Burrell bludgeons Bristol.
We could write a great deal about this match which on the whole would be space filling. In truth Entrecasteaux out classed their visitors from Bristol with both the bat and the ball. That having been said no one would deny that it was a highly enjoyable day, with some very good cricket being played and much fun was had by all, in wonderful weather, in this most beautiful setting. Our visitors enjoyed themselves, somewhat amazed to find such a picturesque ground in the south of France and were very gracious in defeat but the margin of victory in this 40 over game reflected the large gulf in skill between the two sides.
Gregory having won the toss rightly decided to bat and sent his openers Glen Burrell (149) and Roshan Perera (27) to the crease. Burrell immediately recognized the chance he had been given and played with the kind of authority, patience and power which told us all that he intended to make a big score. Indeed he carried his bat until the last ball of the innings forging partnerships of 76 with Perera, 60 with Bandaranayake of which Bandaranayake made 27, 68 with Chaminda Perera of which Chaminda made 36, 48 with Eddie Bishop of which Bishop made 20, and 32 with Mike Varley of which Varley made 10. On that last ball of the 40 overs he was bowled, doubtless trying to tip the scales north of 150 but to no avail and the Entrecasteaux innings therefore closed on a very sizeable 285 which reflected a run rate of 7.1 runs per over.
It was not that the Bristol bowlers had bowled badly, they only gave away 15 extras and the left arm over of Fuller (8-1-42-3) produced the best figures, it was just that they came across someone at the top of their game and they were unable to match his verve.
An excellent lunch was provided by the ladies, special thanks to Ann Mitchem and Debbie Cook, and all those who so generously gave of their time. It was very much appreciated but the Bristol batsmen needed some other kind of spinach to tackle the huge mountain they had to climb.
Indeed the superiority of the home team was emphasized when the captain used just three main strike bowlers, and one he did not use at all, to bowl a total of only 9 overs. In so doing he manufactured a game and gave some of his less regular players a chance to turn their arm. So it was that young Yannick Perera (8-1-59-1) was seen to show his promise for the years to come, he stuck to his task manfully and on occasion had the batsmen wondering.
Ivor Wilson, batting at number 2 made a very creditable 84 runs but with only Garland (17) able to stick around for any length of time, so generating a partnership of 63 runs, he always had his back to the wall. Indeed that partnership came to an end as a result of an excellent piece of fielding when Uddika Bandaranayake broke the stumps with a direct hit from cover point. Other fine catches were taken by Bishop in the slips, Gregory at deep mid off and Harrington behind the stumps, who is improving with every game. It was as though in each department that Entrecasteaux were on top of their game and Bristol will have to return next year with a little more fire power in their arsenal, which, as they played the game in such a good spirit, we very much hope they will.
Bristol Venturers ran out of time with their score on 173 and so Entrecasteaux had won by 112 runs and are on their way to being a half decent team.
Very many thanks to Mike Lomax and Maurice Mitchem for umpiring and to Mike Howarth for helping with the scoring. And how good it was to see stalwart club members, Ian Mackintosh, back from 6 months of ill health, and Maggie Stone who has been travelling – how we miss her marmalade!
Entrecasteaux: Gregory, Perera R., Perera C., Perera Y., Harland, Burrell, Harrington, Bandaranayake, Karunarathnage, Bishop, Varley, Lange, Wells.