So Near and Yet...

Hero or just fighter
By Grockle
September 2 2003

I really don't mind losing half as much when we've fought the good fight. It's still a loss but there's pride in it! At least Lancashire can't say they haven't been in a game and we did get far closer than we should have!

Burnsy won the toss and put Lancs in. No sun, lots of wind. Cox is back, no one day place for Edwards and Gazzard keeps as well as opening. Has he put them in because of some plan or to try and keep the bars open longer?

Mal Loye out in 3rd over and Nixon is looking very dangerous - caught behind off a ripsnorter of a ball. 6 for 1 and looking hopeful..but in comes Stuart Law!

22 for 1 after 5 including an audacious uppercut six from Law is followed by a period of Lightening boundary work and they zoom to 50 without further loss by the middle of the 8th.

Jonah gets a bowl at 10 overs with 56 on the board and goes for four with his first but they only get another one off him. Law goes into overdrive and reaches 50 in 30 odd balls. But he then skies one and they're 75 for 2 after 13.3. In comes Carl Hooper. I also have to mention a phenominal save by Hildreth that keept Law to 51. Diving just in front of the Stragglers, he stopped a certain 4 within inches of the boundary .

Aarron Laraman is on at the start of the 15th. 100 comes up in the 18th just after Dutch drops Carl Hooper - let's hope that isn't costly!! At 20 we are facing a score of about 250+ - 109 for 2. Jonah is a different bowler to that we saw in the first half of the season and the close fielding is committed and furious! At mathematical halfway it's a predicted 240 score but they should beat that if these 2 stay together!

Blackwell comes on at the River end for the 25th and he drops Hooper (difficult c&b chance) just before he puts six into the Botham. Then KP comes on for Blacky (1 over?). Chilton finally gets to 50 off 70 balls and Lancs reach 147 at the 27th. Burns comes on at the Old Pavilion and sees Hooper put his first over the roof of said pavilion to bring up the 150!

Nixon has a go at his old captain in the 29th Hooper goes to 50 with a six off his second ball and they reach 172 at the 30th. Hooper put 3 sixes into his 55 ball half ton.

Hooper is still going. He nearly clears the Botham and then nearly does it again bringing up thee 200 and making us all nervous of the final score with 12 overs to go - 204 for 2 Hooper on 75 and Chilton has 70.

Burns brings Johnson back at the OP. 218 with 10 to go. Blackwell is off the field with an injured hand but Hooper flips one to Jones who takes a running boundary catch bringing in Chris Schofield at a score of 230 for 3. Burnsy is back on at the OP in the 37th - he goes for 8 off his first two balls and Lancs go past 250 in the 38th followed by Chilton's hundred off 106 balls.

300 looks on as KP tries from the end of death (Old Pavilion). Chilton finally goes for 103 caught Burns - 265 for 4 - five overs to go. Dutchy gets a bowl at the River end for the 41st ...bit strange!

Nixon comes on and gets Chappell. 300 for 7 at the end of the 44th - Nixon got another. They end on 310 for 7. Too many for us? It'll be a big game if we get 'em!

Cox and Gazzard start and nearly last the first over but not quite! Dutch replaces Cox after he is caught behind off the 5th ball of the innings - 2 for 1 - Oh so familiar!

28 after 5 and Dutchy was keeping us in it - until he was bowled for a fighting 15 - in comes KP but there has to be too much to do surely. 29 for 2 needing 282 more off 40? Hope springs eternal though.

Gazzard goes to Chappell at 40 for 22 Blackwell arrives with a mountain to climb to get us back into this game. He doesn't get the crampons out even and goes with the score on 45. Burns arrives and smacks a four. 50 arrives at 9.1 overs

At 15 we've reached 87 but the fight of Burns and Parsons comes to an end when the captain is caught behind for 11. In comes James Hildreth with no base to start from - he's got nothing to lose but it's hard to see where we can go from here.

99 at 15 overs so it is still sort of on (well not really). Kyle Hogg is keeping it tight and James finally takes us past the hundred with a boundary off the last ball of the over.

There's fight in a Somerset side as Hildreth and Parsons take us to 131 off 20. It might be futile but it is fun! KP goes to 50 off 43 balls at 139 but we need the same again and support from everyone to follow to get near this score. The 50 also brought up the half ton partnership and increased Hildreth's status in this club even further.

150 arrives in the 24th but Hildreth goes for a good 30 when Chappell bowls him - 166 for 6 and Laraman replaces him. He helps add 23 as we move to 190. 121 off 15 and there's still a chance. KP takes us past 200 before the end of then 31st.

Just after the 50 partnership KP is LBW for 90 (highest NCL score) and Johnson comes out to keep up the fight at 217 for 7. Parsons got us here but can we finish it? 88 of 10!

Richard and Steffan put up a hell of a fight. Johnson with some mighty hits and Jonah with this new found confidence with the bat at number 10. The score kept dropping as Johnson hit 22 off not many (14 in fact) but he swung once too often and missed. Kyle Hogg hit and we were down to Nixon!

It was going to be big or very short, but Nixon played a canny game. Lancs were well behind the over rate and were facing run fines and it seems that our last pair were aware that if they could get it close they might see the total halved before the end of the game. With four overs to go, we were coming up to the cutoff point with 33 runs required. We were aware that we may see the opposition docked 18 runs and the total required drop to 16 off 18. Nixon was definitely aware as the umpires consulted and he came down to talk to Jonah. They nurdled and flipped and ran the ones and twos.

Just before the end of the 42nd though it all came to an end as Chapple got Jones and the rest was immaterial. We lost by 24, it would have probably fallen to 12 if he'd survived another ball - a run a ball and it could have been anyones.

Great fight from the back end after the usual start. Great knock from Keith Parsons, great support from Burns and Hildreth and Laraman. Glorious smashing from Johnson and intelligence from Jones and McLean at the end. Pride was maitained, even if we lost another in this awful season - we lost this one...we didn't give it away and a lot of people are very grateful for that fact. Thanks boys - good game and you nearly pulled it out of the fire this time!