Gargoyles’ Man of the Match Ben King

Not renowned for their 20:20 explosiveness, Alstonefield Cricket Club came within a boundary rope’s width of victory in a thriller against a younger and more powerful St. Anselms Strollers, at Bakewell on Tuesday evening. Click here to read more. The Gargoyles posted an impressive 142 for the loss of only 1 wicket, off their 20 overs, with openers Andy Bray (33 not out) and Chris Wilkins (32 not out) putting on 68 in just under 10 overs and then Ben King (33 not out) and Ian McKay (28 not out) adding 74 in just over 10 overs, to set St. Anselms a rate of just over 7 runs an over. Captain Simon Smith knew, if the early overs could be kept tight, scoreboard pressure would mount rapidly. Ben King showed the way, conceding only 20 off his 4 overs and taking a wicket, but at the other end runs were leaking at 10 per over. Andy Bray and Ian McKay then bowled their combined 6 overs for 33, with Bray taking 2 wickets for 15, so at the half way stage, St. Anselms were spot on the 7 per over asking rate, with 3 wickets down. Some immense hitting off decent length deliveries by Harrison, swung the game towards the hosts, but when he was out, brilliantly caught by King off the bowling of Tony Guest for an 11 ball 25, the odds were even. Accurate and in the case of Chris Wilkins, genuinely fast, bowling was still being taken for 8 runs an over, as there just didn’t seem to be enough fieldsmen to stop the skilful placements from Drury and Litchfield, as they accumulated 1s and 2s off every ball. With one over remaining, St. Anselms needed 4 for victory. With the field all up to stop the singles, one guide down to third man was enough. A real 20:20 match, with the batsmen ascendant and with both sides in with a chance until the final over. ALSTONEFIELD CRICKET CLUB 142 FOR 1, LOST TO ST. ANSELMS STROLLERS 145 FOR 5.