Cornwall Cricket
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MCCA Trophy 2006
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Dorset v Cornwall at Dean Park, Bournemouth on Sunday 21st May
1.30pm update
Match called off- still raining.
Dorset 1pt, Cornwall 1pt
Cornwall's hopes of making it through to the semi-finals of this year's MCCA Trophy this year ended at a soggy Dean Park, Bournemouth on Sunday. Their game with Dorset was abandoned at lunchtime, after a morning of heavy rain which left the ground waterlogged. It meant the teams took a point apiece and ended Cornwall's chances of making progress. It leaves them with five points from their completed set of four group matches. Devon's game with Berkshire at Finchampstead on Sunday suffered a similar fate, with the game called off at 2pm. Devon and Dorset also have five points but still have one game left, against each other at Sidmouth on June 4th. The winner will go through to the semi-finals. Cornwall's attention now turns to the Minor Counties Championship. They begin against Oxfordshire at Challow & Childrey on Sunday 11th June.
Cornwall v Berkshire at Truro on Sunday 14th May
Berkshire 205-7 (S Naylor 78, D Allaway 61; T Sharp 3-30),
Cornwall 208-2 (T Sharp 79no, A Penberthy 55 no, N Edwards 42)
Cornwall (2pts) won by 8 wickets
Cornwall's hopes of making the semi-finals of this season's MCCA Trophy were kept alive at Truro on Sunday when they defeated Berkshire by eight wickets, with eleven balls to spare. If Cornwall win their final group game against Dorset, at Bournemouth next Sunday, and Devon slip up in either of their remaining games against Berkshire or Dorset the group will be ultimately decided on run-rate. Sunday's win was clinched with a well timed run chase, and an unbroken third wicket partnership of 113 in 19 overs. between Tom Sharp and Anthony Penberthy. Needing 206 in 50 overs, on an increasingly gloomy and chilly afternoon, the pair came together at 95-2 in the 30th over. Neil Curnow had been caught at short mid wicket for 16 and Neil Edwards was bowled, attacking Luke Bevan for 42. The visitors had to opportunity to get rid of Penberthy when he was on 16, with the total at 124 in the 36th over. David Allaway spilled the skied chance to mid on and the former Northants player made the most of it. Tom Sharp, at the other end played a second big innings of the weekend, following his 80 for Truro on Saturday. Off the last five overs 30 were still needed and 15 off the last three. Penberthy ended the contest by hoisting the first ball of the 48th over into the Malpas Road for his second six of the innings and when Sharp followed with a sweetly timed on drive, to notch his ninth boundary, it was 'game over'. Sharp's 79 came off 102 balls with Penberthy ending on 55 not out. After being put in the Berkshire innings had got off to a lively start with former Essex star Paul Prichard taking three boundaries off Rob Harrison's first over. Chris Hunkin provided a couple of valuable early breakthroughs, in a fine spell from the city end. He had Prichard lbw for 21, out of 23 in the fourth over, then got rid of Bjorn Mordt in similar fashion. Former Hampshire player, skipper Julian Wood was bowled by Harrison at 37-3 but Steve Naylor (78) and David Allaway (61) staged a recovery to add 104 in 26 overs. Sharp picked up 3 for 30 from 10 overs at the end of the innings. Hunkin's telling early burst saw him take 2-19 from 7 overs. Berkshire were unable to increase their run rate which saw them score at four an over for most of the innings. The 206 target proved to be short of the mark for a strong Cornwall batting line up in which the likes of Gary Thomas, Ben Price, Mark George and Hunkin didn't get to the crease.
Wales M C v Cornwall at Abergavenny on Sunday 7th May
Cornwall 338-4 (50 overs)
N Edwards 53, G Thomas 34, T Sharp 67, A Penberthy 62, B Price 61 no, C Hunkin 34 no
Wales MC 240 all out (38.4 overs)
L Smith 77, R Grant 63; T Sharp 4-38, C Hunkin 2-52, R Harrison 2-61
Cornwall (2pts) won by 98 runs
Cornwall kept their MCCA Trophy hopes alive with a record breaking win at Abergavenny on Sunday. They hit their highest ever one-day score of 338-4, in the alloted 50 overs, and ran out comfortable winners by 98 runs. All the Cornish batsmen prospered after Tom Sharp elected to bat at the picturesque and historical Pen-y-Pound ground, in the shadows of the Black Mountains. Neil Edwards and Gary Thomas put on 89 for the first wicket to lay a solid foundation. Thomas went for 34 and Edwards 53 including one six and seven fours before Sharp and Penberthy added 109 for the third wicket. Sharp was caught and bowled for 67 and Penberthy was lbw for 62 but the real fireworks were still to come.
Late replacement Ben Price and Chris Hunkin added exactly 100 for the fifth wicket in just 34 minutes. Price hit 3 sixes and 5 fours in his 61 not out while Hunkin, following on from his unbeaten 88 at Hayle on Saturday, hit 2 sixes in his 38 not out. Carl Roberts took 2-61 with his off breaks. Cornwall's 338-4 exceeded their previous best in the competition of 311 against the Somerset Cricket Board XI at Taunton in 1998.
Wales reached 39 before losing Richard Harris for 14, caught behind by Gavin Edwards off the bowling of Rob Harrison. Opener Richard Grant hit 63 before becoming one of two wickets for Hunkin, who had a good all-round game. Welsh skipper Lloyd Smith made a useful 77 before being trapped lbw by Sharp who went on to take 4-38 from his 10 overs. Gavin Edwards contributed with a couple of stumpings. The end came quickly as the last four wickets fell for just 17 runs to leave the hosts 98 runs short, but they did have 11 overs unused. Manager Godfrey Furse was pleased with the performance. He said " We needed to get plenty of runs to boost our net run rate in case it becomes a deciding factor at the end of the Group phase".
Cornwall v Devon at Falmouth on Sunday 30th April
Cornwall 218-8, Devon 222-9 (48.4 overs)
Devon won by 1 wicket
Cornwall v Devon MCCA Trophy at Falmouth on Sunday 30th April Cornwall hopes of success in the MCCA Trophy suffered a blow on Sunday, at Falmouth, when they went down to a one wicket defeat against Devon. The competition has been re-organised this year back to a Group format and the Duchy will be looking for wins against Wales at Abergavenny on Sunday, then Berkshire and Dorset to have any hopes of reaching the semi-final stages. The County only had themselves to blame for Sunday's defeat, after a disappointing display in the field. Catch after catch went down, albeit on a chilly, overcast late April afternoon. It cost dear as Devon got up to snatch victory off the fourth ball of the last over in a dramatic finish.
Needing 219 Matthew Hunt and Somerset's Arul Suppiah put on a patient 73 before being parted, with Hunt's stumps being knocked back by Anthony Penberthy. It had taken them half the fifty overs though and Bobby Dawson soon made his intentions clear by throwing the bat. He lived a chanced life though as skied chances to third man were spilled when he was on 9 and 24 respectively. Jon Kent had Suppiah held at mid-on by Mark George for 44 before Dawson's luck finally ran out on 58 when he smashed Kent to Penberthy at mid-wicket. Even so at 146-3 in the 39th over the Devonians looked on course, with wickets in hand. They continued to tumble though as Mark George picked up three lbw's in the space of a couple of overs. By the time last man Mike Parsons came in they still needed 13 off a couple of overs which became 8 off Chris Hunkin's last. Ian Bishop smashed the first delivery into the cover point bank for a vital six. Then drama as he skied to next ball to Neil Curnow at mid-off. In what seemed an eternity he failed to hold on to the chance and the scampered single tied the scores. Parsons then played and missed before slicing a boundary to third man to clinch victory to gain revenge for an identical defeat on the same ground eleven months ago. George, in addition to three catches, took 3-27 and Kent 3-51.
Earlier, as is cricket, Curnow had been Cornwall's batting hero making 67 at the top of the order. He hit a 6 and 7 fours off 111 balls before being dismissed by Suppiah. Though Penberthy (16), Thomas (26) and Kent (12) all got into double figures no-one could play a really 'big' innings. Chris Hunkin, as is becoming a most pleasant regular occurrence, made a brisk 35 off 35 balls. A valuable 76 came off the last 10 overs to take the total to 218-8, but it proved to be not quite enough.