Scorecard

Gloucester Gipsies CC v Cryptics Cricket Club on Wed 21 Aug 2019 at 11:30
Match was Drawn

Match report Gloucester Gipsies 256-6 (B Ellis 97, J Cooper 57)
Cryptics 174-7 (D Williams 5-34)

A familiar sight greeted the Cryptics on arrival to the beautiful Stowell ground - damp outfield and a green looking wicket! The West Country had had a fair bit of rain over the preceding week or so, so skipper Walker decided the only sensible course of action was to have a bowl having won the toss. There was indeed something in the wicket with the new ball - some lateral movement both in the air and off the pitch. Ludo Staley in particular made life uncomfortable for the opening batsmen and was duly rewarded by bowling the number one, in a good opening 6 over spell of 1-9. Luca Cappuccini got some significant outswing at the other end, but struggled slightly going down the hill to control the radar. The Gipsies had got off to a good start, punishing wide balls and at 61 off the first 10 overs were well set. With the local Aussie import at the crease, some useful insider knowledge from James Richardson suggested a period of pressure and drying up the runs may prove fruitful. Indeed he was correct - Marcus Ward bowling excellent left arm over with an outside off line, allowed a 7-2 field, and Joel Price bowling some quality off spin at the other end allowed dot ball pressure to finally cause the Aussie to hole out giving Joel his first wicket. 25 minutes before lunch Marcus finally got his reward with Matt Court taking one of the catches of the season - at full stretch diving up and away to his left to take a magnificent 2 handed catch to remove the no.2 for 57. Skipper Walker then took the unusual (and somewhat harsh!) move of taking off Marcus as soon as he had taken a wicket to allow Mike Stafford a bowl and have off-spin at either end.

Either side of lunch the Cryptics had great control, with Ludo Staley coming back on for another spell and together with Mike removing their no. 4 batsmen, and then Joel returning for a further spell, the Gipsies were only 148-4 off 42 overs. However, quietly accumulating at the other end, the no. 5 Ellis was in the process of putting together a brilliant knock - slowly accumulated until he got to about 40 then accelerated rapidly into the 90s, and it took another unbelievable catch from Joel Price, in similar fashion to Matt's catch, to remove him for 97. When we got to bat, and realised it was not an easy wicket to score on, it made his knock all the more impressive. Ultimately this innings took the game away from us. The Gipsies probably batted on too long in hindsight, declaring on 256-6 off nearly 62 overs. So I come to a phrase not oft uttered in Cryptics match reports - the fielding was absolutely outstanding! The best fielding display I've seen for some time - 2 incredible catches, both of which could vie for catch of the season, no dropped catches and some superb out fielding too. 62 overs is a long stint but it was very enjoyable to oversee as Captain with such energy in the field.

So the Cryptics took the wicket knowing a big innings was required to potentially see this through. James Richardson and Jason Doole accumulated either side of tea to take us to 50, but batting was hard work - the ball wasn't coming on that well and was difficult to get away if put on a good length. The introduction of the leg spinner Williams turned the game - although not turning it much he fizzed the ball through at a good pace and on a good length. He removed both openers, and at the other end Matt Court was out to the off spinner caught trying to push the score along. The key wicket of Joel Price also fell to the leg spinner, caught at mid on not getting over his drive. At 80-4 we were in trouble, but when the final hour started with 113 on the board with skipper Walker joining Sam Elstone, there was still an outside change of chasing down the final 140 odd as Sam Elstone was belying his 16 years and starting to put together a really quality innings. It was great to see the next generation of Elstones playing under a Cryptics banner (dad David ran the West Mids tour in the past). Sam was as cool as a cucumber - slightly unorthodox in set up, with plenty of bottom hand which allowed him to get well over his drives and manoeuvre the ball in the gaps. Sadly he holed out for 39 just when looking well set, but we look forward to welcoming him back in future matches. At 6 wickets down a realistic run chase was off - Mike Stafford joined Walker and saw out the majority of the final overs till Walker was given LBW with a couple of overs to go. The Gipsies did bowl 60 overs back, but got 15 in the last 40 minutes when the run chase was off, but to be fair it is not ask easy wicket to judge declarations on.

So a draw it was, which felt right given our excellent fielding and bowling display and as always a great day at Stowell - rounded off with the outstanding 5 star lunch and tea!

Gloucester Gipsies CC Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
5nb 9w 16b 2lb 
for 6 wickets
32
256 (61.4 overs)		     
D Williams b  Staley 15
J Cooper ct  Court b. M Ward 57
N Farrar ct  Stafford b. Price 14
C Cole ct  Walker b. Stafford 8
B Ellis ct  Elstone b. Price 97
T Newman ct  Price b. Cappuccini 31
F Elsey Not Out  2
A Rae  
C Pritchard  
A Pockett*+  
R Elsey  

Cryptics Cricket Club Cryptics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Lucas Staley12.0429129.002.42
Luca Cappuccini8.0064164.008.00
Joel Price19.4284242.004.27
Marcus Ward8.0126126.003.25
Mike Stafford14.0335135.002.50

Cryptics Cricket Club Cryptics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 3w 12b 4lb 
for 7 wickets
20
174		        
Jason Doole ct  Farrar b. N Williams 30
James Richardson lbw  b. D Williams 22
Matthew Court ct  C. Cole b. A Rae 3
Sam Elstone ct  & b. D Williams 39
Joel Price ct  F Elsey b. D Williams 1
Marcus Ward lbw  b. D Williams 10
Rob Walker lbw  b. C Cole 36
Mike Stafford Not Out  9
Lucas Staley Not Out  4
Chris Ward  
Luca Cappuccini  

Gloucester Gipsies CC Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
R Elsey7.031100.001.57
C Overs7.012300.003.29
A Rae14.0256156.004.00
D Williams15.033456.802.27
B Ellis7.031300.001.86
N Farrar8.002000.002.50
C Cole2.01111.000.50
UA-68987171-1