Led by skipper Chris Boroughs’ battling 93, Herefordshire County Cricket Club just failed in their bid to record their first win of the season when they went down by five runs to Cornwall in the second of their four MCCA KO Trophy group matches at Colwall on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 254 in 50 overs, the home county’s last wicket fell from the third ball of the final over with the scoreboard showing 248.
The venerable cedar of Lebanon that stands guard on part of the road-end boundary line played its part in influencing the result.
The local rule decrees that if a batsman’s stroke hits any part of the tree it is regarded as a four. In the latter stages of the innings, when Simon Roberts and Stuart Wedge started peppering boundaries, three shots thudded into the branches, all of which would have been sixes if they had sailed either side of the obstacle.
Herefordshire’s reply received two early setbacks when Richard Hall and Henry Langford, top scorers in their previous 17-run defeat by Berkshire, were dismissed by Rob Harrison (2-24) and Anthony Angrove (1-13) for three and six respectively.
At 55 Harshad Patel departed for 23 and soon after debut-making Huw Jones (17) was run out by a direct throw.
Boroughs and wicket-keeper Ian Stevenson (18) revived the innings, putting on 63 for the sixth wicket. The required five-an-over run rate rapidly increased, however, and at 208 Borough’s fine knock, containing 11 fours, ended as he was caught by keeper Gavin Edwards off Andrew Smeeth (1-65).
With four overs left 53 runs were still needed and Roberts and Wedge, who hit four boundaries in his 18, whittled it down to 24 off the final two.
Roberts scored 16 off the penultimate one but Luke Sellars, the ninth wicket to fall, was run out from the first ball of the final over, although giving Roberts the strike. Roberts hit the ball for two but off the third delivery he was run out after scoring a valiant 29.
Earlier in the day Roberts (2-45), Wedge (1-64) and Boroughs (1-41) reduced Cornwall to 57-4. But Chris Hunkin turned the innings around, striking three sixes and ten fours in an unbeaten 100.
Assisted by Smeeth (39) and Edwards (38 not out), he steered the visitors to 253-6.
Seamer Sellars, who was a late replacement for the injured Jon Shaw, was Herefordshire’s most economical bowler, conceding just 28 off his maximum 10 overs.
The Sunday Herefordshire take on Devon at Budleigh Salterton in the third of their four Trophy group matches.
