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Mildenhall progress in cup with three balls to spare
Suffolk Cup MILDENHALL 1st XI had no fixture on Saturday and took the opportunity to relax with a round of golf in preparation for their defence of the Suffolk Cup, in a home match on Sunday.
Exning batted first and started steadily as Tomsett and Ford added 49. Mildenhall's first change of bowling saw Ford caught behind by Eddie Finnis off Tymal Mills for 24. The home side had a piece of luck when Tim Catley drove straight back to Phangabantu, who deflected it onto the stumps and ran out the unfortunate Tomsett for 25.
Catley and Estlea took Exning to 100 before James Holmes induced Catley to edge a catch, again to wicketkeeper Finnis.
Lomas's innings was shortlived as he was trapped lbw by Ben Shepperson for six. Matt Catley (11) was next to go when he gave Steve Lankester an opportunity to hold onto a caught and bowled chance, leaving Exning on 134-5.
Geeves joined Estlea and the pair added a further 80 before Geeves was caught off a skier by Adam White off the bowling of Fran Bester for 26.
Mildenhall had further success when Estlea, who had produced another fine innings on the Wamil ground, edged a catch to Finnis off Bester and was out for 90.
Two more Exning wickets fell cheaply before they closed their innings after 50 overs with a total of 224-9. The pick of the Mildenhall bowling was Bester, who took 3-42, although all the bowlers had registered a wicket.
Mildenhall's problems with an opening partnership continued when White was adjudged lbw without troubling the scorer. Bester had moved to 13 when he was caught by Tim Catley off Geeves. Cross (28), Watson (29) and Shepperson (20) all made contributions to the Mildenhall total, but Exning had turned the screws on the run rate and Mildenhall were starting to lose a grip on the cup they hold.
The game did not improve when Kulasi was caught for one and Mildenhall drifted to 98-6.
The weather matched the mood of the Mildenhall dressing room as dark clouds spread over the ground and a sudden downpour took the players from the field. Had the game been abandoned at this point, Exning would have been winners due to a faster run rate.
Fortunately for the home side, the teams were able to take to the field again. James Holmes and Steve Lankester added a further 33 before Holmes (13) was out caught by Matt Catley off Estlea. Phangabantu joined his skipper and a never-say-die partnership developed, with Lankester striking the ball to all parts while Phangabantu rotated the strike.
Mildenhall's run rate left the pair needing 40 off the last four overs. The pair threw the bat at every opportunity and passed the Exning total with just three balls remaining. Lankester was unbeaten, having scored a majestic 72, while Phangabantu was unbeaten with 29 in their unbroken partnership of 97.
Marshall Hatchick Two Counties League
Division Two
Mildenhall II 223-3, Ipswich 222-4. Mildenhall II won by 52 runs.
Mildenhall 2nd XI entertained Ipswich in a Two Counties Division Two game. Ipswich had first knock and totalled 222 that included a century partnership from C Bell (67) and S Connelly (41).
Mildenhall had looked below par in the field with dropped catches and misfielding, but made a much better show with the bat. Andy Squire was in vintage form, scoring 109no, while Jason Moore (70no) helped Squire add 143 in an unbroken partnership that enabled Mildenhall to win the match by seven wickets.
Division Five
Mildenhall III 239-5, Bury St Edmunds III 182. Mildenhall III won by 57 runs.
Mildenhall 3rd XI were on the adjacent pitch and played Bury St Edmunds 3rd XI in a Two Counties Division Five match. Mildenhall openers, Richard Thurston and Andy Francis, put on 69 for the first wicket before Francis was bowled by Weston for 21.
James Taylor joined Thurston to add a further half-century partnership and they both went on to make their own half-centuries. Taylor scored 52 before being bowled by Imam and Thurston made 61 before he was bowled for 61 by A Smith.
Lou Handy continued to display his all-round talent as he scored 43no. With a late flourish from Chris Reeve (19no) Mildenhall posted 239-5.
In reply, Bury were bowled out for 182, with captain Kevin Dobson top-scoring with 42.
For Mildenhall, Adam Hazelhurst sent down 14 overs, picking up four wickets for 49 runs, and Lou Handy completed a fine individual display after picking up two catches and claiming three Bury wickets for 35 runs.
Ladies Challenge
Woolpit 113, Mildenhall 206-4. Mildenhall won by 93 runs.
Mildenhall Ladies achieved an excellent all-round performance, beating Woolpit in the Two Counties League fixture by 93 runs. Batting first on the away track, Mildenhall scored a record total of 206-4. Hannah Gordon narrowly missed her third century when she was caught on 96, but great support from Kathryn Carter, with a personal best of 33, kept the runs clocking up. Defiant batting from Kirsten Arnold and Beth Absolon left them 18 and 4no, respectively.
Kirsten opened the bowling and took the first of her four-wicket haul in the second over. She went on to finish with seven overs, two maidens, and conceded 19 runs.
Kat Carter took the key wicket of S Harvey, who had proved difficult to budge and the rest of the order were removed at a regular rate. Lily Reynolds cleared up the tail with three wickets (6.4-0-20-3) helped by skipper Mary Munley with a catch at slip.
Beth Absolon and Kayliegh Francis were also in the wickets.
The game plan to bowl out the opposition to gain the maximum 20 points was achieved with some accurate efforts, resulting in seven bowled and two lbw decisions. Hannah was player-of-the-match for her excellent batting innings and bowling four overs for just six runs.
n On Sunday, Mildenhall entertained Norfolk’s Black Sheep Cricket Club in the annual Children’s Charity cricket match. The match was sponsored by Jean Cornell and Hazel Clarke.
With generous support from members, spectators and players from both matches (1st XI v Exning on the main pitch), and thanks to Mike Clarke's draw ticket selling – Mildenhall were able to present Steve Reed, of the Black Sheep, with a cheque for 360.
These annual games have raised more than 2,500 for local children with special needs.
Andy H Carter was awarded unofficial Black Sheep man-of-the-match when he blocked out the last over to gain the away side a tie.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Friday 25 May 2012
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Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
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