DCC 1st XI go down fighting vs T.Wells
Date of story: 10 May 2010Sun 9 May - 1st XI narrowly lose in Conference Cup...
Dartford CC 1st XI narrowly lost out to Tunbridge Wells in the Conference Cup Knock-out Competition last Sunday 9 May.
The game was re-arranged due to wet weather the previous Sunday, although conditions were hardly the warm temperatures the Dartford following had been hoping for.
The fixture was played at The Nevill in Tunbridge Wells, and DCC won the toss and batted first. After losing Jay Dassrath and Joe Murphy early on both LBW, DCC were left at 16-2. Mark Lewis-Ranwell joined Cookie at the crease and the fightback began much to the delight of the crowd up in the stands. MLR and Cookie started to dispatch the ball to all corners of the ground with some fine strokeplay, and the tempo was raised when Cookie launched the spinner into the car park for the only 6 of the game, followed by two 4s down the ground in the same over. When Cookie departed for 54, 133 runs had been added by the pair in just 27 overs. Ross Allen (Bear) joined MLR at the crease and runs continued to flow with Bear adding 29 in just 17 balls including six 4s. With one over to go, MLR reached his 100 and was applauded by everyone at the ground, finishing on 104 not out in 131 balls. The Darts total stood at 217-6 off their 45 overs.
Without some of the 1st XI’s main bowlers the Darts set about their task in the field trying to keep it tight and exert some pressure by picking up some early wickets. T.Wells started well but DCC took 3 quick wickets to leave the score at 74-3 off 16 overs and the game finely balanced. The 4th wicket partnership proved hard to break and finally on 198 after 124 runs had been added Lee Gray made the breakthrough. The Darts kept the pressure on with another 2 wickets and some tight overs (Ross Allen 9-2-30-2), but T.Wells reached the target of 218 with the loss of 6 wickets in the 42nd over with 3 to spare. An excellent game played in great spirits by both teams and the sun even came out towards the end of the game! DCC wish T.Wells all the best in the next round against Bexley! Come on you Wells!
