Scorecard

Matching Green Cricket Club Matching Green 1st XI v Theydon Bois I on Sat 30 Apr 2005 at 1:30pm
Matching Green Cricket Club Lost

Match report Matching In Last Ball Thriller With Theydon Bois

Tied on exactly 200, Theydon 'win' on less wickets lost.

Controversy as visitors storm off after not accepting umpires decision

A most unsatisfying last over confrontation between the visiting team Theydon Bois with the home umpire Simon Hartnell ruined a tense, competitive Division One encounter on the Green on Saturday.

This first league match of the season was unbearably close for most of the afternoon with two well matched sides pitting their wits against each other, both teams looking for a player to pull a match winning performance out of the bag.

Under sunny cloudless skies, MGCC skipper Graeme Bowerman won the toss and elected to bowl - tossing the new ball over to Tom Hobbs and the ever improving Junior Bibby to open the home side's attack. Both youngsters bowled really well and restricted the visitors to singles and only the occasional boundary.

Matt Hartnell and Bryan Russell with 10 overs a-piece were as tight and economical as usual. Theydon laid into Hume for 2 overs for 16 runs and was replaced by Si Hartnell who shored it up with 3 over for 18 including a death rattle for the number 8.

At tea, the match was delicately poised at 200-8 from 45 overs.

In reply, Tom Figg (3) flattered to decieve and was soon back in the hutch. Byford (20), Bowerman (24) and Hartnell (21) soon joined him in the pavilion as Matching's runchase progressed slowly.

Hume (40) and Matt Hartnell (17) re-energised the run-scoring and at 165-7 the match then looked like it was heading for the wire. Junior Bibby (16) strode to the wicket with the home side's hopes pinned to his shoulders. He did not fail in his task as Junior belted a huge six to get the total agonisingly closer to the target of 201.

The pressure-cooker situation was too much to bear for partners Russell (6) and Figg Jnr (0) who sooned trudged back to the changing room as they fell galantly in the run-chase.

Junior was bravely joined by 12th man stand-in Simon Jeffery (5 n.o.) who normally enjoys a leisurely Sunday afternoon's social cricket. This was certainly not the case today, especially as the South African wicket keeper who had successfully wound-up pretty much the entire MGCC batting line-up, continued his torrent of abuse from behind the stumps.

At 200-9 with a single to win from the last ball of the match, the game decended into a farce -The kind of which has never been seen on Matching Green before.

On the final delivery, Theydon's bowler broke the stumps attempting to run-out the batsman at the non-strikers end.

No previous warning had been given and the umpire gave his decision as Not Out, citing ungentlemanly conduct and not playing within the spirits of the game. Instead of accepting this decision, the visitors swore and abused the umpire enough to cause a 10 minute delay in preceedings. They failed to accept the decision and some players left the field of play.

Finally, the Theydon Bois players re-joined the match and in the noisy, intimidating atmosphere of the last ball being finally delivered, Junior was run out, attempting a single to win the match.

The match was tied on 200, Theydon Bois 'winning' due to less wickets lost.

Matching Green Cricket Club feel that the actions of Theydon Bois CC broke every aspect of rule 19 of the Herts and Essex Rules and immediately wrote an official letter to the Disiplinary Official of the League.


Matching Green Cricket Club Matching Green 1st XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
200		        
Steve Byford Caught  20
Tom Figg Caught  3
Graeme Bowerman Bowled  24
Simon Hartnell Bowled  21
Steve Hume Caught  40
Thomas Hobbs Caught  19
Matthew Hartnell Bowled  17
Bryan Russell Run out  6
S F Caught  0
Junior Bibby Run out  16
Simon Jeffery Not Out  5

Theydon Bois I Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Theydon Bois I Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 8 wickets
0
200 (0.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Matching Green Cricket Club Matching Green 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Thomas Hobbs9.0151151.005.67
Junior Bibby10.0340313.334.00
Matthew Hartnell10.0237137.003.70
Steve Hume2.001600.008.00
Simon Hartnell4.0018118.004.50
Bryan Russell10.0234217.003.40