MCCA Knockout

Bedfordshire v Shropshire

               Sunday 18 May 2008                            Flitwick Cricket Club

Shropshire won by 6 wickets

Shropshire 2 points  Bedfordshire 0 points

Shropshire's final group match in the MCCA Knockout was a "must win" match, and even then their fate might be out of their own hands, with the other 4 teams still having a game to play. Things did not start well, as Anthony O'Connor, selected to replace the unavailable Steve Taylor, was injured in his league match on Saturday. With most Shropshire clubs involved in national Knockout matches, finding a replacement was not easy for the selectors. Eventually Leaq Rehman, brother of Atiq, who had played one match last season, agreed to step in.

Under cloudy skies at picturesque Flitwick, home captain James Knott won the toss and surprisingly decided to bat. He was soon to regret his decision, as excellent bowling by Jack Shantry (1 for 17) and Duncan Catterall (3 for 23) reduced bedfordshire to 15 for 4. Skipper Knott was joined by Marcus Steed, and they slowly began to improve the situation with a stand of 47 before Steed was caught by Ed Foster for 31. Knott was working hard to put his team back into the game, and was given further support by Marc Jackson (27) in a stand of 48. However when Knott's stubborn resistance was ended after 143 minutes when he had scored 37, the innings subsided to Mark Robinson (3 for 37) and they were dismissed for 137 with 2 balls remaining in the 50th over. All the Shropshire bowlers performed well, using the conditions to their advantage, and once again Ed Foster (2 catches and 2 stumpings) did well.

Shropshire needed to bat well in an effort to improve their run rate, but the innings started badly as Ed Foster fished outside the off stump early on. Jono Whitney (15) briefly threatened, whilst Atiq Rehman slogged fatally at experienced leg spinner Andy Roberts to leave the visitors at 63 for 3. John Maunders was again batting impressively, and, joined by Duncan Catterall, the pair added 62 before Maunders was caught behind for 62 with just 13 required for victory. James Ralph helped Catterall (35*) to pass the Bedfordshire total with 16.2 overs to spare.

Shropshire therefore ended their group campaign with 5 points, and must now wait to see if that will be enough to qualify for the Quarter Finals. Rain once again hampered progress, with one match abandoned, and another lost on run rate in very dark conditions. However Shropshire can be proud of the way they did perform when conditions allowed, and they proved that, given a clear run, they would have been a match for anyone.

Umpires       I Royle and J Reed

Scorers        M Wynn and CLW Barthorpe