Bradfield A v Diss A (Norfolk Cricket Alliance Division 6) DATE: SATURDAY 23RD AUGUST 2014 VENUE: BRADFIELD CRICKET CLUB 1ST INNS: DISS A 180-9 (46 OVERS) 2ND INNS: BRADFIELD A 111 (42.4 OVERS) DISS A WON BY 69 RUNS A superb all round team performance saw Diss A emerge victorious for the seventh time this season in a hard-fought contest at Bradfield on Saturday, eventually prevailing by 69 runs. An injury-ravaged squad forced skipper Jody Sparrow to bring Liam Fairweather, Lewis Brawn and Will Gunn back into the fold but all would go on to make valuable contributions towards the victory. A spate of local traffic meant that Doug Young assumed tossing responsibilities in Sparrow’s absence and Diss were asked to bat first after losing out. Young and Lewis Brawn were keen to get going early on and reached 30 from the first seven overs, including five glorious boundaries from Young, but were pegged back when he was triggered lbw for 23 having looked well-set. With K. Hemp bowling with tremendous rhythm from one end and the wily pace of S. Kingham from the other, Diss were forced to retreat slightly and re-build the innings. The introduction of Kingham momentarily swung the game firmly into Bradfield’s favour, as Andy Horobin (24), Lewis Brawn (16), Mark Brawn (1) and Fairweather (2) all became victims to his frustrating pace. At this point Diss could have crumbled to 120 or 130 all out but Campbell Young and Mahmood Riasat steadied the ship. Both batsmen were in no mood to slow up and Young in particular scurried well between the wickets and frequently found the gaps in the field, whereas Riasat played in a typically belligerent fashion, arrogantly dispatching home captain C. Wiseman back over his head for three fours and a huge six. Young was bowled for an invaluable contribution of 33, an exciting glimpse into the future, Matt Auckland departed shortly after and Riasat was cleaned up for 24 trying one shot too many but with Hemp and Kingham having bowled out their allotted 12 overs each, Diss were able to pile on the runs at the business end of the innings. Youngster Gunn oozed confidence from the outset and with the help of steady eddies Colin Atkinson and Sparrow at the other end, Diss were able to plunder 46 from the last nine overs, giving them a massive psychological advantage going into the second half of the match having not been bowled out. Gunn ended unbeaten on 29, an innings of real maturity and substance. Diss were fired up from ball one in the field and didn’t take long for Mark Brawn to strike, jagging one back a mile to remove S. Kimber for 0, with the batsman somewhat bemused having left it well alone. Intensity was reverberating around the away side and Bradfield were left stunned when the dangerous P. Abbs was run out in the next over courtesy of an impressive direct hit from Campbell Young in the covers. The visitors gained a further breakthrough when Brawn cleaned up Wiseman for 0 to make it 11-3 but S. Grimbo and L. Hemp showed stiff resistance to see off Brawn and Riasat’s opening spells and save the innings from total self-destruction. Left armers Sparrow and Auckland plugged away willingly and kept the runs to a minimum but Diss knew that more wickets were needed imminently to claim an outright victory. Auckland (1-26) had Hemp caught down the leg side by the sprightly Atkinson but Kingham and Grimbo both looked threatening and didn’t hold back from the big shots in pursuit of the big target. Sparrow (2-37) was carted round the park a few times but had the last laugh in the 26th over, nibbling the ball through Grimbo’s bat and pad to dismiss him for 20 and celebrating with a pirouette in mid-air, a sign of raw emotion from the man in charge. The partnership of Kingham and A. Robertson would prove to be hard to dislodge however, and for a brief period it looked as though it would not be Diss’ day. But some clever bowling in the end from Sparrow (2-37) accounted for the aggressive Kingham, who was pinned lbw in front of all three for 29, an innings which could have got the hosts a lot closer to the finishing post if allowed to continue. Once again it looked as though ten wickets would be beyond Diss as the new batsman K. Register looked solid enough to keep the bowlers at bay and Robertson was calm and composed at the other end. Two catches went down in the field and heads started to drop but inspired bowling changes proved to be the recipe for success. Sparrow introduced Campbell Young’s enigmatic leg spin to good effect but it would be Will Gunn to provide the spark, causing confusion out in the middle which led to the run out of Robertson for a very handy 16 by Riasat with a piercing throw that shattered the stumps from mid-off. Finally, it was left to openers Brawn (3-15) and Riasat (2-19), who both bowled superbly as usual, to return to the attack and claim a wicket apiece and consign Bradfield to defeat in the 43rd over. All in all a well-deserved success carried out with fantastic character and spirit, epitomising the giant strides in the right direction that the team have made over the course of the season. Diss will look to end the season on a high when they entertain Thetford A at Rectory Meadow this Saturday.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 17:17:09 +0000
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