Roses played away at Burton; hosted Frodsham
Joe Crossley (left) and Anna Page (right) helped earn a draw against Frodsham
There is no better way to spend a bank holiday weekend than playing cricket, and Rose played two games over the weekend. On Sunday we travelled to Burton and on Bank Holiday Monday hosted Frodsham.
Burton 216-6 Mersey Rose 51 Burton won by 165 runs Scorecard Burton opted to bat and were able to race past the hundred mark but a couple of wickets halted the momentum. Rose's fielding at times let them down and a few catching chances were dropped as Burton closed on 216 for 6 from 35 overs. In dark, overcast conditions Rose had no realistic hopes of chasing the target, but instead aimed to bat out their own allocation of overs. Openers Andi Page and Anna Page made a decent start but Burton made the breakthrough in the tenth over when Andi was bowled for 9. Everyone applied themselves and was able to offer some resistance, but scoring runs proved difficult. Ian Mosquito smashed a delivery to deep backward square for four - and a fine shot it was too - but on the whole the name of the game was survival and called for determined, defensive batting.
Rose looked likely to achieve their objective but a flurry of late wickets dashed their hopes and they were bowled out for 51 with four overs remaining.
Frodsham 206-4 dec (33 overs) Mersey Rose 28-8 (37 overs) Match drawn Scorecard
Rose hosted Frodsham on Bank Holiday Monday. The previous game between the teams had ended in a draw, partly because of the intervention of rain and but also due to Rose's seventh-wicket partnership between Andrew Birkett and Anna Page. While Burrows Lane was hardly bathed in summer sunshine on Monday, at least on this occasion rain was unlikely to have an bearing on the outcome.
Frodsham won the toss and chose to bat on a dry, hard pitch. Rainhill's opening bowlers Jake Vaughan and Billy Gartside worked hard for no reward, while Frodsham's Zabihullah Pashie blasted his way towards a half-century. Tactical changes to the field almost earned a wicket on a couple of occasions, but Rose weren't able to take the catches.
Rose made the breakthrough when Anna Page, in her first over, found the edge of Nick Corless's bat and gave Andrew Birkett a straightforward catch behind the stumps. After Pashie retired on reaching 50, the run rate slowed but 13 year old J Davies built a splendid innings and, after surviving an early dropped catch at silly mid-off, answered all the questions Rose's bowlers asked of him. His contribution was intelligent and measured, and he was unlucky not to reach his half-century. He batted through most of Frodsham's innings, playing some fine shots.
Andi Page picked up the wickets of Jim Morrell and Ashan (the second courtesy of a first catch for Jake Vaughan). Ian Mosquito bowled arguably his best spell all season - albeit without taking a wicket - while Billy Gartside's perseverance finally paid off when he bowled Davies for 45.
Trevor Davies made a quick 33 to help take Frodsham's score beyond 200 and the visitors declared on 206-4 from 33 overs. As the game was a 70 innings match, this meant Rose had 37 overs to chase the target.
As with the Burton game the previous day, a chase was never realistic and after the loss of opener Andi Page in the fifth over Rose's aim was simply to bat out the remaining overs for a draw. That itself was a tall order, as Rose had not batted for so long all season. Billy Gartside and Andrew Birkett came together and defied some accurate Frodsham pace bowling but, just as it seemed they had weathered the storm, Birkett was bowled by Rob Kent. Jake Vaughan was dismissed in similar fashion for 1, but Gartside and David Crossley were able to see Rose through to drinks (20 overs) without further loss.
The duo continued to defy the visitors until the 25th over when Crossley was dramatically caught and bowled by LJ for 2. Shortly afterwards Ian Mosquito was bowled by Trevor Davies for 1. It looked like Gartside might carry his bat but, in the 27th over, he misjudged a delivery from Jim Morrell and the ball hit leg stump.
That was a huge setback for Rose but so long as their seventh wicket pair of Anna Page and Joe Crossley - two players renowned for effective defensive batting - remained out in the middle they had hope. Anna has previously helped earn draws against Frodsham by batting for long spells and she did it again here. At this stage runs were not only irrelevant but a distraction from the more essential task of surviving against some determined Frodsham bowling. With an aggressive field set, the tension was palpable. .
Survive they did - well, almost. Joe Crossley fell lbw to Zabihullar Pashie in the penultimate over. The final over saw Jim Morrell bowling to Anna Page. She blocked the first three deliveries, meaning Frodsham required three wickets from the last three deliveries - anything else would result in a draw. She was bowled by the next ball, which added to Frodsham's excitement and Rose's nervousness.
The final two balls were seen off and Rose earned a valuable draw. At the moment, hard-earned draws feel as good as wins, especially against a strong opposition. Defensive batting may not be pretty but, in a week that saw an opener at another club make headlines for a 137-ball 0, perhaps it's right to celebrate it? Declaration cricket is good for the game. The chance of a draw means there is always something to play for, and makes the timing of declarations vital - a skill in its own right. Frodsham probably timed their declaration perfectly - but Rose were able to hold on and stay focused, especially when the pressure was on in the final ten overs. Seeing some of our batters holding out for long spells against resolute and accurate bowling from vastly more gifted players will be one of the highlights of our season. It made for a good game and an exciting finale, and even the opposition appreciated our resilience.
It's difficult to select a player of the match in such circumstances, but there will be fewer more valuable ducks than Joe's and Anna's (from 29 and 28 balls respectively).
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