes skied to mid off and time was called on the innings.
Tucker made a valuable 22* from only 17 balls as Meakins closed on 257/9 from 54 overs. The innings was held together by Khan’s fantastic 104 as he showed great patience against the spinners when the ball was turning sharply. He was quick to punish anything loose, though, and accelerated well once he passed 50. The impressive Wright finished with 3/51, and he was well supported by Dissanagge, who finished with 3/57.
Ben Rogerson started positively when he pulled the second ball of the chase over mid-wicket for a boundary. He tried to repeat this shot off the final ball, but he could only miscue to Moores at mid-on, who took a simple catch to give Amaan Tariq the first wicket of the innings. Plant then nicked a Tariq delivery through to keeper Hammond in the 5th over to leave Eccleshall 9/2 and in early trouble. When Mugava then trapped Tom Hibbert LBW just before the rain came, Eccleshall were well and truly on the ropes.
After a 30-minute delay, play resumed in bright sunshine. Six overs were lost to rain during this period. Dissanagge then went on the attack; he flicked a Tariq delivery away to the fine-leg boundary before he belted the next ball to the cover fence. A leg-stump half volley was then dispatched over square leg as the pressure began to mount on Tariq. A mistimed drive nearly carried to Clowes on the third man boundary before Zak Mosam was bowled neck and crop with a ball that nipped back and bowled him through the gate to leave Eccleshall 30/4 after a very eventful 9th over.
Abinash drove handsomely through extra cover in the 11th over before he hit Mugava over long-on for a maximum in the next over as he too went on the counterattack. Dissanagge then played an unbelievable shot in the 13th over when he lifted a full wide ball from Tariq over extra cover for a huge six as the Eccleshall 50 came up. Tariq finished with figures of 3/39 from an impressive seven-over burst from the pavilion end.
Runs continued to flow when Abinash slogged Mugava to the leg side boundary before he finished the over with a delicate flick past fine leg to move the score to 63/4 after 14 overs. Khan was greeted into the attack by a lap-sweep from Dissanagge that made its way to the boundary before the left-arm spinner got one to turn sharply and catch his outside edge, only to see the ball fly through the vacant 2nd slip as Dissanagge was lucky to survive. Abinash then slog-swept Khan over mid-wicket and onto Ivy House Road to bring up the 50 partnership for the 5th wicket as he moved to 33*.
Shaw then took an excellent caught and bowled to remove the dangerous Abinash when he mistimed a drive, and Shaw dived forward in his follow-through to take the return catch, leaving Eccleshall 85/5 in the 21st over. Khan then had Dan Byatt caught at second slip when he got one to spin sharply off the pitch. A huge appeal followed from the next ball when left-hander Owens offered no shot, but the appeal was turned down by umpire Bogie. Owens perished in the following over when he drove loosely at Shaw, and Pete Wilshaw took a simple catch at second slip. Wright then majestically flicked Shaw’s first ball to the mid-wicket fence as he began confidently. Khan trapped Wright LBW in the next over when he offered no shot to his arm ball. It was a great piece of bowling from the spinner who’d set Wright up perfectly with two sharp spinning deliveries in the over, then fired in the arm ball when Wright thought it was safe to leave it, having seen the previous delivery’s spin pass his outside edge. Muhammad Khan was stumped by Hammond next ball when he advanced down the pitch and had a wild hack at his first ball. Last man Palmer survived the hat-trick ball but only after a huge appeal for LBW was turned down by umpire Bogie once again. High dismissed Dissanagge for 35 when Khan took a smart catch at first slip to end the Eccleshall innings as they were bowled out for 96.
Meakins won the game by 161 runs and had been better than Eccleshall in every department throughout the day. The game belonged to Khan, who added 3/17 to his impressive 104 in the first innings as he was the main difference between the sides. Tariq finished with 3/39 from his early burst as he helped to blow the top order away. It’s back to the drawing board for Eccleshall, as they need to rebuild quickly after two heavy defeats. Meakins will now look forward to what they need to do to close the gap to the leaders.
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