Sunday Independent August 20, 2017
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Title-winning Growlers are unbeaten all way through GLOUCESTERSHIRE Growlers – the county’s blind cricket team – have won their first League title.
THEY’RE GRRRREAT!: The Gloucestershire Growlers, who have been crowned South and West champions in the Blind Cricket League. The team comprised of John Gribbin, Dan Hopkins, Edward Hastings, Elyse Bezuidenhout, Mike Tasker, Alun Jones, Paul Bryce, Sheona Page, Marc Gulwell and Robert Henderson
BOTHAM RECORD PASSED AS WEST INDIES THUMPED
STUART Broad lent a famous hand as England took a remarkable 19 wickets on day three of this country’s inaugural floodlit Test to inflict a crushing inningsand-209-run defeat on hapless West Indies at Edgbaston last night.
Only Jermaine Blackwood (79no) provided any resistance in a firstinnings 168 all out, and not even he could hold up the England juggernaut on its second run as Broad moved into overdrive to surpass the great Sir Ian Botham and take second place behind his team-mate James Anderson in the national all-time list of Test wicket-takers.
Soon afterwards, the tourists had folded for 137 to go 1-0 down in doublequick time with two more to play in this Investec series. Blackwood apart, the first innings was an unedifying procession after West Indies resumed on 44 for one.
Attempt
Just 31 overs later, they had to start trying again a massive 346 runs adrift – and after struggling to 102 for four then went into a rapid decline at the hands of Broad (three for 34), who took two in two to move level with Botham on 383
FIRST TEST England v. West Indies by David Clough and then clean-bowled Shane Dowrich to put himself a clear second. It was Anderson who blew away the Windies’ top order at the first attempt. They lost both overnight batsmen for the addition of three runs in 11 deliveries, with Anderson (three for 34) to the fore in a spell of 4-3-6-2. First, he got one to bounce alarmingly on Kyle Hope for a simple catch at gully; then after Broad failed to overturn an lbw decision in his favour against Kieran Powell, the left-hander tried to scamper a single to mid-on only to be run out when Anderson swooped to deliver a swift direct hit. Roston Chase and Shai Hope were brought together without a run between them, and the former was unable to get off the mark before inside-edging a good one from Anderson on to his leg-bail on the back-foot defence. It took seven overs before West Indies had the day’s first boundary, Blackwood’s
convincing force past cover off Anderson bringing up the team 50, and almost instantly at the other end Hope got off the mark with a four too off the 16th ball he faced with a controlled edge wide of the slips. Toby Roland-Jones replaced Anderson from the City End, and Blackwood promptly drove his first ball for four past mid-on as 21 runs came in the space of three overs. The counter-attack briefly continued in a spirited fifthwicket stand of 42 until Hope inside-edged an attempted drive on to his stumps – the first of two quick successes for Roland-Jones, who then had Dowrich lbw playing across another full-length ball. Ben Stokes decided to go short at Blackwood, and hit him on the helmet, but could not stop the diminutive mid-
dle-order batsman completing an entertaining 49-ball 50 which contained seven boundaries. Captain Jason Holder tried to join in, but his attempts to get after Mooen Ali resulted ultimately in just a thin edge behind - detected only when Jonny Bairstow called for DRS after Marais Erasmus had initially ruled not out. Broad returned for one over before lunch and needed only five deliveries before bowling Kemar Roach through the gate, but the final act of note in a hectic session was Blackwood’s - up the pitch to Moeen to smash the first six of the match back over the off-spinner's head. There was time too, in only six overs after lunch, for him to launch Broad for an outrageous maximum over long-on – but West In-
Big entry for Indy T20 comp POSTBAGS were heaving and the ethernet working overtime as the entries poured in for our latest cricket competition.
COMPETITION CORNER by John Collings
In conjunction with Somerset County Sports, who are based at the Coopers Associates County Ground in Taunton, we offered a signed Somerset NatWest T20 Blast shirt and a top of the range pair of Dirty Dog sunglasses, as worn by many of the leading players, in a competition to mark this summer’s Twenty20 competition. The winner was David Bray, of St Austell. Dirty Dog sunglasses retail from £35 while a Somerset NatWest T20 Blast shirt costs £45.
dies' first innings was up when Miguel Cummins was last out thanks to Tom Westley’s direct hit from midwicket as his senior partner tried to farm the strike. Predictably, it did not take long for the wickets to start falling again. Powell did not remotely convince before compliantly edging Anderson to slip, and then a switch back to the City End worked instantly for RolandJones when he had the first Hope lbw – confirmed on DRS by ‘umpire’s call’. Hope number two was extinguished by Stokes and a routine edge to Root at second slip – and just when it seemed Kraigg Brathwaite and Chase might close out the middle session, Moeen overturned an initial lbw ruling to have the opener on DRS deep in his crease for a hard-working 40.
Delivery Blackwood then went walkabout and easily stumped as he tried to disrupt Moeen – and after that, it was over to Broad, who claimed a fair slice of the glory by having Chase lbw and Holder caught at slip to join Botham. Roach kept out the hattrick ball. But there was no way back here for the Windies, and Broad made sure he did not let the opportunity slip with a delivery which homed in mercilessly on the top of Dowrich’s offstump – graciously leaving the remaining two wickets to Anderson and finally Roland-Jones.
scoreboard First Test at Edgbaston (Day three of five) England won the toss ENGLAND First Innings 514-8 dec (Cook 243, Root 136, Malan 65; Chase 4-113).
WEST INDIES FIRST INNINGS K Brathwaite c Bairstow b Anderson .0 Powell run out (Anderson).........20 K Hope c Stokes b Anderson ....25 S Hope b Roland-Jones ...........15 Chase b Anderson......................0 Blackwood not out .....................73 Dowrich lbw b Roland-Jones.......4 Holder c Bairstow b Moeen........11 Roach b Broad.............................5 Joseph not out.............................6 Cummins run out (Westley) .........0 Extras (0nb 2w 0b 1lb).....3 Total 47.0 overs) 168 To Bat: Anderson 15-6-34-3, Broad 16-3-47-2, Roland-Jones 6-0-31-2, Stokes 7-0-40-0, Moeen 3-1-15-1. Fall: 1-0, 2-45, 3-47, 4-47, 5-89, 6101, 7-127, 8-134, 9-162, 10-168.
WEST INDIES SECOND INNINGS K Brathwaite lbw b Moeen ............40 Powell c Cook b Anderson............10 K Hope lbw b Roland-Jones .........12 S Hope c Root b Stokes..................4 Chase lbw b Broad........................24 Blackwood st Bairstwo b Moeen...12 Dowrich b Broad .............................5 Holder c Cook b Broad....................0 Roach b Anderson ........................12 jJoseph c Stokes b Roland-Jones...8 Cummins not out.............................0 Extras (0nb 0w 9b 1lb) ..10 Total 45.4 overs) 137 To Bat: Anderson 7-2-12-2, Broad 10-4-34-3, Roland-Jones 6.4-318-2, Stokes 9-4-9-1, Moeen 132-54-2. Fall: 1-15, 2-41, 3-60, 4-76, 5-102, 6-104, 7-104, 8-115, 9-137, 10137. Umpires: Marais Erasmus, Sundaram Ravi, Christopher Gaffaney, Michael Gough, and David Boon.
CRICKET QUICKIES by Luke Sellers and Richard Walsh
Just six years after forming, the side cruised to the Blind Cricket England and Wales South West Regional championship following an unbeaten campaign. The team, who play home matches at Hatherley and Reddings CC, won four games and picked up two winning draws to finish 17 points ahead of runners-up Kent Spitfires. The League title builds on the Growlers’ growing success, which included finishing runners-up in the Twenty20 Cup last year. Marc Gulwell, the club’s founder, says the victory was a dream come true. ‘When we set up the Gloucestershire Growlers six years ago I often dreamed of lifting the League trophy but I never actually believed it would happen,’ he said. ‘Back then, during the embryonic stages, it was difficult enough finding a team of seven! However, after five years of competing and countless hours of tireless effort from all involved, I am proud to say, we did it! ‘As founder, I am extremely proud of the efforts of all involved, not just today but over all of the years we have been playing.’ Blind cricket is played with a size-three football filled with ball bearings. The wicket is larger than in sighted cricket and the ball must bounce twice before reaching the batsman. The Growlers play in the second tier of blind cricket, one level below the National League. Their opponents this year included teams from Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, London, Hampshire and Dorset. Despite the euphoria of winning the League, the Growlers’ success has been marred by the death of two squad members during the season. ‘Sadly this season both our club captain Terry Richards and new recruit Andy Dales have both joined the pavilion in the sky,’ said Gulwell. ‘Despite this overwhelming sadness, we are very proud to dedicate the League win to them both.’ Next up for the Growlers is their Twenty20 Cup semi-final against Dorset today at Hatherley and Reddings. The match starts at 1.00 pm and support would be most welcome. The Growlers are hoping their success may help encourage more players or volunteers to get involved. ‘Our great season has left us hungry for more success next year and beyond,’ said Gulwell. ‘To anyone who is blind or partially sighted and looking for a new challenge, why not get in touch with us. ‘Blind cricket is a great sport to play, it’s competitive but friendly.’ If you are interested in playing or volunteering, please e-mail Gulwell on: mrwgulwell@gmail.com ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ● SOMERSET Cricket Board has just announced a new Level Two Coaching course, which is now available to book. The certificate in coaching children (aged 13 and below) will take place at the Centre of Excellence in Taunton during November. The first weekend of the course is Saturday, November 18 (9.00 am-5.30 pm) and Sunday, November 19 (9.30 am-4.30 pm). The third and final session will be on Saturday, November 25 (9.30 am4.30 pm), following which there will be an assessment. A first-aid course is also available to supplement the Level Two course, should any candidates require this pre-requisite qualification. First-aid training will take place at the Centre of Excellence, on Monday, November 13 (6.00-9.00 pm). Further information on either course from Brian Hoyle at: brian.hoyle@somersetcricketboard.org ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ● SOMERSET Cricket Groundsmen’s Association are holding a ‘Groundsman’s Day’ at the Cooper Associates County Ground, open to any cricket groundsman in Somerset. This special gathering of the most important people in any cricket club will be taking place on the second day (Wednesday, September 13) of Somerset’s home County Championship match against Lancashire. Everyone attending will get a free match ticket for the game. During the lunch interval groundsmen will have the opportunity to go out on to the pitch with Somerset’s head groundsman Simon Lee to hear how he and his team prepare and maintain playing surfaces. There will be a tour of the machinery shed and the equipment groundstaff have at their disposal at the Cooper Associates County Ground. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions to the groundstaff and to speak to other volunteers from around the county. To book a place on the Groundsman’s Day, visit: www.somersetcricketboard.co.uk
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