Wiltshire CCC fall to defeat against Dorset in NCCA 50 Over trophy
Wiltshire CCC v Dorset CCC – NCCA Trophy, Group 4
Warminster CC
16th June 2024
An unusually warm and sunny day in Warminster saw Wiltshire and Dorset involved in a 50 over NCCA Trophy match. Wiltshire started well – they won the toss! No less than 8 batters made it into double figures, but none were able to push on to a commanding score and their strike rate was disappointing. James Degg 38 and Jake Goodwin 57 were both settling in when they each fell to a slip catch by Hampshire’s Felix Organ who completed a trio of catches when Ben Draper fell for 25. Organ also contributed with a couple of wickets 2 for 47. Skipper Ed Young got off the mark with a splendid 6 until he fell to an Alex Eckland catch behind the stumps from his one-time team mate Matt Burton, 3 for 46. There were also wickets for Connor Smith, 3 for 48, and one apiece for Simon Woodruff and Finn Gordon. Towards the end of the innings the strike rate improved with first Ben Draper 25 from 28 balls and then Will Naish 25 from 20. However, the most exciting innings came from Archie Fairfax-Ross who hit a belligerent 29 from just 17 balls with four 4’s and one enormous 6. The innings closed on 247 all out with just 1 ball remaining.
Following a splendid lunch Dorset set about chasing down the Wiltshire total ….and they did it in style with skipper Luke Webb hitting a splendid 54 ( 59 balls with 6 x 4 and 3 x 6) He looked set to chase down the target with ease until wily experienced campaigner Joe King deceived him as he advanced down the wicket!! He would have been comfortably stumped, but he was bowled! David Scott, 57, was also in fine, hard-hitting form (56 balls with 3 x 4 and 4 x 6) He fell to a catch from Archie Fairfax-Ross off Ed Young’s bowling. Ed also removed Felix Organ, 47, with an unusual caught and bowled – Felix skied the ball and Ed had ample time to move back and get underneath it. Earlier Jacob Gordon, 21, had been the first victim of Joe King as Archie Fairfax-Ross took the catch. Ed Young 2 for 48 and Joe King 2 for 55 were the most successful bowlers although more expensive than they would have liked. The fifth wicket fell to James Degg, 1 for 21, as he was given a rare opportunity to bowl. He removed Finn Gordon 46 (59 balls with 3 x 4 and 2 x 6) before Dorset reached their target with 29 balls to spare.
Dorset had the edge in all departments with more runs from boundaries (20 x 4 and 10 x 6) compared to Wiltshire’s tally (23 x 4 and 4 x 6) and they gave away significantly fewer extras – 18 compared to 29. Plenty of food for thought, but plenty of encouraging signs as they head for Didsbury CC to take on Cheshire next weekend knowing that a victory there would see them progress to the quarter-finals. Today’s result created an interesting League table with Cheshire, Wiltshire and Dorset all on 4 points, but Dorset having completed their fixtures. Full marks to Warminster CC for their excellent hospitality throughout.
Dorset beat Wiltshire by 5 wickets
*Many thanks to Roy Honeybone for providing the photos and match reports
