Moddershall vs Stone.
Moddershall won by 7 wickets.
The final round of red-ball fixtures takes me back to Barnfields.
Moddershall returned to the top of the table last weekend following their victory over Longton. A run of 4 victories in their last 6 games has given them a slim 6-point lead over Checkley. Danushka Sandaruwan is in sparkling form with the ball in hand. He’s taken 46 wickets at an average of just 8.61 to help them climb back to the summit. Muaaz Ahmed has offered good support with the bat, scoring 454 runs at 30.27. They will also be buoyed by the return of Jake Garlick following his spell with Warwickshire.
Stone sit in 8th position in the table following some very patchy form this season. An impressive win over former leaders Checkley last week was only their 2nd in their last 6 outings as they’ve made a disappointing defence of their title. The impressive Warrick Fynn’s fine season continues; he’s amassed 601 runs at a healthy average of 69.24 to go with his 29 wickets at 18.1 with his probing left-arm spin.
Stone won the toss and elected to bat under grey skies with a stiff breeze blowing across the ground.
Moddershall made the perfect start when Sam Atkinson made an early breakthrough with the second ball of the innings when Leyton Bailey feathered a regulation catch through to keeper Callum Hawkins. Jack Harvey top-edged an attempted pull of Jake Garlick in the next over, and the ball landed between three fielders. George Hawbrook drove through mid-on for the first boundary of the match before lifting the next ball from Garlick over wide mid-on for back-to-back boundaries.
Atkinson bowled Hawbrook in emphatic fashion in the 3rd over, knocking his leg stump out of the ground to leave Stone in early trouble at 14/2. Warrick Fynn drove handsomely through the covers to round out the over. Fynn nicked through the vacant third slip area in the next over when he looked to force Garlick through the covers off the back foot. Harvey was again lucky when he attempted another pull in the 6th over. The ball hit high on the bat and landed just in front of Callum Hawkins.
Fynn clipped the final ball of the 8th over neatly to the fine-leg boundary, moving the score to 29/2. Garlick beat Fynn’s outside edge on three successive occasions in the 10th over as Moddershall’s good start continued. Atkinson bowled Fynn with an absolute beauty in the 13th over, leaving Stone 34/3. He angled it into the left-hander from around the wicket; it nipped away and knocked Fynn’s off stump out of the ground, giving Atkinson his 3rd wicket of an impressive opening spell.
Sam Graham drove Garlick to the cover boundary in the next over when he overpitched. He was fortunate to survive when he pulled the following ball just wide of the fielder at square leg. Graham cut Joe Walley’s first ball powerfully through the covers to begin the 17th over with his second boundary, moving the score to 46/3. Harvey struck Danushka Sandaruwan high over the legside for his first boundary in the next over. The boundary brought up the 50 for the visitors; it had been tough going for them against a very disciplined Moddershall bowling attack.
Harvey lifted Sandaruwan over mid-on for his second boundary to round out the 20th over. Graham drove Walley stylishly down the ground for another boundary to begin the next over. Harvey drove handsomely through the covers for his 3rd boundary in the 22nd over, moving the score to 72/3. A finely timed clip behind square brought him another boundary in the next over when Walley strayed onto his pads. Drinks came early in the 24th over when the ball was changed after a consultation between the umpires. Stone had reached 79/3 with Harvey unbeaten on 26 and Graham on 25. They had added 45 for the 3rd wicket and were rebuilding well after their poor start.
Harvey cut a loosener from Sam Kelsall to the point boundary in the 25th over. It brought up the 50 partnership for the 4th wicket in fine style. Sandaruwan broke the partnership in the next over, bowling Harvey for 32 with a good ball, leaving Stone 88/4. Harry Cheadle was caught by Atkinson, who ran around from slip off the bowling of Sandaruwan in the 30th over as Stone fell to 92/5. The pressure had been building on Cheadle, and he tried to manufacture a shot to a ball that wasn’t really there.
Garlick returned to pick up the wicket of Joey Sharp in the 36th over. Sharp pushed at a ball outside off stump, and Muaaz Ahmed took a good catch at backward point. Dan Lunn was then excellently caught by a diving Kelsall on the third-man boundary when he tried to uppercut a short ball from Garlick two balls later, leaving Stone in real trouble at 104/7. Ed Batchelor drove the final delivery through the covers to round out the over with a boundary.
Batchelor was caught at cover by Garlick off Joe Hawkins in the next over as Stone lost their 3rd wicket in the space of 8 deliveries to leave them reeling on 109/8. Graham cut a wide delivery from Garlick to the point boundary in the 38th over, moving his score to 37*. James Green drove crisply through extra cover for a boundary when Hawkins overpitched before he was bowled through the gate from the final delivery of the 43rd over, leaving Stone 123/9. Sandaruwan finished the Stone innings off for 123 in the next over, trapping Graham LBW for 42.
It had been a fine effort from the home side’s bowling attack led by Atkinson, who finished with 3/13 and was excellent with the new ball. Sandaruwan claimed 3/23 with his probing left-arm spin. He found turn and bounce from the surface, and he always looked dangerous with the ball in hand. Garlick bowled some very quick balls and went past the outside edge on multiple occasions, finishing with 2/38. Hawkins’ off-spin was accurate, and he gave very little away, finishing with 2/14. Apart from the 4th wicket partnership of 54 between Harvey and Graham, Stone never recovered from their poor start and were left with a below-par score to defend after the tea break.
Callum Hawkins cut the first ball of the chase to the point boundary when Green dropped short. A fierce pull through mid-wicket followed as Moddershall made the perfect start. Muaaz Ahmed drove Batchelor crisply through extra cover to get off the mark in fine style from the first ball of the next over. A well-timed flick through mid-wicket brought him another boundary later in the over as the home side’s good start continued. A rasping drive through the covers brought Hawkins his 3rd boundary in the 4th over, as Batchelor over-pitched. Ahmed crashed the final delivery of the over through extra cover for his 3rd boundary as the home side raced to 30/0.
Hawkins picked up a full delivery from Harvey and smashed it over mid-wicket for a big six in the 6th over as he looked in good touch. Another full delivery from Harvey was smashed over mid-wicket for a one-bounce four this time by Hawkins in the 8th over, moving him to 29*. Fynn made the breakthrough for Stone in the 9th over, having Ahmed stumped by Lunn to leave Moddershall 52/1. Ahmed was looking for a big shot over mid-on, but the ball turned and beat his outside edge. He overbalanced, dragged his foot out of his ground, and Lunn did the rest behind the stumps.
A short ball from Fynn was pulled powerfully to the mid-wicket boundary by Hawkins in the 11th over. A sublime cover drive raced to the boundary to round out the over with the score on 65/1. Hawkins survived a big shout for LBW in the 15th over attempting to sweep a full ball from Fynn. Hawkins survived another big shout for LBW in the next over as Stone continued to search for wickets. He reached his half-century in the next over with a single into the offside. It had taken him 62 balls to get there and contained six fours and a six. Aizaz Ahmed smashed a full delivery from Fynn back over his head for his first boundary later on in the over.
Reid Taylor trapped him LBW in the 18th over without addition to his score as Moddershall were reduced to 82/2. It had been a fine innings from the captain and he’d taken his side to within 42 runs of victory with plenty of overs in the bank. Fynn then got one to turn and bounce, and it flicked Ahmed’s glove on the way through to keeper Lunn as Moddershall lost their 3rd wicket without addition to their score.
Arjun Annamalai drove Taylor powerfully down the ground for a boundary in the next over, taking the score to 90/3. A fine lofted extra cover drive from Annamalai brought him another boundary in the 21st over, moving the home side closer to victory. A slog-sweep through mid-wicket brought Kelsall his first boundary in the next over, taking the home side to within 22 runs of victory. Annamalai smashed Fynn back over his head to round out the 23rd over with a boundary that was very pleasing to the eye. He repeated the shot in the 25th over, taking the home side to within 10 runs of victory.
Kelsall drove handsomely through extra cover for his second boundary in the next over. Moddershall inched towards their target before Annamalai struck the winning boundary through extra cover off Taylor in the 28th over. He finished unbeaten on 28. Kelsall made 16 as the pair shared 45, taking the home side to a comfortable victory just after 5 pm.
It had been a fine all-round performance by Moddershall; they’d bowled superbly in the first innings, bowling Stone out for a well-below-par score on a very good pitch. Their batsmen showed positivity after the tea break, and they raced to their small target to keep their lead at the top of the standings. Atkinson was particularly impressive with the new ball. He found movement off the surface and troubled all of the Stone top-order batters with his accuracy. Hawkins was impressive after tea with the bat and his superb knock put his team firmly in the driving seat before the 4th-wicket pair saw them home.
Moddershall travel to Audley next week as the pink ball returns and they vie to keep their lead at the top of the standings whilst Stone host Whitmore.
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