Cirencester Cricket Club > News > March 2004 > Cirencester finish Indoor League season on a high

Cirencester finish Indoor League season on a high
Monday 8 March 2004

Cirencester (80 all out) beat Wanborough 2 (64 all out) by 16 runs
[Scorecard]

After finishing their 2003/04 Swindon Indoor Cricket Association season with a victory last night, Cirencester now have an anxious wait to discover if they have gained promotion to Division 3.

They knew they were in for a tough test against an in-form Wanborough 2 side who had won five of their previous six matches but a superb fielding display ensured that Cirencester finished on a high.

Wanborough 2 captain Ian McMurray won the toss and asked Cirencester to bat first. Dan Hudson's recent run of low scores continued as he was dismissed hit roof, although he could count himself unfortunate as a well hit shot struck the roof.

Rich Hudson combined patience with skilful shot selection to manoeuvre the ball into the gaps. However, the Cirencester batsmen were struggling to come to terms with the well-flighted off-spin of Tresena and gained two wickets in an over as both Hudson and Dan Robbins holed out to mid-off and mid-on respectively.

The arrival of James Shackleton provided the innings with some much needed impetus. A low-risk mixture of sweeps and checked drives kept the runs ticking over but Andy Cooper struggled for momentum and in trying to break the shackles was dismissed hit roof.

When Tom Burgess was caught behind, Cirencester seemed on-course for a disappointing score but Shackleton began to lift the run rate before being the last man out as Cirencester were bowled out for 80.

Early wickets would prove to be crucial if Cirencester were to defend their score and it took two pieces of impressive fielding to get two breakthroughs in the first over. Firstly, a mix-up between Woodward and Mills enabled Cooper to run out Mills by a distance. Then on the last ball of the over, Dan Hudson gathered the ball at point before dismissing Tresena with a direct hit at the non-striker's end.

James Shackleton's consistent line and length accounted for Wilson as he played across the line and was bowled.

Shackleton and Burgess ensured that runs were hard to come by and then in fourth over, another double strike occured, both due to a briliantly caught Cooper, bowled Burgess combination.

Cirencester's excellent fielding, led in particular by Dan Robbins, increased the pressure and with the task of ensuring victory for Wanborough falling solely on the shoulders of Cox, the team were suddenly confident of victory.

However, slowly but surely Cox nudged the balls into the gaps and ran positively in between the wickets to push Wanborough back in contention. With the game in the balance, Cirencester adopted unorthodox field placements and this tempted Cox into his first reckless shot. Unfortunately for him it was also his last, as he inside eged Cooper and played on.

This wicket rounded off an excellent season for Cirencester in which their younger players have improved considerably in a winning environment.