No second time lucky for Old Glossop

It was a case of deja vu for Old Glossop 2nd X1 on Sunday in all aspects of the word. The heat, the slight under performance, and the result, almost mirroring Saturday.

Old Glossop at last one a toss and after knowing the track from 24 hours earlier decided to bat. Old Glossop were cheered on by a healthy travelling support from the club, which included chairman Trevor James and a number of first teamers.  Martyn "Airwolf" Parker, fresh from his fine knock a day earlier, opened the batting along with the returning "worse for wear after a day/night on the pop" Johnny Wright. It was plain to see early on that the opening bowlers looked fresher after only bowling a handful of overs the previous day.

Johnny carved a couple of square boundaries and looked in good touch. Airwolf again got "the ball of the day" early that, after swinging like a banana, removed his off stump for a meagre total. Mikey Parker joined Johnny and immediately laid into the Vale bowlers with a flurry of boundaries. Wright was adjudged lbw when looking set. Steven Allcock was pushed up the order at 4 and started very well, knocking the ball all around for singles and two's. Mikey looked set for a big one but played a rash shot and was bowled off his pads for 29. Matt Parker couldn't repeat his efforts from 24 hours earlier and was bowled playing down the wrong line for 3. Jamie Cannon came to the crease at 6 and started to push the OG total up, punishing any poor bowling from the BV bowlers.

Allcock had started to play a few more shots and a respectable partnership was built before JC inexplicably called for a single when he hit the ball straight to a fielder and Allcock (27) was not even in the picture. Ali "Trip van Winkle" Gerrard was next in and having not slept for 50+ hours started slowly but eventually started to cut loose and hammered any short bowling into the fence at will.

Cannon knowing that he couldn't go back in to face the lads without a decent score also joined in a 50+ partnership before Gerrard was bowled for (32).Tom Wright came in next and was out without troubling the scorers playing all around a full toss. At the loss of the Gerrard wicket OG had started to lose momentum and when JC (35) went for a big one over the top and was caught at mid-off, OG looked doomed. Cannon was cursing using Tory’s bat claiming “he had hit it out of the screws”.

Mitchell and Tory Wright were now at the crease together and Mitchell went soon for 7, which included one big six. Tory was batting well when joined by Twist but failed to rotate the strike around enough to protect the ever vulnerable Twist who was caught out for 1, leaving Tory unbeaten on 9. This made him the highest scoring Wright brother two days running (that’s unless Big J scored down town the previous day/night). Old Glossop felt and were proved correct that they were 40-50 runs short of a good target.

Old Glossop, as they had done successfully in the previous round, decided to change the bowling around with Tory Wright opening the bowling with Twist. However Old Glossop bowled and fielded like they had been out on a bender the night before (mind you most had), and after some particularly loose overs from Wright, Birch Vale were 47 off six overs.

Wright was replaced with Matt Parker and Twist with Mitchell and Mitchell soon accounted for the opener. Parker bowled very tightly and was unlucky when the usually sound Tory dropped a dolly after mis-reading the carry. Skipper Cannon then brought himself on to change the pace and bowled a couple of tight overs before the Vale batters decided to chance their arm with the boundary being so small. Allcock then pulled off a cracking catch to get rid of the other opener but by then a lot of the damage had been done with the opener adding a further 30 runs after being given his chance.

Youngster Walsh came to the crease then and looked like he would carry on the way he had Saturday before Twist again like yesterday trapped him right in front. Twist (2-25) then had the next Vale batsman caught in his 20's, before skipper Cannon bought Parker back at the New Mills end and told him to "put it in and bend his back". Parker (0 for 25 off his allotted 8 overs) certainly did that and in one last fiery spell can class himself very unlucky not to have got a couple of wickets, one low edge carried all the way to the boundary through the vacated 2nd slip area for six.The innings was closed by Tory (0 for 29 off 3.2 overs) who was hit for four to see the Valers home with four overs to spare.

It's only Compstall next week?