23 May 2009, Lindow CC 1st XI vs. Aston (h)
Grover Wings It
Aston 171 for 7 dec, Lindow 172 for 9
Lindow (20pts) beat Aston (15) by 1 wicket
After heavy rain through the week, this game was only just playable, as both square and outfield were very wet, if drying quickly. After a fascinating match, Lindow staggered to the narrowest of wins on the back of some lusty late hitting by skipper Grover.
After winning the toss, the visitors were asked to bat on the basis that the wicket might misbehave. It didn’t, and Wright (52) and Pennock (26) got Aston off to a sound start. Law (1 for 33) made the breakthrough when Pennock miscued into the covers and Grover quickly widened the breach by having Ridgway (0) caught behind. From 41 for 2 in 15 overs, Wright was joined by C. Beesley in a stand of 97 that threatened to take the game away from Lindow. But Lindow kept the lid on the scoring rate and only 5 overs remained when the stubborn Wright was finally claimed by Grover with the score at 138. Masud (1 for 45) claimed Beesley for 58 and Grover chipped away at the late middle order as the visitors pushed for quick runs, eventually scrambling to maximum batting points with a total of 171 for 7. Skipper Grover ended up bowling 20 overs for the home side, reaping the rewards with a return of 5 for 64. It could have been a smaller score if Lindow had not grassed several catchable chances in the early part of the innings.
Aston looked like making short work of Lindow with the new ball, as openers Leese (6 for 42) and Cottrell (2 for 59) made full use of the drying wicket to reduce the home side to 59 for 6 after 21 overs. But Lindow have been batting deep this season and so it proved again on this occasion, as Adam Clarke and Ed Farmer rebuilt the innings. Clarke (33) was his usual flamboyant, mercurial self in leading the recovery, but when he was trapped LBW by P. Beesley (1 for 19) at 101 for 7 the end seemed inevitable. But Farmer was growing in confidence and began to assert himself in partnership with Andy Hume (13), both attacking whenever possible and taking full advantage of the attacking fields as Aston pushed for the win. Hume was first to go, miscuing one into the air, followed soon after by Farmer, edging behind for an excellent 42, and with the score at 141 the home side’s last pair was at the wicket. But with 8 overs left skipper Grover decided that counterattack was the way to go, and he launched an astonishing assault on the bowling, striking the ball superbly as the gap closed rapidly. Even Homy Masud (5*) got in on the act, hitting a full toss straight down the ground for another boundary. At the start of the 40th over Lindow trailed by 12 runs and Grover (26*) decided to close the gap by hitting Cottrell’s first 2 balls for 6, and suddenly the game was over with a scrambled single.
Aston returned south bewildered by the unlikely defeat but nevertheless clutching a decent haul of points. Lindow’s 20 point win kept their early season momentum going and raised them up to fourth in the table.
