Meakins vs Porthill.
Porthill won by 89 runs.
Matchday 12 takes me back to Ivy House Road for Meakins’ home fixture against Porthill. The home side come into this game on the back of a crushing victory against Newcastle & Hartshill last week that moved them up to second in the table. They trail leaders Checkley by 17 points as they moved up the table steadily in recent weeks after an inconsistent start. They’re on a run of three victories in their last five outings and come into this match as heavy favourites due to their recent fine form. They also beat by Porthill by 3 wickets when the teams met on the opening day of the season at the Old County ground.
Porthill’s struggles continued last week as they were routed for just 60 on the road at Leek. They sit in 10th position in the league, 37 points above Whitmore, who occupy the first of the relegation places. They defeated Whitmore two weeks ago to give themselves some breathing room. It has been their only victory in their last five outings and only their second since they beat Newcastle & Hartshill on May 30th.
Porthill won the toss and elected to bat in boiling conditions at Ivy House Road. John Hancock cut Amaan Tariq to the point boundary to open his account in the 2nd over. Tom Steele was involved in a mix-up with Hancock in the next over when he pushed to square leg and set off for a single. Hancock was slow to react, and a better throw from Simon Mugava would have run him out by yards. He pulled Tariq over square leg for his second boundary in the 4th over. Steele was then caught behind by Jack Hammond off Karl High when he drove loosely in the 5th over to leave the visitors 12/1.
Hancock was caught at square leg by Oliver Tucker when he miscued a pull shot in the 8th over. He was early on the shot and couldn’t keep the ball down. It was a simple catch for Tucker, and it left Porthill in further trouble at 16/2. Tom Longworth clipped High neatly through mid-wicket for his first boundary in the next over. Jeet Raval drove High sweetly through the covers in the 11th over. He’d survived a big shout for LBW earlier in the over. The Meakins fielders behind the bat were convinced they’d got their man, but umpire Ian Stewart turned down the appeal. Raval then picked up back-to-back boundaries in the next over when he drove Tariq powerfully down the ground to move the score to 36/2 after 12 overs. A fourth boundary followed in the next over with a finely timed shot behind square. High rounded out the over by trapping Longworth LBW with a ball that swung back into the right-hander. It seemed to me that Longworth got an inside edge, but nevertheless, he had to go, leaving Porthill 42/3.
Matt Coxon got off the mark when he clipped Ash Shaw behind square for a boundary in the 14th over. High claimed his 3rd wicket when he trapped Raval LBW for 20 in the 15th over. Again, there was a hint of an edge, but the appeal was upheld by umpire Stewart. Raval’s wicket left Porthill in further trouble at 50/4. High was bowling a fantastic spell from the factory end. He was finding inswing to the right-handers and was bowling a very tight line, and had thoroughly deserved his 3 wickets so far.
Coxon drove Shaw down the ground before Louis Allison clipped High handsomely through mid wicket as Porthill scored two boundaries in two overs to move the score to 60/4. Allison repeated the shot in the next over, bowled by Shaw. He lifted the next ball over mid-on for another boundary as he looked in fine touch. Porthill had made their way to 70/4 at the first drinks break. The Meakins bowlers had toiled excellently in the sweltering temperatures and had put their team in a good position after the first 18 overs of the match.
Coxon smashed Mugava over long-on for the first maximum of the afternoon in the 22nd over. He followed it up with a punch off the back foot through the leg-side later in the over as he moved to 23*. A further boundary off Jalat Khan in the next over moved the score to 89/4 as the 5th wicket partnership began to grow. Mugava and Khan then really put the brakes on the visitors’ scoring as only 7 singles came from the next 5 overs, as they settled into a good rhythm. The ball was beginning to turn off the surface, and as the ball was getting softer, they were coming into the game more and more.
Allison brought up the 100 for Porthill in the 30th over with a single down the ground as they continued to accumulate steadily. Allison struck Khan for a one-bounce four over mid-off before sweeping him behind square for successive boundaries. Khan got his man later in the over when Allison chipped tamely to cover for 28. Tucker took another simple catch as the visitors were reduced to 108/5. Coxon found the boundary twice in the 35th over. He clipped a full toss off Khan neatly through the leg-side before driving handsomely through the covers as the score moved to 121/5. Oliver Shirley drove the returning Shaw down the ground for a boundary in the 37th over before clipping him behind square for back-to-back boundaries as the visitors reached 134/5 at the second drinks break. Coxon was unbeaten on 46 and was holding the innings together well. He’d been very patient against the spinners, and he was going to be key if Porthill were to get to a competitive total.
Coxon’s long vigil was ended when he was caught at slip by Pate Wilshaw off Khan for 48. Khan found turn and bounce, it clipped the outside edge of Coxon’s bat, and Wilshaw took a good low catch. Craig Barker was then trapped LBW three balls later by the left-arm spinner as Porthill lost two wickets in the over. Ben Holt then smashed Tucker for a maximum over cow-corner to begin the 40th over as the score moved to 146/8. Holt smashed a Tucker long hop straight to Pete Wilshaw on the leg side boundary as Porthill lost their 8th wicket with 146 on the board in the 42nd over.
Will Kilgariff brought up the 150 for the visitors when he swept Khan for a boundary behind square. He followed it up with another in the next over when he drove powerfully down the ground off Tucker. He struck two further boundaries off Tucker in the 46th over. The first beat the leg-side sweepers when it was powerfully struck, and the second came via a misfield from High as the ball bounced awkwardly in front of him on the long-on fence. Kilgariff ended the 49th over with a huge six off Shaw to move the score to 184/8. The 8th wicket stand was now worth 38 and was starting to put the visitors in a good position going into the closing overs.
Shirley square drove Tariq over point for a boundary in the 50th over as Porthill continued to move towards 200. Shirley guided Tariq to the third man fence to end the 52nd over. Kilgariff brought up the 200 from the first ball of the next over when he drove Shaw for a boundary through the covers. Shirley was bowled by Shaw for 28 as the 9th wicket partnership was finally ended. It had been worth 57 valuable runs for the visitors. Shirley had played a very patient and mature innings as he guided his side away from danger after the dismissal of Holt.
Kilgariff smashed Tariq down the ground for his 6th boundary in the 54th over. He cleared Wilshaw at extra cover for another boundary from the first ball of the final over. He drove a full toss from Shaw for a straight six two balls later to reach an excellent 50 from 45 balls. He’d struck seven 4s and two 6s in his fine knock. Two to long-off followed before he ramped the penultimate delivery over short fine leg for another boundary. He scrambled two from the final ball to finish unbeaten on 61 as Porthill closed on 228/9 from their 55 overs. It had been a good recovery from 146/8, and they’ve got a good score on the board now. High bowled impressively to finish with figures of 3/26 from his 13 overs. He bowled a very tight line and gave very little away. His 10-over opening spell was very impressive and could have yielded more than 3 wickets. He had good support from Khan, who bagged 3/32 with his wily left-arm spin.
Shaw pulled Coxon over square leg for a mighty six in the opening over before cutting him behind point as 10 runs came from the over. Another boundary came in the next over when he pulled Holt powerfully behind square. Shaw survived a massive shout for LBW in the 3rd over as all of the Porthill players were convinced they’d got their man. A guide over point and a punch through straight mid-on in the next over brought him consecutive boundaries as his blistering start continued. He’d raced to 22* from just 19 balls with four fours and a six.
Shaw’s fifth boundary came in the 7th over when he cut Coxon through the covers. Sam Moores followed that up with his first boundary in the next over when he cut Holt behind point as the home side made their way to 34/0. Apart from the LBW shout against Shaw, there had been very little alarm for the opening batters. Coxon beat Mooores twice in the 9th over, but he couldn’t find the breakthrough that Porthill desperately needed.
Ben Green did get the breakthrough in the following over when Moores was well caught by Allison at short extra cover to leave Meakins 36/1. Moores struck it firmly, but it was well held by Allison, who was quick to react. The luckless Coxon then beat Shaw’s outside edge three times on the trot in the next over. Green trapped Tucker LBW when he tried to work the ball into the legside at the beginning of the 12th over as Meakins lost their second wicket with 38 on the board. It had been a good period for the visitors; they’d cut out the four balls and began to build some pressure on the batters.
Pete Wilshaw cut Green to the point fence for his first boundary as the score moved to 49/2 in the 16th over. Coxon finally got his reward when he had Shaw caught at point by Shirley in the next over. Porthill had bowled very straight to Shaw in the overs leading up to the wicket, and he just tried to work one into the leg side, but got a leading edge as Coxon finally got his man. Green then trapped Pete Wilshaw LBW in the following over as he claimed his third wicket of a highly impressive spell to leave the home side 52/4 at the first drinks break. It had been an excellent fight back from the visitors after Shaw’s fast start.
Khan survived a massive shout for LBW in the over straight after the drinks break. Porthill were again convinced they’d got their man, but umpire Stewart remained unmoved. Callum Wilshaw clipped the final ball of the 21st over to the mid-wicket fence before Khan notched back-to-back boundaries off Green in the next over as the score moved to 70/4. The first boundary came when he played a lovely cut shot behind point. The second came via a misfield on the third man boundary by Barker. Callum Wilshaw nicked Holt to the third man fence in the 24th over as the 5th wicket partnership slowly continued to grow.
Khan chopped Holt to point where Shirley took a simple catch as Meakins fell to 85/5 in the 26th over. It broke a promising 5th wicket partnership of 34 that was just starting to look dangerous. Porthill now had 29 overs to push for an important victory that could take them further away from the relegation places. Mugava drove Barker through the covers in the next over for his first boundary. A flick over mid-wicket went all the way for 6 off Holt in the 28th over as he looked to be positive. Wilshaw pulled a short ball from Holt to the mid-wicket fence for his third boundary before Holt got one through his defences with the very next ball to leave the home side 104/6 in the 30th over.
Hammond drove Barker sweetly through the covers as he got off the mark with a boundary in the 31st over. He then skied Barker to Coxon at mid-on, who took an easy catch running back as Meakins lost their 7th wicket with 111 on the board. Hammond had been trying to work a straight ball through the legside, and the bat appeared to turn in his hands. Porthill now had 22 overs to take the final 3 wickets. High cut the returning Green powerfully to the point fence for his first boundary in the next over.
Meakins reached the second drinks break on 125/7. Porthill required 3 wickets for victory, but the home side still had an outside chance of victory as they required 104 more runs for victory at just a touch over 5 an over. The partnership between Mugava and High was going to have a very big impact on this game. Mugava smashed the first ball from Barker high over square leg and away for six as he moved to 21*. Barker then found some extra bounce and Kilgariff took a fine catch standing up to the stumps as Meakins lost their 8th wicket.
Jon Clowes drove Green past mid-off as he got off the mark with a boundary in the 38th over. Barker took a fine return catch to dismiss High when he again found extra bounce in the next over as Meakins fell to 138/9. Green took the final wicket when he had Tariq caught behind by Kilgariff to give Porthill victory by 89 runs. Green had been superb with the ball and finished with figures of 4/36. The veteran Craig Barker once again played his part as he was accurate as ever. He finished with 3/29 as Porthill picked up 23 valuable points in their quest to avoid relegation.
Kilgariff’s terrific unbeaten 61 at number 10 swung the game in the visitors’ favour after they had struggled early on. It allowed them to post 228/9 on a wicket that got slower and lower as the game progressed. After Shaw’s fast start, the Porthill bowlers bowled straighter and offered very little width, and run scoring became harder and harder as the ball got older. Porthill really upset the odds today as they bounced back fantastically from their thumping at Leek last week. They did win a critical toss, but they still had to put the runs on the board in the first innings and bowl the home side all out to secure the points.
A final word must again be saved for the standard of the umpiring in this match. I thought Malcolm Edge had an excellent game. Ian Stewart had a poor game, not for the first time this season. He gave 2 LBW’s in the first innings when the batters appeared to hit the ball, and another later in the innings that was questionable at best. If these decisions continue to be given out, then our great game is going to suffer because teams will appeal for anything that strikes the pad, and decisions become a lottery as the match progresses. We have to remember that everybody makes mistakes, but we are playing Premier League cricket, and all of the umpires should be up to that level too.
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