Minor Counties Championship 2008

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Cheshire at Nantwich 17-19 August

Team News/Preview

Cornwall’s cricketers head up the motorways to the north-west holding the key to the 2008 Minor Counties Western Division title race. Defeat against reigning champions Cheshire at Nantwich over the next three days will hand the title to the home team. If Cornwall can achieve a draw however it would leave the door open for either Berkshire or Dorset to clinch the title, providing they can win their final games. Cornwall’s efforts at Whitehouse Lane will therefore be closely monitored both at Newbury, where Berkshire host Wiltshire, and at Bournemouth where Dorset entertain Oxfordshire. There is a further ‘if’ which would see Cornwall dramatically heralded as champions for the first time ever come Tuesday evening. A Cornish win, coupled with Berkshire and Dorset both dropping enough points, would see the Duchy celebrating big time! With four teams in with a chance of claiming the title, and the current unsettled weather possibly having an influence, the next three days should provide a fascinating climax to the season. Going into the last round of games Cheshire lead the table with 77pts, Berkshire have 70pts, Dorset 68pts and Cornwall are fourth with 66 pts. With the maximums for a win 24pts, a draw 12 points and defeat 8 points anything is possible. As Cornwall bid for glory the one sobering thought is that they have never beaten Cheshire in twenty-one championship attempts. Eleven have been lost and ten drawn over the years since the sides starting playing in 1983. Thankfully the present squad don’t have memories of the one previous visit to Nantwich in 1985, in fact four of the squad - Messrs Robins, Rowe, Angove and Alex Smeeth weren’t even born. Cornwall were bowled out for 61 and went on to lose by an innings and three runs. Recently though there has been some encouragement in that the last five encounters have all been drawn and Cornwall were seemingly ‘robbed’ by the weather in 2003. The third day at St Austell was washed out by thunderstorms with Cornwall on the verge of an innings victory on the second evening. The sides didn’t play last year in the three year rotation of games. The previous season at Truro the loss of the second day due to rain effectively rule out a positive result after the visitors had made 374 in their first innings. Cheshire’s batting has been their strong point this year. Remarkably they have taken maximum batting bonus points in all five games, passing the threshold of 325 on each occasion. Cornwall will select from a squad of 12 players. Gavin Edwards returns as wicket keeper, having missed the game against Dorset with a hand injury. Antony Angove also returns with Joe Crane, who came in as a late replacement for the Falmouth all-rounder at Bournemouth, making way.

Day 1

Cornwall : T G. Sharp (Capt), K A Parsons, G M Thomas, M L Robins, C A Hunkin, A G Smeeth, M Rowe, A D Angove, G D Edwards (wk) R J Harrison, N Ivamy. 12th Man B A Smeeth

Cornwall won the toss and invited Cheshire to bat in dry conditions - hint of blue sky. Play started on time at 11am.

11 40am Cheshire 28-2 both Rob Harrison

Lunch Cheshire 130-3 off 37 overs (Hall 46no, dropped on 0 & 19)

2 25pm Cheshire 165-4

4 20 Tea Cheshire 293-6 (Dumelow 79no)

5 20 Cheshire 365-8 (90 overs) (Dumelow 107, Hall 66. Spendlove 52; Sharp 3-70, Harrison 18-4-74-2, Smeeth 15-5-40-1, Angove 5-0-19-0, Parsons 8-2-18-0, Hunkin 13-3-60-1, Sharp 19-4-68-3, Ivamy 12-0-57-1. )

6 20 Cornwall 34-2 RSP

7pm Close Cornwall 84-2 off 23 overs (Parsons 34no, Rowe 33no, Thomas 0 & Angove 15 out)

Day 2 Lunch Cornwall 207-5 off 59 overs (Sharp 66no, Hunkin 21no, Parsons, Rowe & Robins out)

4pm Cornwall 261 all out in 76 overs

restart delayed due to rain

5.40 Cheshire 36-5 after being 0-2, 5-3 and 28-4

8pm Close Cheshire 183-7 after being 129-7 at one stage

Day 3 Start delayed to 11.45am Cheshire 229 all out setting a target of 334 in a min of 72 overs

2 10pm Cornwall 38-3

3 30pm Cornwall 99-3 (Parsons & Sharp not out)

4 20 Tea Cornwall 138-4 (Parsons 63no, Robins 10no) A further 196 required off a minimum of 28 overs

6 10pm Cornwall 233-8 (6 overs to play in gloomy light - Alex Smeeth & Gavin Edwards not out)

6 35pmClose Cornwall 261-8 (Parsons 64, Robins 52, Hunkin 29, Sharp 28, Smeeth 26no, Edwards 18no, Thomas 18; Finegan 5-83)

Cornwall were involved in a most dramatic finish to this year's Minor Counties Championship, at Nantwich on Tuesday evening. The Western Division title race went down to the final ball of the season as Cornwall's ninth wicket pair of Alex Smeeth and Gavin Edwards survived the last eleven overs for a draw against Cheshire. The result sparked off celebrations 150 miles away at Newbury where Berkshire's players, officials and supporters had spent two nail-biting hours awaiting news from the north-west. Cheshire's failure to win, coupled with Berkshire's dramatic four run success over Wiltshire, meant Berkshire took the title by a point. They last won the championship in 1953. Meanwhile Dorset would have been level on 90 points at the top had they beaten Oxfordshire. They narrowly lost however by 15 runs in a dramatic run chase at Bournemouth. For Cornwall it was nearly but not quite in their bid for a first ever championship in 105 years of trying. Needing a win, plus Berkshire and Dorset to drop points, the Duchy spent much of the final afternoon chasing down a target of 334 in a minimum of 72 overs. Cheshire went into the final day leading by 287 runs with three second innings wickets standing. After a 45 minute delayed start Cheshire had added a further 46 runs in 14 overs for the loss of three wickets. Former Derbyshire all rounder Nathan Dumelow failed to repeat his first innings century as Rob Harrison dismissed him for 81. Tailender Daniel Berry took his total to a most valuable 49 before becoming Harrison's fourth victim of the innings. Cornwall set off at pace and lost Gary Thomas, Matt Rowe and Antony Angove to attacking shots with only 30 on the board before lunch. Keith Parsons and Tom Sharp consolidated the innings adding 72 before Sharp was lbw to Chris Finegan for 28. Parsons followed, bowled by Dumelow for 64. Cornwall were not done with however as Matt Robins (52) and Chris Hunkin (29) added 63 for the sixth wicket. When Robins, Harrison and Hunkin departed quickly any outside hopes of a successful Cornish run chase ended. With eight wickets down, and the light fading, Cheshire's spinners Dumelow and Berry tried to bowl their side to the title. However with fielders surrounding the bat Smeeth and Edwards were equal to the cause in a tense finale to the dismay of the home contingent. Back on Sunday morning Sharp had won the toss and under overcast skies Harrison struck immediately to have Daniel Leech lbw before getting rid of Warren Goodwin with only 28 on the board. Andrew Hall (66) and Ben Spendlove (52) aided a recovery. As the sun came out Cheshire prospered with James Duffy making 50 and Dumelow hitting 107. The innings closed on 365 for 8 after 90 overs with Cornwall left to rue dropped catches. Sharp took three for 68. Cornwall lost Thomas caught behind for 0 and Angove for 15 to close the day on 84 for 2. The second morning saw a couple of early setbacks with Parsons only adding two runs to be dismissed for 36 and Rowe went for 42. Robins made 20 but at 157 for 5 it had been Cheshire's morning. Skipper Sharp had other ideas and went on to make 75. Hunkin hit 22, adding 60 for the sixth wicket before three wickets fell for 8 runs after lunch. Smeeth (15) and Harrison (24) got the total to 261 all out with 14 overs unused. Cheshire's second innings got off to a dramatic start with both openers dismissed without a run on the board. Smeeth and Harrison both took two wickets to leave the hosts reeling at 36 for 5 (effectively 140-5) and the game, let alone the title, in the balance with Cornwall right in the mix. Dumelow though was again the thorn in Cornwall's side. He was unbeaten on 76 when bad light stopped play at 7.45pm with eight overs of the day remaining, after a rain interrupted afternoon. Daniel Berry (27no) had helped add a valuable 54 for the eighth wicket. The recovery proved to be too much for Cornwall on the final day. Cornwall finished fourth in the table on 75 points but just 15points behind Berkshire in a season of 'what ifs'.

Final standings: Berkshire 90, Cheshire 89, Oxfordshire 76, Cornwall 75, Dorset 74, Shropshire 73, Wales MC 52, Devon 49, Herefordshire 43, Wiltshire 42.

Match Scorecard

Nantwich, Toss Cornwall

CHESHIRE First Innings

W M Goodwin c Rowe b Harrison 12

D M Leech lbw b Harrison 2

*A J Hall c Edwards b Smeeth 66

B L Spendlove c Rowe b Hunkin 52

J A Duffy c Thomas b Sharp 50

N R C Dumelow c & b Sharp 107

J P Whittaker lbw b Sharp 5

+M R Dawson not out 30

D O Berry c Hunkin b Ivamy 15

A J Syddall not out 1

Extras (b5, lb15, w4, nb2) 25

TOTAL (8wkts, 90 overs) 365

Fall: 1-3, 2-28, 3-115, 4-164, 5-227, 6-345, 7-348, 8-363.

Bowling: Harrison 18-4-74-2, Smeeth 15-5-40-1, Angove 5-0-19-0, Parsons 8-2-18-0, Hunkin 13-3-60-1, Sharp 19-4-68-3, Ivamy 12-0-57-1.

CORNWALL First Innings

G M Thomas c Dawson b Syddall 0

M Rowe c Hall b Finegan 42

A D Angove c Duffy b Syddall 15

K A Parsons lbw b Finegan 36

*T G Sharp c Hall b Finegan 75

M L Robins b Whittaker 20

C A Hunkin c Goodwin b Berry 22

A G Smeeth c Dawson b Syddall 15

+G D Edwards c Dumelow b Finegan 3

R J Harrison c Spendlove b Finegan 24

N Ivamy not out 2 Extras (b2, lb5) 7

TOTAL (all out, 76 overs) 261

Fall: 1-4, 2-34, 3-93, 4-108, 5-157, 6-217, 7-217, 8-225, 9-255, 10-261.

Bowling: Syddall 22-4-73-3, Finegan 21.3-5-70-5, Whittaker 11-1-53-1, Dumelow 12-4-22-0, Berry 9-1-36-1.

CHESHIRE Second Innings

W M Goodwin lbw b Harrison 0

D M Leech b Smeeth 0

*A J Hall b Harrison 17

B L Spendlove lbw b Smeeth 0

J A Duffy b Parsons 10

N R C Dumelow c Ivamy b Harrison 81

J P Whittaker lbw b Sharp 23

+M R Dawson c Sharp b Hunkin 8

D O Berry c Sharp b Harrison 49

A J Syddall not out 5

C C Finegan b Smeeth 0

Extras (b4, lb17,w5, nb10) 36

Total (all out, 59.4 overs) 229

Fall: 1-0, 2-0, 3-5, 4-28, 5-36, 6-108, 7-129, 8-205, 9-228, 10-229

Bowling: Harrison 20-11-56-4, Smeeth 20.4-5-69-3, Parsons 5-0-34-1, Sharp 9-4-20-1, Hunkin 4-0-26-1, Ivamy 1-0-3-0.

CORNWALL Second Innings (Target 334)

G M Thomas b Syddall 18

M Rowe c Whittaker b Finegan 10

A D Angove c Dawson b Finegan 0

K A Parsons b Dumelow 64

*T G Sharp lbw b Finegan 28

M L Robins c Whittaker b Finegan 52

C A Hunkin lbw b Finegan 29

R J Harrison c Hall b Whittaker 0

A G Smeeth not out 26

+G D Edwards not out 18

Extras (4b, 8lb, 4nb)16

Total (8wkts, 69 overs) 261

Fall: 1-22, 2-30, 3-30, 4-102, 5-145, 6-208, 7-215, 8-215

Did not bat: N Ivamy.

Bowling: Syddall 16-3-57-1, Finegan 19-3-83-5, Whittaker 13-3-38-1, Dumelow 16-1-49-1, Berry 5-1-22-0.

Umpires: J Wilkinson and M Ecclestone

Match Drawn, Cheshire 12 points, Cornwall 9 points.

Close of play Day 1 Cornwall (1st Inns) 84-2, Day 2 Cheshire (2nd Inns) 183-7

Dorset at Bournemouth 3-5 August Scorecard

Team News Cornwall have made two late changes. Gary Thomas replaces wicket keeper Gavin Edwards (hand injury) with Matthew Rowe taking over the wicket keeping duties. This year's other keepers Mark Horwell & Taylor Williams also have hand injuries. Joe Crane has also come in to replace Antony Angove. Cornwall XI: T G. Sharp (Capt), B A Smeeth, M Rowe(wk), K A Parsons, M L Robins, G M Thomas, C A Hunkin, A G Smeeth, J G Crane R J Harrison, N Ivamy.

Day 1 Delayed start until 11.45am. Cornwall won the toss and elected to field. 17mins lost in the morning session. Dorset 82-4 at lunch. Rain at 16.38. Early tea and no futher play for the day - abandoned at 17.40 Dorset 172-6 after 58.2 overs. (N G Park 66; Alex Smeeth 3-24) Harrison 18-2-37-0, A G Smeeth 15-6-24-3, Hunkin 9-0-56-1, Parsons 13-4-35-1, Ivamy 3-2-3-0, Sharp 0.2-0-0-1

Day 2 Dorset batted out the 90 overs to make 275-9. Cornwall at 2.40pm were 36-4. Ben Smeeth, Matt Robins, Keith Parsons and Gary Thomas the men out. 68-5 became 141-5 at tea Sharp 55no, Hunkin 32no. Latest 272 all out Close day 2 Sharp 85, Hunkin 44, Harrison 36, Alex Smeeth 34) Scorecard

Day 3 No play due to rain. Match abandoned at 12.30pm after an early lunch.

Cornwall will travel to Cheshire in ten days time with a mathematical chance of becoming the Minor Counties Western Division Champions for the first time ever. The unprecedented scenario follows the latest round of games this week which saw Cornwall draw against Dorset at Bournemouth on Tuesday. The final day at Dean Park was washed out, along with the other four Western Division games across the country. With one game remaining it leaves the top of the table as follows: Cheshire 77pts, Berkshire 70pts, Dorset 68pts, Cornwall 66 pts and Oxfordshire 53 pts. With maximums of 24 points available for a win, 12 points for a draw and 8 points for a defeat any one of the top four sides can still take the title. For Cornwall to succeed however they will have to create history. They will have to beat defending champions Cheshire and also hope that Berkshire and Dorset both drop points in games with Wiltshire and Oxfordshire respectively. Cheshire however is, undoubtedly, Cornwall’s bogey team, having never beaten them in twenty-one championship attempts. The sides starting playing each other in 1983. The forthcoming clash at Nantwich would seem as good a time as any to reverse the trend. The game this week at Bournemouth was ruined by the weather with half the total available overs lost. By Monday evening both first innings had been completed with Dorset having a narrow three run advantage. Steady rain on Tuesday morning saw the decision to end matters taken at 12.30pm, after an early lunch. Bar a dramatic final day batting collapse a win for either team had looked unlikely in any event with the amount of playing time left. On Sunday almost half the day’s overs were lost as Dorset reached 172 for six when play was abandoned for the day around tea-time. The morning had seen a delayed start by 45 minutes and there was a further short interruption before lunch. More rain sent the players off at 4.38pm and that proved to be it for the day when play could have potentially gone on until 8pm. Cornwall made a couple of late changes to their selected side. Gary Thomas replaced wicket keeper Gavin Edwards (hand injury) with talented St Austell all rounder Matthew Rowe taking over the gloves, in only his second county game. The other current keepers, Mark Horwell and Taylor Williams, also have hand injuries and neither kept in their club matches on Saturday. Newquay’s Joe Crane also came in as a late replacement for Falmouth’s Antony Angove. Dorset were put in and Alex Smeeth got an early breakthrough when he trapped Chris Jones lbw for 2, with only seven on the board. Smeeth followed up to have Darren Cowley caught by Keith Parsons for 9 at slip. Steve Selwood hit four boundaries in his 20 before he was held at short cover by Crane to give Chris Hunkin a wicket. A good morning’s work was completed by Cornwall when Ben Lawes was held by Sharp at second slip off the bowling of Parsons. Dorset were 82 for 4 at lunch. Opener Nigel Park had survived the session to reach 30 not out and with his brother Chris then added 49 for the fifth wicket. It was Alex Smeeth who claimed his third wicket to have Chris lbw for 11. With rain in the air Nigel Park fell for 66 to what was to be the final ball of the day. Dorset proceeded on the second morning to bat the full 90 overs. The tail wagged with Dan Belt making 44 not out and skipper Tom Hicks 37. Smeeth ended with three of 36 and Harrison took a couple of late wickets for 72 runs. Cornwall lost a couple of early wickets, Ben Smeeth and Matt Robins, in a difficult six over spell before lunch. Things got worse as Gary Thomas, Keith Parsons and Matt Rowe had all disappeared at 68 for five. The recovery came through Sharp and Hunkin who put on 95 for the sixth wicket. Hunkin was lbw for 44 but Sharp went on to make 85 for the second successive game. With useful knocks from Alex Smeeth (34) and Rob Harrison, last man out for 36, Cornwall in the end would have been pleased to reach 272, if not a little frustrated to miss out on a third batting point by just three runs.

Wales MC at Falmouth C C 20-22 July ScoreCard    Table

Two young Cornish players made their debuts. Nineteen year-old Matthew Rowe of St Austell, and formerly Troon, took the place of the injured Gary Thomas. Rowe, who is on Gloucestershire's books, follows his father Chris, who played for Cornwall in the early eighties. The other debutant might well have created a piece of Cornish history. St Austell wicket-keeper Taylor Williams took the place of the unavailable Mark Horwell. Only six days after his sixteenth birthday Williams is one of the youngest players, if not possibly the youngest, to represent the full County XI and beats the recent record of Carl Gazzard by 55 days. After winning the toss on Sunday Cornwall slipped to 110 for 4 and needed a stand. Keith Parsons and Tom Sharp produced it with a fifth wicket partnership of 154. Parsons made 95 and Sharp 85. Chris Hunkin then gave a positive end to the innings smashing a six and 10 fours in his 67 not out at a run a ball to get Cornwall up to 361 all out. Rob Harrison struck twice as Wales ended the day on 58 for 2 after 25 overs. On the second morning Sharp trapped Mike Clayden lbw in the third over of the day. Three overs later Andrew Jones was spectacularly caught by Rowe, diving one handed at short mid off. Cornwall's good morning continued when Mike O'Shea was held by Matt Robins off the bowling of Sharp. The Welsh had lost half their side for 105 in 34 overs. Wicket-keeper Will Bragg hit four boundaries in a useful 35 before being caught behind in Neil Ivamy's second over of the morning. When Aneurian Norman disappeared for 0, caught by Chris Hunkin off the bowling of Sharp, the Welsh were in some trouble at 188 for 7 at lunch - still some 173 adrift with the possibility of following on. Eighteen year old Iwan Jenkins, on his debut, batted patiently in the morning but after lunch the tempo increased with Jenkins and Tudge taking their eighth wicket stand to 86 before Tudge gave Harrison his fourth wicket of the innings. Jenkins hit out in a late flourish and ended on 85 not out to reduce the lead to only 63. Harrison took four for 112 from 28 overs. Sharp took three for 57 from 26.5 overs but had to leave the field after turning his ankle. He played no further part in the day's proceedings. Cornwall's openers Matt Rowe and Ben Smeeth got the Cornish second innings off to a decent start adding 73 before Rowe was lbw to Norman. He showed much promise striking ten boundaries in his 45 off 55 balls. Antony Angove hit 32 as Cornwall reached 134 for 1. Wales fought back however as Tudge accounted for Keith Parsons and O' Shea ended the day getting rid of Ben Smeeth for 62 and Chris Hunkin for 2. Cornwall took a lead of 237 into the final day with five second innings wickets remaining and still some work to do before thoughts of a declaration. In seventeen overs however a further 108 were added for the loss of Alex Smeeth for 24. Robins ended on 62 not out hitting ten boundaries off 70 balls and Rob Harrison hit a couple of sixes in his quickfire 21not out. The declaration left Wales 346 in a minimum of 82 overs. Things went well early on as Clayden and Bragg put on 59. The stand was broken when Bragg was run out coming back for a second run from a direct hit from Antony Angove in the deep. Alex Smeeth then had O'Shea caught by Parsons at slip. Sharp followed up to have Clayden also caught at slip by Parsons. All three wickets fell at 59 but it was another hour after lunch before the fourth wicket fell. The Welsh skipper Jones and Merilaht added 64 to begin to put the outcome of the match in the balance with around three hours play remaining. Harrison was brought back into the attack from the pavilion end and picked up three quick wickets. The breakthrough came as Merilaht was caught brilliantly by Sharp, diving in the gully. Two balls later first innings hero Jenkins was trapped lbw and Norman followed in similar fashion eight runs later. Jones and Tudge looked to be taking the game to the tea interval adding fifty before the last four wickets fell for just four runs. Hunkin finished the job in successive balls to get rid of the tailenders. Harrison took three for 46 and Hunkin three for 33. Cornwall skipper Tom Sharp was well pleased with his side's performance. He said " It was a brilliant team effort from start to finish. We eradicated our top order batting collapses from previous games and once we had a first innings total it gave the bowlers the opportunity to win the game". He added "It was a genuine team effort and Matt Rowe and Taylor Williams played well on their debuts. With a young side you can't afford to drift and have a bad session but we sustained our efforts over the three days".

Herefordshire at St Austell CC 6-8 July        Scorecard     Preview

After heavy rain on Friday and Saturday there was no play before lunch on day 1. Further rain saw play called off for the day around 2 30pm. Day 2 abandoned at lunchtime with umpires ruling little chance of play on day 3. Game switched to Truro. for a one innings 100 over game. Cornwall bowled out for 114 in 37.3 overs . Herefordshire gain first win for almost three years by seven wickets with 25 overs to spare.

Cornwall's hopes of challenging for this year's Minor Counties Championship Western title were dealt a blow on Tuesday when they were defeated by lowly Herefordshire at Truro by seven wickets. It was Herefordshire's first championship win for almost three years. Not much went to script for the Duchy as the weather again had an all too familiar telling influence. Cornwall have played approaching 800 Championship games over the last century or so of which only thirteen two -day games saw no play on either day. Nowadays three-day games are scheduled and in the last year three of the last eight have seen the first two days completely washed out - a worrying trend. As last August St Austell's Wheal Eliza was unable to cope with the deluge over the weekend. Truro's prepared pitch, that should have been used for Saturday's clash with St Just, had been kept under wraps. Thanks to a sterling effort by the groundstaff, clocking on at just after seven am, Boscawen Park was up and running for a prompt start. It followed the decision to switch venues on Monday afternoon and attempt to play a one innings game over 100 overs with the first innings limited to 60 overs. Ironically no sooner had proceedings got underway then drizzle caused a 13 minute delay. On the resumption the visitors soon made use of winning a very useful toss as Cornwall battled under grey skies. Left armer Stuart Wedge, bowling from the river end, struck in the fifth over to remove Matt Robins, lbw for a single. Two balls later he had Antony Angove caught by Richard Hall in the gully. Somerset's Keith Parsons followed, caught behind for 8. Gary Thomas batted an hour for his 27, hitting three fours, before he got bowled by a beauty from Simon Roberts. Rain forced the teams off in the 18th over with Cornwall wobbling on 60 for 4. After an early lunch conditions rapidly improved but Cornwall's innings quickly subsided. Tom Sharp was held by Hall in the gully three balls after the resumption. Chris Hunkin was a little unfortunate. He pulled a ball off Wedge only to pick out Oliver Hill in front of the pavilion boundary at long leg, who made no mistake with the catch. Alex Smeeth didn't last long before Roberts beat his defences and Gavin Edwards was bowled four balls later on the back foot to one that kept on the low side. Three wickets had gone with the score on 69. When Ben Smeeth became Wedge's sixth wicket of the innings Cornwall's lowest ever total against Herefordshire loomed. It was averted though thanks to a spirited last wicket stand of 29 between Rob Harrison and Newquay team mate Neil Ivamy. Number ten Harrison made an unbeaten 31 off 47 balls with five boundaries before Ivamy was caught and bowled by Roberts. In not the easiest of conditions the total of 114 all out, off 37 overs, was somewhat disappointing. Bowling unchanged Wedge took a career best six for 61 from nineteen overs and Roberts four for 46.To be fair the visitors had by far the best of the conditions with their innings played out in some warm afternoon sunshine. Richard Hall and Chris Powell saw off the seam attack of Harrison, Parsons and Alex Smeeth to add 74 in 23 overs before Powell was bowled by spinner Ivamy's first ball for 34. Ivamy struck again to have the left handed Hall caught by Harrison from a skier to mid on for 42. Ivamy then bowled skipper Chris Boroughs for 13 but it was only consolation as the visitors recorded a seven wicket win with some 25 overs to spare. Henry Langford made a patient 15 not out.

Shropshire at Truro CC 22-24 June        Scorecard     Preview

Cornwall got their Minor Counties championship season back on track with a hard earned win over Shropshire at Truro's Boscawen Park. The success, by 54 runs, was no mean achievement against a Shropshire side fancying their chances of going one better than last year's runners-up spot in the Western Division. Just as Cornwall can't seem to beat Berkshire in recent living memory conversely they do seem to have the indian sign over Shropshire. This was a fifth win in the last seven meetings with another game drawn for good measure. Cornwall went into the final day with a lead of 191 and one second innings wicket remaining. After fourteen wickets fell to spin on the second day it was the general opinion that Cornwall's plethora of slow bowlers would probably hold the key to the result. Newquay seamer Rob Harrison had other ideas however producing a match winning spell of six for 65 from 19 overs. For much of the first hour a Cornish victory had looked unlikely. The last pair of Gavin Edwards and Neil Ivamy could only add another six runs, in eight balls, before Edwards swept Andy Gray to leg gully. The Shropshire records books are being rewritten as a consequence - Gray's nine for 56 being their best ever innings bowling figures in over 50 years of championship cricket.

So the visitors had 97 overs, and virtually all day, to get the 198 to win. When 25 came off the first three overs the contest was looking embarrassingly one sided. Jono Whitney found the boundary five times in his 38 off 25 balls before Harrison got the much needed breakthrough. With the score at 47, in the ninth over, Whitney was caught at cover point by Chris Hunkin. Simon Harding, run out without facing a ball in the first innings, then bagged a pair, on his debut being caught behind off Harrison. Tom Sharp, who took over from Keith Parsons at the city end, followed with the prize wicket of former Middlesex and Leicestershire batsman John Maunders. He was snapped up at short leg by Ben Smeeth. With the score still on 51 Harrison produced a beauty to knock over Atiq-ur-Rehman, who top scored with 75 in the first innings. Harrison then claimed his fourth wicket of the morning when Smeeth held his second catch at short leg. Cornwall's good work continued as Sharp then accounted for Gray, lbw at 78 for 6. Shropshire skipper James Ralph and Ted Bayliss steadied the ship to take the total to 111 for six off 36 overs at lunch. The game was still in the balance but Harrison crucially took two wickets immediately after the interval. Bayliss was well held at slip by Parsons then Ralph was caught behind by Edwards for 32 in Harrison's next over. Sharp then wrapped up the tail getting Mark Robinson for 0 and Jonty Mountfield, after some useful blows, was stumped for 20 shortly before three o'clock . On a sunny but windy opening day Cornwall, after being put in, responded well with Antony Angove, Tom Sharp and Alex Smeeth all making 50 with good knocks also from Rob Harrison (46) and Chris Hunkin (38). They were dismissed in the 74th over for 290. Shropshire lost Jono Whitney lbw to Harrison for 15 and then Simon Harding was run out, without facing a ball. Harrison took a second wicket when Maunders was caught behind for 15. Michael Munday then got rid of Anthony Parker in the final over of the day. Atiq-ur-Rehman and skipper James Ralph put on 117 for the fifth wicket on the second morning to take the overnight score of 98-4 to a promising 215- 4 forty minutes before lunch. Neil Ivamy got the breakthrough to have Rehman caught for 75. Ralph followed when a misunderstanding saw him run out by Sharp for 68. Gray skied Ivamy for 8 before the last three wickets fell quickly. Ivamy took three for 44 and Munday three for 60. The visitors lost their last six wickets for just 35 and were all out for 250 six minutes after lunch.

Cornwall, having gained a first innings lead of 40, looked to be building a substantial total at 116 for two, in the evening sunshine, but a dramatic collapse put Shropshire right back in the game. Former Derbyshire and Yorkshire off spinner Andy Gray was Cornwall's tormentor. In an unbroken spell he took eight for 54 from 27 overs from the city end. In their second innings Cornwall loss Gary Thomas cheaply for 2, lbw to Ted Bayliss with the score at 8. Ben Smeeth and Anthony Angove then patiently added 88 over the next 37 overs. Angove was Gray's first wicket, lbw for 66 made off 143 balls that included a six and 6 fours. It was Angove's second fifty of the game. Smeeth and Keith Parsons saw the hundred up as all looked well in the Cornish camp and the prospect of setting a target of around 300. Smeeth though was caught behind for 20, made over almost three hours, before a dramatic 53rd over changed the game. Tom Sharp, who came in looking to bat with some purpose, stepped down to track to be stumped for 8. Chris Hunkin was caught at short leg second ball then Alex Smeeth followed in the same fashion, next ball, to leave the Duchy all of a sudden struggling at 128 for 6. Keith Parsons and Gavin Edwards added 21 but another late collapse left Cornwall hanging on at the close. Parsons was lbw to a full ball for 26. Rob Harrison then lofted Gray to mid on and Michael Munday was lbw first ball as three wickets again fell without a run added. Cornwall skipper Sharp was understandably well pleased with events. He said afterwards "It was a really pleasing performance in a game of swaying fortunes, especially after our second evening collapse. We batted well on the opening day to make 290 to set the game up. Then we were patient with the ball in their first innings which eventually saw a collapse". Sharp was full of praise for Harrison saying "He led the attack excellently and fully deserved his success. We now have two successive home games (Herefordshire at St Austell and Wales Minor Counties at Falmouth) and the chance to get into the shakeup".

Berkshire at Falkland CC 8-10 June    Scorecard

Cornwall 225 & 131, Berkshire 305 & 52-1, Berkshire won by 9 wickets   

Cornwall’s Minor Counties Championship season got off to a disappointing start with defeat inside two days at Newbury. It continues the hoodoo that Berkshire currently have over the Duchy in championship cricket – this being a seventh straight win since 1999. Cornwall gave a debut to the long serving Somerset all rounder Keith Parsons who has yet to play for their first XI this season. Newquay’s Joe Crane was drafted into the side on the eve of the game when Callington’s Dan Davis, who was in line to make his championship debut, withdrew. On the opening day at Falkland Cornwall recovered well after losing their first five wickets for 57, after electing to take first knock. Ben Smeeth carried his bat to record a county best of 76 not out. He got good support from his brother Alex with 32, Gavin Edwards with 24 and Antony Angove’s 37. Rob Harrison then took a couple of wickets to leave the hosts on 116 for 4 overnight. They moved on well on the second morning with James Morris leading the way with 96 before being run out. Steve Naylor made 40 and Craig Crowe 35 on a pitch which offered little assistance to the bowlers. The innings ended two balls short of the full 90 overs. Tom Sharp took three for 70. With a deficit of 80 to make up on first innings Cornwall were immediately put on the back foot second time around as openers Ben Smeeth and Joe Crane went for ducks. Keith Parsons also went without scoring, trapped by his former Somerset team mate Richard Johnson. The former England bowler then bowled Sharp and at 35-4 Cornwall were up against it. Matt Robins made 42 and Chris Hunkin 35 but the end came after 42 overs at 131. Johnson, who was expensive when the sides met in the MCCA Trophy earlier in the season at Camborne, took four for 37 from 15 overs. The home team knocked off the 52 required for the loss of one wicket just before seven o’clock on the second evening. Cornwall now have a run of three successive home games in the championship starting at Truro on Sunday 22nd June against Shropshire.