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Pitchero
1st XI
Matches
Sat 29 Aug 2020
Stenhousemuir
163/8
162
Linlithgow Cricket Club
1st XI
Last over agony for Linlithgow

Last over agony for Linlithgow

Kevin Stump22 Oct 2020 - 21:20

Last over agony for Linlithgow

It was a painful end to the short season for Linlithgow on Saturday as they travelled west to take on old rivals Stenhousemuir. The fact that the game even took place after the previous week’s rainfall was a testament to the Stenhousemuir ground staff and shows the benefit of having your pitch laid on top of sand.
Batting first Linlithgow got off to a flying start with openers Dougie Voas and Gregor Thomson putting on 48 for the first wicket in only 7 overs. This momentum didn’t last though and after Thomson was dismissed for 14 and Voas for 40, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals with the only telling contributions coming from Kev Stump (24), Grant Blackwell (22) and John Strachan with 19.
Linlithgow’s final total of 162 appeared to be 20 runs short on a reasonably quick Stenhousemuir outfield but after a couple of early wickets leaving the home side 21 for 2 things looked to be going well. A few partnerships later and momentum had swung back in favour of Stenhousemuir as they reached 118 for 5, thanks in the most part to numerous dropped catches by the visitors but wickets then began to fall taking the match right to the wire with 17 required from the final 3 overs.
Another chunk of bad luck then struck for Linlithgow as a ball hit the wicketkeepers helmet which was on the field of play and this resulted in 5 penalty runs to the home side and took them to within touching distance of victory. Into the final over and 7 runs were required with 2 wickets remaining and the Stenhousemuir captain (Rodgers) produced a beautiful strike for 4 to take them over the line by the thinnest of margins in a gripping encounter.
Pick of the bowlers for Linlithgow were Harry Blackwell on debut with 3 wickets, Andy Raven and Dougie Voas with 2 and 1 for skipper Grant Raven who produced a great spell when the pressure was on. Special mention to Grant Blackwell who suffered a fractured and dislocated finger while attempting a catch and also to his father who replaced him in the field while visiting on holiday from Gloucestershire.
Despite the narrow defeat Linlithgow took a lot out of the game against a side a few leagues higher than themselves so things are looking good for season 2021 when it commences next May.

Match details

Match date

Sat 29 Aug 2020

Start time

12:00

Meet time

10:30
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Senior Shirt Sponsor - Westport Vets
Player Sponsor 2021 - Gary Kellet - NB Connect