Coaver Gerries Cricket Club

Coaver Gerries versus Tale Millers at Tuck Mill on 03 June 2025

20/20

Coaver Gerries 93/7, Tale Millers 95/7 . Tale won by 3 wkts

With the low bounce of the pitch (usually), Tale has not been one of happy hunting grounds in recent years but the bar facilities and after match food has provided compensation in our defeats. Would the result be different this time?

Well, it did not start too well.  We only had ten players and when we opened up our innings, we lost Lights and the Earl in the first over. Kyson and Guesty steadied the ship but with the uneven bounce it was not easy to score quickly.  However, with 48 on the board after 9 overs when Kyson retired having reached the crs of 25, a score of well over 100 looked likely.  Guesty also reached the crs but no one else was able to get after the bowling and when our 20 overs were completed, we had finished on 93-7 including 4 ducks.

It looked to be 20-30 runs short of a competitive target and skipper AB opened up with Deadly and JP.  Deadly got an early wicket and bowled tightly beating the bat on numerous occasions but thing started to look more promising in JP’s third over, which brought 3 wickets including a slightly dubious lbw. Some of us thought the batsman might have got an inside edge to a really good straight ball.  However, the Tale umpire thought otherwise. 

At the end of the 6^th over Tale were 4 wickets down for 18 runs and we were starting to look interested.  The Tale batmen knuckled down.  Kittow and Pengelly reached the crn and were aided by some lusty blows from Corcoran who was bowled by the Landlord in a good spell of 4 overs for 11 runs. 

However, the Tale-enders (get it!) were struggling to get the ball away and with three overs to go and the fielders crowding the batsmen 8 runs were still needed for victory.  Lights conceded only one run in the 18^th over and AB just 3 in the over that followed.  All the fielders were on their toes as the final over began bowled by Lights.  He took a wicket and after five balls Tale had only scored 1 run, still needing 2 to draw.  Surely the match was won but no….the Tale batsmen having barely laid bat on ball in the over swung the final ball off the stumps to the legside boundary and Tale had snatched victory.

A great game played in a good spirit.  Pity about the result but both sides agreed that cricket was the real winner!!

PM

[ED: JP has the bag!!]