Empingham vs Houghton A sensational fielding display gave Empingham a much needed surprise home victory against top of the table Houghton on the Hill. Batting first, Baz Sharp returned to the side to open the innings alongside Mark Coburn. As expected they proved an exciting duo and got the Rutlanders off to decent start until Sharp was caught on 17. This brought the in form Tom Cooper to the crease, in the form of his life and fresh off the back of his swashbuckling century the week before. He carried on where he left off and he and Coburn began building an excellent partnership. Just as they seemed to be taking the game away from the visitors, Coburn perished for a well-made 48. This prompted a flurry of wickets, with the returning Olly Elson and Dillan Mistry both went cheaply. Cooper passed 50 as is becoming customary for the second top scorer in the league but when he was caught on the boundary for 58, Empingham looked in danger of collapsing. However cameos down the order from Matt Denny (15) and Rhys Talbot (10 not out) pushed Empingham to a respectable 186. A decent score but as last week had proved by no means a winning one. Congratulations should also go to Houghton’s Cameron Sharp who returned figures of 10-5-56. Empingham knew they would need to be at their best to secure their first home win of the season. They got off to the perfect start with Rhys Talbot picking up two wickets in his first over! Some well controlled lateral movement meant Talbot was able to rip through Houghton’s normally reliable top order. When he picked up his third scalp, Houghton were 21-3 and rocking. At the other end Dillan Mistry was bowling with really pace and causing the batsmen major problems without picking up a wicket. However Houghton’s middle order weathered the storm and gradually rebuilt on the Exton Road track that was still conducive to batting. Empingham were beginning to see another game slipping through their hands but things changed with a moment of pure genius. A well timed shot seemed to be heading for the gap but Captain Cooper dived at full stretch in superman fashion to clasp one of the finest catches Exton Road has ever seen. When Rick Cooper picked up the other set batsman with his accurate medium pacers Empingham were back in the driving seat. There was just time for Elson to show what Empingham have been missing for the last seven weeks. Last year’s leading wicket taker, back from his Asian adventures settled back into his rhythm to pick up three wickets and end with figures of 10-3-35 as Empingham continued to hold their catches. Rick ended with equally impressive figures of 9.2-4-35 as Houghton were bowled out for 131, some 55 runs short of their target. All in all, it was a cracking performance. Rooster and Tom laid the platform for all four bowlers to win Empingham the game. The 19 points lifts the Exton Road Army to seventh in the table and has given some breathing space away from relegation. Next up are bottom side Belton Park away, with Empingham hope for their first back to back wins of the season. Many thanks to everyone for coming to watch and Andy Dejardin for another superb album of action shots.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:16:15 +0000
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