Honours end even in Lincolnshire
May 1, 2023AN UNDEFEATED sixth wicket-stand of 46 for Suffolk ensured honours ended even in Sunday’s NCCA T20 matches in Lincolnshire.
The home team won the first match by six wickets, but Suffolk hit back in the second encounter at Woodhall Spa CC to record a five-wicket success.
A foot injury sustained while playing for club side Copdock & Old Ipswichian on Saturday meant Alex Oxley was denied the opportunity to skipper Suffolk for the first time.
Michael Comber stepped up to captain Suffolk instead, but after he won the toss and elected to bat, the opener was one of three wickets to fall with just one run on the board.
The disastrous start got even worse as Suffolk slipped to 9 for 4 off 3.4 overs when George Rhodes ran himself out going for a second run.
Darren Ironside, Josh Cantrell and Tom Rash, who replaced the stricken Oxley, all scored useful runs, before Tom Harper top-scored with 28 not out, including two fours and a six.
Together with debutant wicket-keeper Connor Cobbold, who made four not out, he added 27 to hoist Suffolk to a final total of 107 for 8.
Ben Claydon struck an early blow with the ninth ball of Lincolnshire’s reply, but the hosts were always in control of the chase, and Ben Wright (38 not out) and Jordan Cook (26 not out) saw them home.
They added exactly 50 for the fifth wicket after coming together in the 13th over to see Lincolnshire to victory with three balls to spare.
Rash, who was not even expected to play for Suffolk during their white-ball campaign after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder during the winter, was one of four bowlers to claim a wicket.
In the second match it was Lincolnshire who opted to bat first after winning the toss, and they made a strong start, reaching 107 for 2 before Tom Keast was run out off the fifth ball of the 14th over.
That was the first of five wickets to fall between then and the end of the innings as Suffolk restricted their hosts to 119 for 7, Ben Wright this time making 59 off 35 deliveries.
Freddie Heldreich was the pick of the seven Suffolk bowlers that were used with figures of 4-1-23-3, leaving the visitors to score an even run-a-ball for victory.
Claydon completed a miserable day with the bat in which he faced three balls in each innings for just one run against the same opponents he became Suffolk’s first centurion in a competitive T20 fixture in last season’s competition.
Jack Beaumont also fell cheaply to leave Suffolk 13 for 2, and when Comber (17 off 15 balls) was adjudged leg before, Suffolk were wobbling again at 34 for 3 in the sixth over.
Rhodes and Ironside added 37 in 5.4 overs as Suffolk started to wrestle back the initiative, before Cantrell (18 off 18 balls) and Rash (21 off 28 balls) completed the job with four balls unused. Rash is pictured above striking one of three fours during his innings.
Suffolk, who now have four points from their opening four matches, face Norfolk at Ipswich School on Bank Holiday Monday in their third double-header of this season’s T20 campaign, before completing their Group 3 fixtures away to Hertfordshire next Sunday.
Scorecards
Tags: Connor Cobbold, Josh Cantrell, Lincolnshire, Michael Comber, NCCA T20, Tom Rash, Woodhall Spa CC
Categorised in: Suffolk CCC