Bishop Thornton Away

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A quick stop at Ripley for ice cream then onto Bishop Thornton was Stonewalls trip this week in the quest for the Division two title, a victory today would see Blubbs move to second in the table and the pressure was on.Winning the toss Stonewall decided to bat first and as the dynamic duo walked out to commence the innings the ground fell silent apart from a distant echo of "Duelling Banjos" from the hillside.

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Disaster struck third ball when Angry padded up to a delivery which Hawkeye said would have knocked middle stump over and it was none for one.It was Cookie who joined Stonewall as today's number three with Potter dropping down the order to four. Runs were few and far between and Thornton piled on the pressure, a few hoiks from Cookie saw the score reach thirty seven before he mis-hit a pie skyward and Blubbs lost wicket number two.Potter joined the captain knowing he had a big innings to play and two hundred was a minimum target for the day. Stonewall struggled along with Potter as the runs trickled in slower than the showers in the changing room.Celebrations of the fifty partnership soon disappeared when Potter decided to do the rumba down the track, completely missing the ball and bowled for twenty five, eighty seven for three and Stonewalls grip on the game was quickly vanishing.Wilkie was next in and next out, a brash swing of the willow another catch going up and a place on the duck list was his all in the space of one run, Stonewall was close to tears.
Tichie batting six offered little in the way of resistance becoming wicket number five and the Blubberhouses "house of cards" middle order was tumbling.

Sherman was next to fall, after seeing off the spin an under hit drive fell well short of the boundary, one hundred and three for six and Stonewalls target of two hundred made "Mission Impossible" look like a stroll in the park.

One hundred and seventeen on the board and Captain c..............ourageous finally fell foul to another leg before for sixty three and one fifty looks doubtful.

Next to go was Thack, calling for a mysterious single which not even Ben Johnson would have made with a rocket up his jacksy, one twenty four for eight.

Swing became the third leg before decision of the day and Blubbs were nine down with four over's to bat out for the point, it was all down to Hebb and Splinter, the point almost went Blubbs' way, almost that is until Splinter tried to turn one round the corner and a leading edge saw the point go to Thornton.

After a respectable tea Stonewall knew it was an uphill struggle to claim anything from the game and good tight fielding would be key to the second half, it lasted four deliveries into Shermans first over when Wilkie stood 'treelike' as the ball rolled through his legs and Thornton's run chase was underway.

Potter opened from the other end but disaster struck in his third over, charging in having just been clattered for four the ball before there was a puff of dust and an abracadabra and Potter was left writhing on the floor like he'd been sniped by Burt Reynolds with his bow.

Stonewall replaced poorly Potter but again fearing for his average turned to Swing after only three over's with Thornton racing towards their target still with all ten wickets intact.

Sherman finally got the breakthrough with the score on forty one when the injured Potter clung onto a top edge from Sowray.

Swing followed up seven runs later when Cookie held onto a spooned up catch to mid-wicket and both openers were back in the hut.

Splinter was brought into the attack after twenty over's replacing Sherman who was now out of fuel, a stand of fifty two was finally broken when Splinter slayed his first overseas of the season and it was one hundred and two for three.

Swing picked up number two when he clattered over Wrays stumps and Thornton looked rocky still on one hundred and two and now four down.

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle, a late cut down to third man saw Angry chasing after the ball to stop the boundary, hot on his heels was none other than the injured but seemingly now healed Potter. Potter overtook Angry and threw the ball back into Hebb like a bullet from a gun, leaving Stonewall wondering if Hermione had cast a magic repair spell on Potter or had Oscar Goldman secretly smuggled him off for an expensive operation?

The score moved on to one hundred and twelve and it was all but over for Blubbs, Splinter picked up a consolation wicket when Sherman's "cat like" reactions snapped up a catch at point but it was too little too late, some big hits from the Thornton number six and seven secured them top spot in the table with all six points from the match. Rainton next week and in the words of D:ream "Things can only get better".

Points Awarded Bishop Thornton:6 Blubberhouses:0

Fielding Points: Cookie, Sherman

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