Frustration for Wiltshire CCC 1st XI as rain halts push for victory against Cornwall
Wiltshire CCC v Cornwall CCC - NCCA Championship @ South Wilts CC, 14th-16th August 2022
Another day in the continuing heatwave! Cornwall won the toss and elected to field. Openers Jack Mynott 30 and Oliver Meadows 48 put on 77 for the first wicket, but then Lello 3 for 43 and Dinnis 3 for 95 saw Wiltshire suffer a collapse as they found themselves on 138 for 7. However, that was when the Wiltshire heroes appeared. Wadworth Man of the Match Josh Croom 95 and Toby Kershaw 94 added 183 runs in a magnificent 8th wicket partnership which saw them both fall agonisingly short of what would have been well deserved and hard-earned centuries. The score had moved on to 321 for 8 and eventually reached 346 before the last wicket fell just 7 balls short of the allotted 90 overs for the First Innings.
Cornwall had to face just 15 overs at the end of Day 1 and reached 47 for the loss of just one wicket.
When they continued on Day 2 they moved on to 188 for 4 with opener Gibson 39 the second wicket to fall. Ateeq Javid 68 and Max Tryfonos 53 were the main contributors and after they had departed, thanks to 2 for 27 from skipper Ed Young, Cornwall suffered a collapse and were dismissed for 234 giving Wiltshire a 1st innings lead of 112. Wadworth Man of the Match Josh Croom led the way with 4 for 69 and there were also wickets for Joe King 2 for 44 and Matthew Burton 2 for 51. There were also 5 victims for wicketkeeper Tom Morton (4 caught, 1 stumped)
Wiltshire began their 2nd innings with a lead of 112 on which they hope to build. Opener Jack Mynott was still there at close of play, they had put on 93 for the 6th wicket on 112 not out. Earlier he had support from Will Naish 29 with whom he had a partnership of 62. But the stand out partnership came when Tom Morton joined Jack and by the time Tom was dismissed for 53 they had put on 93 for the 6th wicket
Day 3 looked promising for Wiltshire but the heatwave had given way to the possibility of rain. Wiltshire had hoped to set a challenging target and Jack Mynott 116 with Josh Croom 16 not out had moved the score on to 222 for 7 when the players were forced off by a persistent drizzle. With a loss of overs this accelerated the declaration at 222 and prompted an early lunch.
After lunch Matty Burton 3 for 27 and Josh Croom 2 for 30 soon had Cornwall in all kinds of trouble as they were reduced to 64 for 5. But then the weather came to their rescue as the players were once again obliged to leave the pitch for rain. This rain, originally insignificant, then became heavier and continuous eventually forcing the abandonment of the game. Perhaps Cornwall had forsaken their traditional Floral Dance in favour of a Rain Dance! Undoubtedly a moral victory for Wiltshire although each team was awarded 10 points as Wiltshire were deducted 2 points for a slow over rate.
Wiltshire draw against Cornwall
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