There was a real cliff hanger of a finish to the Cup game between Messingham and Luddington that just edged in favour of a young Messingham side thanks to Elliott Markham who showed maturity beyond his years to guide them home when they appeared to be on the brink of defeat.
Luddington skipper Gareth Parkin chose to bat first but soon saw his side slip to 36 for 3 as Joe Woolhouse was caught by wicket keeper Steve Cox off Issac Hammond for two , followed by Graham Clark who was bowled by Chris Dawson who then repeated the feat to send debutant Ben Wicks back to the pavilion. Darren Clark and Andy Lawson took the score to 51 before Clark became Dawson's third victim , trapped LBW for 32 and when Lawson was caught in the deep by Elliott Markham off Danny Rands for 16 it was looking grim for the Isle side at 67 for 5. Mick Wills and Gareth Parkin then fought back with a well constructed partnership of 35 , bringing their team back into contention , then Wills was bowled by Kevin Linklater for 19 and Steve Proctor quickly followed by the exact same mode of dismissal. Jamie Arrowsmith then joined his captain and once again the innings was rebuilt. Both batsmen played very resposibly , taking the total to 149 before Arrowsmith was caught by Hammond off Neil Birkitt for 17 and the innings then faded to 154 all out as Parkin eventually seccumbed when bowled by Issac Hammond for a valuable 36 then Danny Taylor was run out after a yes no interlude with Rick Green. Messingham stuck to their guns in the bowling department with Chris Dawson picking up 3 for 24 along with Issac Hammond ( 2 for 20 ) and Kevin Linklater ( 2 for 15 ) although all the bowlers contributed.
Messingham set off like a train when replying to the Luddington total with Richard Dannatt in particular showing his class with six fours and a six as he raced to 30 from a total of 41 but he then drilled a catch straight to Joe Woolhouse off Graham Clark , then Mark Greenwood skied a second catch to Woolhouse , this time off Danny Taylor making it 44 for 2. Neil Birkitt made a brisk seven runs in at number four but he then perished when offering a simple catch to Darren Clark off Taylor and at 54 for 3 Messingham were in need of a some consolidation. Danny Rands and opener Steve Cox gave them just that , taking the score past three figures but just when it seemed that they were going to see their team home there was a drinks break to interupt the flow and Cox was run out when attempting a second run , seeing him run out for a well constructed 28. Darren Clark had been introduced and he quickly made an impact when he bowled Rands for 29 with the total on 113 which meant that Messingham were in need of their young guns to step up to the plate if they were to make the Semi Finals. By now Ludd were operating with spin at either end and both Clark and Rick Green were posing questions of Elliott Markham and Sam Yates. The latter was caught by Graham Clark off Green as the score reached 116 for 6 but there was a steely determination in the eyes of Markham and number eight Callum Sanderson as they steadily nudged and nurdled their way closer to Ludd's total. Inevitably there was the odd loose delivery and Markham in particular took full advantage as the runs required ticked away. Danny Taylor was brought back to see if he could break what was becoming a harmful partnership to Ludd and that was just what he did , bowling Sanderson for nine with Messingham still needing thirteen to win and suddenly the number of overs remaining was becoming an issue with Ludd bowling and fielding tightly. Markham was standing strong and along with Issac Hammond they inched their way to within three runs of victory but the drama was'nt over as the latter was run out in an attempt take them level so it was left to unsung hero Elliott Markham and number ten Linklater to see them home with just an over to go , Markham deservedly taking the plaudits with his unbeaten 21 not out. As with Messingham all the Luddington bowlers played their part with Rick Green and Darren Clark keeping things tight but it was Danny Taylor who was the pick as he picked up 3 for 26 from his ten overs.
So it was Messingham who won through to a Semi Final tie at Hirst Priory against Outcasts on July 28th but they were made to fight all the way in what was a tremendous game that was well umpired by Steve Dixon and Nigel Fisher but it was young master Markham who will remember this game as he stood up to be counted in the Messingham cause.
No comments:
Post a Comment