Staffordshire v Bedfordshire: Minor Counties Championship – Match Recap
Staffordshire defeated Bedfordshire by two wickets in a close encounter of the Minor Counties Championship at the Haden http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 on Tuesday, August 9, 2011.
The hosts needed 148 runs for victory on the final day’s play, but they had to work very hard in order to reach the target. The team lost eight wickets in the process, but managed to take the win in the end.
The Bedfordshire skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Oliver-James-Clayson-c80188 misread the pitch and put the opposition into bat after winning the toss. The pitch was perfect for the batsmen and Staffordshire got away with 345 runs in their first innings.
Despite losing one wicket early, the hosts got off to a solid start. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/NS-Poonia-c2131 played solid cricket, collecting 100 runs for the second wicket partnership. They got out after scoring 39 and 55 runs in their respective outings.
However, the highlight of the innings was a spectacular century by middle-order batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Craig-J-Barker-c51697, who finished with 64 runs down the order.
Bedfordshire’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Charles-McGarry-c44310 was the pick of the bowlers in the innings, dismissing 4 batsmen.
The visitors’ first innings was a nightmare, as the team was all out for 159 runs. Only four batsmen in the innings managed to reach double figures with a highest score of 56 from middle-order player http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Christopher-Alroy-Martin-c50714 Weightman.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Barker-c47300, who earlier did a decent job with the bat for Staffordshire, picked up 4 wickets in the innings, guiding his side to a first innings lead of 186 runs.
Bedfordshire had to bat for the second consecutive time in the match, as the hosts imposed the follow-on. The team did a respectable job in their second outing, as they were given a solid start by their top-order.
James Kettleborough got out after adding 30 runs to the total, but the innings gained momentum with a fabulous second wicket partnership between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Stephen-David-Stubbings-c91064 and George Thurstance.
The pair put together 147 runs before getting out for 97 and 86 in their respective outings. Clayson contributed 40 runs to the total before the team was all out for 333 runs, gaining an overall lead of 147 runs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Greg-Richard-Willott-c60747 picked up 4 wickets in the innings for Staffordshire, as the team came out to bat in order to chase down 148 for victory.
The game turned out dramatically, as Staffordshire lost 8 wickets for just 93 runs on the board. However, Wilshaw and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gareth-David-Morris-c58397 guided the team to a thrilling victory in the end. They remained unbeaten on 35 and 27 respectively.
McGarry almost won the match for Bedfordshire, picking up a five-wicket haul in the innings.
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