Heysham vs Ibis match report

Heysham 255/4
Ibis 111/9

Despite totally dominating the game, Heysham could only manage to draw and a share of the points against bottom placed Ibis on Saturday.

Heysham skipper Finney won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat on what looked a perfect batting surface. His batsmen didn’t disappoint amassing 255/4 before declaring after the 36th over. Opener Andy Ideson got his side off to a blistering start hitting a brilliant 71 and shared in a stand of 74 in only 10 overs with James Wincup (12). Jamie Antcliffe (19) and Reg Cupit (33) continued the assault, albeit at a slightly slower pace before Josh Dixon (35not out) and Finney himself with 68 not out brought the innings to a conclusion with some fireworks of their own. Darren Troughton bore the brunt of the assault with his solitary wicket costing 111 runs from 11 overs. Young Braithwaite was the pick of the visiting bowlers, he showed great control and accuracy in the face of some aggressive batting his 9 overs going for only 27.

In reply the Ibis batsmen made an early effort to go for the formidable target but regular wickets from the impressive Cupit (5/36) and Sam Calverley (3/19) kept them in check. With dark clouds looming Ibis best hope seemed to be with the weather and it was no surprise that the teams eventually scuttled off at the end of the 24th over with Ibis on 68/7. The resumption of play over an hour later left Heysham 13 overs to win the game and Ibis a more reasonable period of time in which to save it. Finney rotated his bowlers in an attempt to prise out the remaining wickets and Calverley and Toulmin bagged one each but were not able to claim that of Graveson and Blamire who batted with control and confidence for 5 overs to save the game. Ibis closing on 111/9.

Despite his abject disappointment at the end of the game, Finney can take comfort with the fact that moving to the halfway point in the season both his batsmen and bowlers are hitting good form.