County Cricket - reports in brief...

BCCC vs Shropshire CCC 26th -28th July 2009 @ Finchampstead CC

Minor Counties Cricket Championship - Match drawn

BERKSHIRE had much the better of their drawn Minor Counties Championship match against Shropshire at Finchampstead this week.
They had set their visitors a target of 325 to win the match in 60 overs and saw them struggle to 200-7 at the close.

A draw was no real surprise, as it was the 16th in 24 fixtures between the two sides yet Berkshire were much the happier of the two camps on Tuesday evening.

Team manager Dave Morris described it as a “much improved performance,” and skipper Bjorn Mordt added: “We can take a lot of positives out of this game. “We played most of the cricket on all three days and it was good to see several of the boys back to their best form.”

Berkshire, having won the toss, made a very respectable 328-5 off their allotted 90 overs in the first innings but it was extremely slow going early on with only 40 runs coming in the first 27 overs.

The first wicket to fall was that of the recalled Michael Roberts, who was dismissed for 11 after producing only six scoring shots from 96 balls. Danny Shilvock, with 88, and Jono McLean (79) put their foot on the accelerator and added 136 for the second wicket, which fell at 178 in the 58th over. Middle-order batsmen Steve Naylor (60) and Bjorn Mordt (40 not out) upped the tempo even further to enable Berks to take all four batting points.

Shropshire lost their first wicket with only four on the board, but then came another good second-wicket stand, this time from Jon Whitney (79) and Bruce Thomason (48) whose dismissal brought about a collapse, with the visitors slumping from 121-2 to 153-6.
Tom Lambert captured two of the wickets thanks to catches by wicketkeeper Sukhi Kang, who was making his championship debut. The Reading youngster had received a late call up after regular keeper Matthew Bates had been recalled by Hampshire.

Shropshire keeper Matt Tilt, with 53 not out, led something of a recovery, but Richard Logan snapped up the last three batsmen and Shropshire were all out for 265 in the 79th over. Logan finished with 4-89 off 24.1 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Lambert and Mordt.
With a lead of 63, Berks made a dreadful start to their second innings with Roberts being trapped leg before wicket in the first over and McLean going for 19 with the total on 28.

Shropshire must have felt they were back in the game when they had their hosts at 132-5, but Berks regained the upper hand thanks to Mordt, with 50, and Logan, with 87 not out off 72  balls. He smacked three sixes and five fours.

Mordt declared on 261-7 to set Shropshire a target of 325 in 60 overs.
The visitors made a bright start, scoring 37 in the first five overs, but then lost two quick wickets and from then on they appeared to give up the run chase and they eventually finished on 200-7.

“I thought we set them a challenging target,” added Mordt. “We would certainly have gone for them. The wicket was flat late on and there were plenty of runs to be made out there. “So I was pleased we got within three wickets of winning the game. “We will go into our final two games in a confident mood and we will certainly be looking to win them both.”

Berkshire’s next fixture is against Wiltshire at South Wilts CC on August 9-11.

Spinner Chris Peploe will be added to the squad providing he has no club commitments with Ealing that weekend. Sukhi Kang is set to retain his place, as Matthew Bates is likely to be wanted by Hampshire again. Kang took three catches in whatg was his championship debut and can be pleased with his performance.

Berkshire 1st innings: 328-5 (90overs; Shilvock 88, McLean 79, Naylor 60, Mordt 40no).
Shropshire 1st innings: 265 (78.1ov; Whitney 79, Tilt 53no; Logan 4-89.)
Berkshire 2nd innings: 261-7dec (56ov; Logan 87no, Mordt 50).
Shropshire 2nd innings: 200-7 (60ov; Whitney 69; Lambert 3-47).



Previous match reports - click required report below

Shropshire CCC 26th -28th July 2009 @ Finchampstead CC

Cheshire CCC 21st -22nd June 2009 @ Boughton Hall CC


Devon CCC 7th -9th June 2009 @ Falkland CC

Herefordshire CCC 31st May 2009 at Eastnor CC

Gloucestershire CCC 11th - 12th April 2009 @ Falkland CC

Middlesex CCC 14th April 2009 @ Falkland CC

Wiltshire CCC 19th April 2009 @ Thatcham Town CC


Devon CCC 10th May 2009 @ Henley CC