Hampshire v Channel Islands
( a day to remember)
The intrepid Hampshire Seniors rose before dawn to undertake an arduous trip, braving storm tossed seas to face the Channel Island Seniors in their rearranged Group fixture at Grainville, Jersey.On arrival, they found the ground had been lashed by early morning rain - the square sodden and water had leaked under the covers. In normal circumstances the game would have been postponed but the Jersey groundsman performed minor miracles to allow play to go ahead at 2pm on a reduced over basis.
Hampshire won the toss, elected to field and Goodman quickly snared opener Masterton (4). Nevertheless the Islanders raced to 46-1 off the first 6 overs. However, the introduction of slow left armer Jim Smallbone put the brakes on matters. Bowling immaculate line and length he returned figures of 7-2-7-2 taking the key wickets of skipper Robson (17) & Gibbs (22). A revival in the last 8 overs saw Birkett (62*) & Taylor (32*) take the score to a challenging 172-4.
With the weather showing signs of deterioration, it was important that the Seniors kept ahead of the rate. Openers Ian Britton (40) & Barry Goodman (46) put on 72 for the first wicket before Britton was caught in the deep in the 14th over. Mike Swain soon followed. The Islanders took the pace off the ball & Hampshire gradually slipped behind the rate. Goodman departed trying to up the tempo & nerves became frayed when skipper Wright (41) fell to wiles of old adversary Dennis. This left 24 required from the last 17 balls with potential big hitters Martin Hall & Mark Tiplady at the wicket. Needless to say it went to the wire – 6 runs were required off the last ball to secure an outright win with Tiplady facing. “Cometh the hour, cometh the man” – he launched the ball high into orbit towards the long on boundary – surely a 6 – but the ball drops just inside the boundary to tie the scores on 172-4.
Fortunately rule book gurus Wharton & Batchelor had done their homework, quickly dispelling any potential controversy and the Seniors had another vital win under their belts in their bid for Group qualification.
A delayed return ferry crossing meant a 3am docking in Weymouth & the dawn was rising as the Seniors eventually sought the sanctuary of their beds – a veritable marathon but “a day to remember”.
The Seniors next play Somerset at North Perrott on Sunday 8 July.
