Bashley's Currie too hot for Lymington in local derby
Southern Premier Division: Lymington CC 48 v 49-5 Bashley (Rydal) CC (Bashley win by five wickets)
A six-wicket haul for Brad Currie helped Bashley (Rydal) CC skittle local rivals Lymington CC for a dismal 48 in a five-wicket win to keep them top of the Southern Premier Division.
The 20-year old left-arm seamer sent Lymington packing with his late in-swing movement as he clean bowled three batsmen and trapped three more LBW in his 6-14 figures.
But despite being bowled out for their lowest ECB Southern Premier Division total – one run fewer than the 49 they mustered against the Hampshire Academy last season – Lymington hit back reducing Bashley to 22-4 and later 36-5 before the Premier Division leaders got home.
Destructive bowling
Lymington faced the genuine prospect of being bowled out for the lowest score in ECB Southern Premier Division history after losing seven wickets for only 13 runs as the bowling tandem of Dan Goodey and Currie dominated throughout.
When the rain stopped play after little more than 30 minutes of the morning session, they had yet to reach double figures (9-5) and were some distance from overhauling Hursley Park’s all-time low of 37 all out against South Wilts, made in 2006.
Put into bat in gloomy conditions, Lymington lost Ben Rogers, bowled second ball by Currie, who soon after breached Ryan Scott’s tired defence.
Two runouts later, Lymington were 8-4 – Dom Hand having perished to a direct hit by Currie and Dan Cox to a Josh Digby throw.
Then Harry Fisher, jet-lagged after a late-night return from Madagascar, was bowled by pace bowler Dan Goodey (2-28) to leave Lymington five down and only nine runs on the board.
They lurched into even deeper trouble at 13-7 before South African teenager Gareth Schreuder, whose 18 was the highest individual score of the match, showed better technique than his team-mates to deal with the testing conditions.
The Hilton College youngster carried Lymington past the lowest Southern Premier total before Currie bowled Josh Royan to end proceedings inside 21 overs.
Nervous run-chase
Bashley’s response got away to an equally dramatic start, with Ben Walker deflecting Matt Metcalfe’s opening delivery on to his stumps – the second consecutive week Lymington’s captain had taken a wicket with his first ball.
It didn’t get much better for Bashley as Metcalfe (3-27) and Josh Proctor (2-21) produced similar movement to the Bashley bowlers and hit the stumps four times to leave the visitors 22-4.
With the ball swinging, Phil Morris was defiant in his knock of 16 and enhanced Bashley’s precarious position, effectively ending Lymington’s hopes of pulling off a miraculous victory.
Metcalfe trapped Tom Friend LBW before the end of play, but Tom Jacques launched a six and a four shortly after to get Bashley across the line at 49-5.
