Exhall knock leaders off perch with victory (From Evesham Journal)

Exhall knock leaders off perch with victory

4:40pm Wednesday 1st July 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

Exhall & Wixford 199-6, Stratford Bards 192-6 EXHALL & Wixford deposed Cotswold Hills Premier League leaders Stratford Bards with an enthralling seven-run victory.

The hosts lost the toss and Bards asked them to bat on a green top affected by the previous day’s rain.

Exhall made their usual tentative start and after 23 overs had only managed to score 42 for the loss of Sam Smith to Ian Lythall for five and Matt Gwynn to Jake Day for 16.

This put pressure on the middle order and Charlie Mulraine and Steve Kerby proceeded cautiously.

Once the pair had become established they flourished and, for the second successive week, Mulraine displayed his full attacking intent in a superb innings of 89, including three sixes. Shots were played all round the wicket in a cultured and ferocious knock that was ended when he struck Sandy Masemgemi to Ed Dixon at mid-wicket.

Kerby showed equal attacking purpose and hit two sixes in his knock of 46 which ended when he was caught on the boundary by Dixon off Dave Curall. The partnership had been worth 98 runs.

Skipper Simon Hollands scored a rapid 25 before being dismissed by Masemgemi and Exhall’s innings closed on 199-6.

The most successful bowler for the Bards was Masemgemi (2-64), while Lythall, Curall and Day each finished with one wicket apiece.

Bards knew they had an excellent chance of victory chasing a below par score and Peter Dawson and Masemgemi started briskly before the latter was run out for 11.

Exhall’s fielding errors were again to the fore and Dawson was dropped on 15 before Dixon fell to Kerby for one and Sykes to Tom Burgess for nought.

Dawson continued to prosper before Hollands bowled him for 34 to cap a display of 1-25 from his 10 overs.

Bards skipper Richard Pozzi, put down on 43 and 65, joined Curall in a partnership of 75 that tilted the game in favour of the visitors.

The skipper also took a nasty blow in the mouth from a short delivery from Kerby that left him with two chipped teeth and a split lip. However, he shrugged the injury off to continue.

With only three overs remaining, Pozzi launched into Kerby once too often and his opposite number Hollands, on the boundary ropes, held onto a fine catch to dismiss him for an excellent 74 that had taken his side to the brink of victory.

Fourteen runs were needed from the last two overs but Kerby’s final over only yielded four runs, leaving 10 to be gleaned from the last.

Jon Simpson proceeded to bowl a superb over and only conceded two runs and the Bards’ innings closed on 192-6 with Curall undefeated on 37.

Burgess (2-43) and Kerby (2-48) both bowled well at important times as Exhall had held their nerve, if not their catches.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)