The thrills and spills of the Shrewsbury Festival - Part 1

Shrewsbury Festival DAY 1: Berkshire deliver lessons in bowling and batting

What better for our boys than to kick off the festival with a match against the only side to have got the better of them at last year’s festival. With openers Johnny Bland and Freddie Timmis working the ball around and the score up to 45, all boded well. But, alas, within the blink of an eye the score was 76 for 4. But for the commendable rearguard efforts of spin twins Henry Walker (41) and Eddie Prideaux (39), the scorecard would have made wince-worthy reading. Neither team will have delighted in the stat which records the figure beside the highest scoring batsman to have been lower than that in the wides column.

Berkshire were to have their own wobble too: 41 without loss, to 47 for 3. However, Shropshire were unable to capitalise. Opener Clark, who was to carry his bat, pressed on, finding partners lower down the order. Honourable mention to William Jenkins for his parsimonious 5 over spell – in which he took one wicket and gave away only 19 runs – but 190 was always going to be a challenging score to defend. Berkshire were to reach their target with 9 overs to spare. Hats off to an excellent team and a very polished performance.

Shrewsbury Festival DAY 2: Back on track with a solid win

Earlier in the summer the Shropshire’s Under 12s had prevailed against Derbyshire: Facing this new day with memories of the Berkshire dip ‘parked’, hopes in the camp were high. However, opener Rowland did well to dampen Shropshire’s expectations: With the first ball of the match he took a wicket. He was unlucky not to have a second in the same over. Johnny Bland did valiantly in weathering the storm. Having blunted the spearhead of Derbyshire’s attacking force, captain Bland made way for Oscar Cooke who played with characteristic flare and grace before having to retire on 36, his ankle being the unfortunate recipient of a throw down from behind: wicketkeepers huh ...

With variable bounce, Pitch 2 proved a tricky wicket on which to bat. All credit to Oscar and Olly Parton (41) for their graft, and to Josh McDonald and Toby Egerton for their (unbeaten) swashbuckling efforts late in the day. In the midst of their doings the backbone of the innings was provided by Jack Home. Never mind his array of shots and the effortlessness with which the ball is kissed to the boundary, it is Jack’s calm, focused intent which sets him apart. His 103 runs off 108 balls had supporters – from both camps – transfixed.

Much improved from day 1, Shropshire’s bowling attack proved mean and incisive. Jovan Uppal and Toby Egerton each bowled five overs conceding just 2 and 2.8 runs per over respectively. Henry Walker’s 9 overs went for a miserly 3 per over. When the run rate set is 5.5 runs per over such figures prove telling. 247 was a tall ask and as the pressure mounted so the wickets fell. Two for Parton, two for Bland, three for Prideaux – an epic catch for Timmis in the covers. Derbyshire were all out for 154 in the 40th over. In spite of the draining heat each Shropshire boy left the field with a spring in his step - it was a handsome and excellent victory for the home team.

Shrewsbury Festival DAY 3, Match 1: Herefordshire hiccups in the 20:20

What an honour to play on pitch 1, complete with its live-stream video cam and sound system. Supporters who made it to the match at the last minute will have arrived to hear the strains of ‘Jerusalem’ drifting across Shrewsbury School’s parched and pleasant grounds. And what a great pleasure it was watch the joie de vivre of the Herefordshire players: They revelled in the sunshine, dancing enthusiastically on the pavilion balcony, on their way in to bat - even at the crease. Little did they know they were to come within a crotchet of dancing themselves to victory. In the sixth over they were 43 without loss and the lofty and powerful Olly Langford was dominating.

Then on came Josh McDonald. His first ball required the umpire to stretch his arms and long leg to make a retrieve from beyond the boundary rope. A loosener … the metaphoric quiet before the storm. Then it came, a veritable tempest, the likes of which will never before have been witnessed by Herefordshire’s carefree and unsuspecting under 12s. One by one Josh’s lightening bolts struck home. Whilst Wilf Peers prized out the danger man, all eyes were on firestorm Josh. In his allotted 24 balls he was to claim the wickets of no less than seven Herefordians, for just 15 runs. Such a feat is surely the equivalent of scoring 200. Magnificent.

Josh’s last over was the twelfth of the innings. In this over he claimed Herefordshire’s eighth wicket. Their score was just 75. The job was all but done. However, it was not completed. In the last 8 overs Herefordshire rallied, managing to nudge their score up to a respectable 121 for 9.

Shropshire’s reshuffled top order took on their task at something of a saunter. A few overs in and captain Bland, ever the thinker, could be seen pacing the boundary’s edge. Batsmen came and went and still the apparent lack of urgency. At the fall of the fourth wicket, in the 11th over, the Shropshire score was just 55, some margin short of the asking rate. In paced the illustrious William Jenkins. Vice captain Jenkins is a lad of purpose. His equally purposeful captain soon joined him. With strike rates of 106 and 171 respectively, Jenko (33 not out) and Johnny (24 not out) battled with determination. With the run rate upped these two took the game to the wire. Only in the third ball of the final over was Herefordshire’s score overhauled. A game which swung hither and thither, to the aural accompaniment of the boom box – it was high entertainment indeed.

Shrewsbury Festival DAY 3, Match 2: Improvements required and realised

The prize for winning the morning fixture was a second match on pitch 1 and a game against Cheshire – lesser opponents in the dancing stakes but peers as cricketers. With their coaches’ lunchtime admonishments still doubtless ringing in their ears, in this match Shropshire’s batsmen took on the bowling with greater purpose. Jack Home lead from the front, his 68 coming off just 45 balls. Others chipped in, taking the total to a competitive 146 for 5 off the allotted 20 overs.

With Eddie Prideaux on song and Ben Thompson keeping it tight at the other end the Cheshire batsmen struggled from the outset. Prideaux put paid to the openers and, as the scoreboard pressure mounted, Thompson joined the party claiming two wickets also. With an ask rate of 7.3 runs per over and no let up in the tightness of the bowling each Cheshire batsman in turn was forced to chance his arm. Danger man Archie Vaughan top scored with 19, bowled round the legs by Henry Walker. Others struggled as Walker, Josh McDonald (1 wicket) and Sam Davis (2 wickets) closed the net. In the 19th over it was all over with Cheshire succumbing 52 runs shy of their target. As the sound system blared the Shropshire fielders off the pitch they had good reason to feel proud of their accomplishments. A solid team effort to post such a win over so competitive and capable a side.