Martley travelled to a busy Stourport for an almost must-win match. So busy in fact that the skipper & his pal Karl Baker were stuck in traffic with 5 minutes till the match, leaving the vice-captain to do the toss.
With the plan to bat first, Martley lost the toss but were put in anyway & made a steady start with Christian Mulvihill (14) & Owen Birchley (19) taking the shine off the new ball. That was till the former nicked behind & the latter was served a rank high full toss which he was only able to spoon in the air back to leg-spinner Matthew Delo.
Tom Vale (6) joined James Ganderton & dispatched another Delo full toss to the big boundary second ball, unfortunately a silly shot trying to take on the infield cost him just 3 balls later. Gand (14) hit a couple of fours but then ill-judged Nikhil Jose, leaving the spinner & being bowled. Karl Baker (3) then mistimed down the ground & at 83-5, it wasn’t looking too rosy.
But as so often this season, cometh the hour, cometh the man, Alex Basford delivered a mature knock, patiently dispatching the rubbish & keeping the scoreboard ticking, ably supported by veteran Richard Birchley. Birchley had a Baker-Vale moment but survived after mid-on put him down, & his 15 off 50 balls was crucial in helping AB rebuild. AB was also put down with half-chances blasted at men behind square leg, & spooned one back over the bowler who couldn’t make a simple grab, but he preyed on the frustrations of the hosts, who were letting standards drop in the field & loudly showing their frustrations.
Despite being 142-6, momentum had firmly shifted, with Martley feeling 180 would compete & 200 would likely win it – Stour claiming we needed 220. Good of them to let the lads know as Jamie Howes was sent in ahead of Ollie Dunks, striking 3 fours & more than capably helping AB up the ante, even if we did need to keep the defibrillator handy with all the ones & twos, & Jamie’s son Harry recognising he needed regular drinks breaks!
A big six from AB & finally a reverse sweep that went to the boundary, they were part of 11 fours & 1 six before a reverse ‘slap’ saw him glove behind & gone for 83. But Dunksy at 9 did what he’s done so well in the past couple of years, coming in late & showing his unorthodox but ever-effective power-batting, 17 not out of 11 balls, punching Martley up to a very competitive 221-7, Jamie with 25no from 26.
The bowling needed a good start unlike the week before & Pete Gardner delivered just that. One gloved to Birch behind, then a regulation nick to AB at first slip, then a rather unfortunate bowled after the batsman tried to pull, mistiming & then trying to knock away from his stumps – sadly for him he failed to get another touch & the ball rolled to the ash to tickle off a bail.
Dunksy (0-17 in 6) didn’t get any reward & neither did Gand despite a miserly 0-24 off 10, & cramp for the number 5 bat put more pressure on the hosts as he was helped by Martley players off the field. OJ, enjoying a fine year of cricket, delivered again with the ball, as dad Richard produced a very sharp stumping off the floor, but when cramp had subsided, Sebin Jose returned to ride his luck, & along with Stephen Yarsley, the pair decided to swing away.
Martley should’ve killed the game off with sitters missed by Dunksy & Alex Stratford after high ones landing not far from the strip! Those drops haunted Martley somewhat as the duo whacked away to swing the pendulum back towards the home team.
With AB & Valer in particular covering some serious yards to turn 4s into 1s or 2s, Martley were doing all they could to wrestle back the momentum, knowing a wicket would likely open the gates, & it was Christian who clung on to an all-important catch in the deep off OJ (2-28 in 10) as Jose went for a fortuitous 44.
Gardner then struck as Yarsley gloved in the air for Birchley senior, who galloped to top speed (4mph), diving across the wicket for a crucial catch. Christian was at it again in the deep off Howes (2-32 in 6) & Bakes took one at cover off Jammer as Martley looked set for a comfy win.
But Stour skipper Gav Bryan had nothing to lose, swinging from the hips to cause more headaches for Martley. There was another crucial moment when Gand decided to throw part-timer Vale on to try & steal a wicket, it wasn’t a good over but should have yielded a run out off the last ball as a brilliant flat throw from AB to stop the 2 was rocketing for the stumps, only for Vale to think he could help it on its way. However in eagerness he dropped the ball, clattered the stumps & subsequently somehow broke a finger on each hand to end his season. A costly error but thankfully soon after, Bryan mistimed Pete skyward & Gandy produced a safe pair of hands.
Pete then sealed the deal by bowling the no.10 to finish with tremendous figures of 6-39 in 9.4 as Martley won by 35 runs.
A few elements of batting, bowling & fielding lacking at times, but nonetheless, another rewarding result for the 1s for their perseverance & determination. It was back to the club for a few to enjoy the win – table-toppers Netherton away this Saturday.
