CRICKHOWELL’S game away against Builth on Saturday turned out to be an exiting and dramatic affair.
Builth won the toss and invited Crickhowell to bat first on a wicket that was still damp from the overnight rain. Batting proved to be difficult early on and Tew soon departed without scoring. Paul Cornock then strode to the wicket and, ably supported by John Parker [25], proceeded to make a mockery of the conditions and smashed 57 in just 35 balls.
It was bowlers De Greve and Cooke that were receiving the punishment, but De Greve had the last laugh getting Cornock caught behind by Laurie, going for another extravagant shot.
In cricket, one wicket can often bring more, and this was the case as Crickhowell, on 88 for 2 in the 16th over, fell away to 104 for 6 in the 21st – quite a dramatic collapse.
Nick Francis [31] and Ryland Wallace [16] rebuilt nicely before Cooke, who finished the match with wickets, struck again, in quick succession.
Before Crickhowell knew it, they were staring down the barrel at 150 for 9 with still a full eleven overs unused. As Crickhowell’s number 11, Phill Bowker, joined Tim Price at the crease the plan would have been to eek out as many runs as possible and hopefully struggle up to 175 for another batting point.
Tim Price however, had been taking lessons from Paul Cornock and decided that attack was his best policy. The pair put on 75 for the last wicket and saw Crickhowell through to maximum batting points with a score of 225.
Price was the last man out with 55 to his name in just 27 balls, and indeed these were priceless runs in the context of the game as batting now seemed much easier on a much drier pitch.
With the Bowker brothers opening the bowling for Crickhowell, it was a case of the ‘blues’ for Builth as Ben Bowker [4 for 22] took advantage of some early swing. Brother Joseph was having less luck with two catches being put down, but finished with two important wickets.
Builth’s dangerous top order batsmen were being picked off one by one but Williams was showing some stubborn resistance and it took a fine stumping down the leg side by veteran Wallace off Ben Bowker to see the back of him.
Nick Francis then came on and for once didn’t find conditions to his liking. With Cooke [47] and Fuller [57] taking Builth from 81 for 6 to 165, a dramatic win for Builth now seemed more than plausible with plenty of overs still available and a healthy run rate established.
Tim Price came on to get the vital breakthrough in his first over, trapping Fuller LBW. It was unlikely now that young Tattersall and veteran Wall could replicate Crickhowell’s last man stand, but they valiantly saw Builth up to a final score of 183 to gain 3 batting points and 8 for the game, with Crickhowell taking maximum points of 25.