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Close call for seconds

Matthew Collins
5/ 6/2008

MIDDLETON seconds nearly let an excellent bowling and fielding performance go to waste.

Radcliffe won the toss and elected to bat on a superb wicket. But within four overs they were 18 for two and clearly regretting the decision.

Wickets fell regularly, and with Rick Valentine bowling as well as he has this season the lower order had difficulty hitting the ball off the square.

Reece Jones and Raza Hussain opened the Middleton batting which didn’t get off to the best of starts, Jones falling for four.

Next in was Stuart Fitton who punished anything short or wide.

What looked a good partnership was unluckily ended when Hussain was judged to have edged behind.

In stepped Mike McNeil who had been pushed up the order, but he was outdone by Dalton’s swing and movement off the pitch and was bowled.

When Stuart Fitton was caught behind for 18, trying to hit the ball into Hollin Lane, the match looked lost.

Lee Flint was out for four, bowled by Dalton, and with a further 73 runs needed it looked an improbable task for the Moonrakers.

Cometh the hour, cometh the men. Daniel Core and Chris Burn slowly but surely lowered the required run rate until it was under one and a half an over.

But with the score on 83 Burn was bowled trying to flick a full toss onto the leg side.

This brought Daniel Royle to the crease. He and Core worked the ball to all areas of the pitch to score the runs which ultimately won the match for Middleton.