Broadway CC edge nail biting thriller.

Broadway CC only had one game this weekend. The 2’s had a weekend off due to the restructuring of the 7th division so they all came down and cheered on the 1’s in what proved to be an absolute thriller.

Captain Carlo Carenza yet again won the toss in what is proving to be his speciality and elected to bowl first. There was an aura of confidence from Broadway as we entered the pitch with the strongest opening bowling partnership we’ve had in years with Jason Horsburgh ending his three-year hiatus from the first team. Jason was once one of the most feared bowlers in the premier division but a three year break from the sport led to him having to put in a huge amount of work in the nets and a brief spell with the 2’s to try and rediscover his best form. Jason started excellently, as if he’d never been away, cleaning out Ashorne’s opener with a simply unplayable delivery. He soon picked up his second and was looking in fine form, however, he soon began to tire, possibly hindered by an ankle injury he sustained the previous week and the Ashorne batsmen began go on the attack. The usually ultra-consistent Jamie Powell did not have one of his better days and bowled an unusual amount of wides by his usual high standards. When JP got it right it was unplayable but unfortunately it wasn’t as frequent as we are used to seeing with him.

As Ashorne began to take the upper hand early on Carenza decided to make changes and after the 12th over replaced Powell and Horsburgh with Maiden and Hands. Both bowled their ten overs straight through and significantly stemmed the flow of runs both bowling very tightly giving the opposition batsmen few opportunities and picking up four crucial wickets between them with Hands recording figures of 34-3 and Maiden 36-1.

It was left for Beale and Carenza to try and mop up the tail. Both continued where Hands and maiden had left off suffocating the Ashorne batsmen restricting them to very few runs at a time where they would have wanted to really push on. Beale, in particular, was very impressive after not bowling regularly for the past few seasons demonstrated that he will be a key figure in the bowling attack this season. Beale picked up two wickets and Carenza one but unfortunately they could not get the final wicket as the Ashorne tail end rode their luck and denied Broadway maximum bowling points.

Ashorne posted a respectable total of 223 but from Broadways perspective this was very satisfying as at one point it looked as if Ashorne could have gone on and scored 400.

With Broadways vastly improved batting line-up 223 always seemed achievable as there is such strength in depth and it is that strength in depth that took us over the line with one ball to spare.

Kevin Holmes and James Hands opened up as usual and both made promising starts, however, Ashorne were bowling and fielding very well and were asking plenty of questions early on. This week Hands was unable to make double figures and Holmes was also back in the club house cheaply for just 13. Gary Hawkins came in at number 3 and for the second week in a row showed his class with another excellent knock which was a pleasure to watch from the side lines. His return to the team is proving a huge addition and will certainly play a huge role in Broadways season. Hawkins, for the second week in a row passed the 50 mark looking incredibly comfortable and as if he could stay in the middle all afternoon but unfortunately for the second week in a row he couldn’t push on and get his 100 up as he was dismissed lbw for 67. He had built an excellent partnership with Broadways new number 4 Dave Rankin who was a new addition towards the latter end of last season. Between them they moved us on to 140 and put us in to a strong position with plenty of big hitters sat eagerly awaiting on the side lines. Rankin added a steady 29 before eventually being stumped. With the game tightly poised Jamie Powell and Warren Marsden were at the crease. Broadway were hoping that Powell would snatch the game away from Ashorne with his usual display of big hitting and this looked to be very much on the cards as Powell started by smashing two 4’s. JP’s was soon back in the club house though as he decided to try and gently flick the ball past mid wicket completely going against his usual style of play and chipped the ball straight in to mid wickets hands. Ashorne at this point thought they had the game in the bag removing Broadways most devastating batsmen but they were not aware of the depth in Broadways batting line up. Warren Marsden dug in and hit a gritty 34 partened by Kris Maiden who also added 30. Broadway looked set for victory but Ashorne rallied late on for one final push and managed to remove both Maiden and Marsden to set up for a thrilling finish. Horsburgh and Beale were at the crease with only 8 required for the win put Ashorne were really applying the pressure however the Broadway batsmen soaked it up and with the support of the crowd moved Broadway on to 223 to put the scores all even with one over remaining.

In another final twist Beale was bowled in the first ball of the over leaving only Carenza left to try and seal victory. With 5 deliveries remaining Carenza blocked at the first three due to fine bowling. With only two balls remaining the game was on a knife edge. Finally, the bowler put one just outside of off stump and Carenza expertly left it fooling everyone including the wicket keeper and the ball flew past for four byes signalling the end of the game and another victory for Broadway.

After week three both teams remain undefeated and Broadways fantastic start to the 2018 season continues