St. David's 199

Bailey's Bay 199/9

Two players at the opposite ends of their careers spearheaded a dramatic `victory' by Bailey's Bay in Saturday's Eastern Counties final at Lord's.

However, the spectacular efforts of young off-spin bowler Rodney (Picnic) Trott and evergreen batsman Charlie Marshall almost came to nought as St. David's fought a pitched battle to try and regain the coveted trophy.

In actuality, the match ended in a bizarre tie as umpires were unable to restart play after Bay fans stormed the field in celebration when Marshall hit two runs through the onside to lock the scores at 199 and with Bay's last-wicket pair at the crease.

Apart from the chaos they caused and the fact that they denied their team the chance of an outright win, the pitch invasion by Bay supporters mattered little as a tie meant the champions retained the title anyway.

Besides, disheartened St. David's players were hardly in any mood to return to the field and complete the formalities knowing that, even if they got the final Bay wicket without further addition to the total, it would be to no avail.

Swept up in emotions of joy and relief, Bay players and die-hards rushed to engulf Marshall who for the umpteenth time proved the irrepressible hero, keeping his calm amid a clatter of wickets around him.

His unbeaten 56 off 63 balls - five fours and one six - rescued Bay's innings which had been well placed on 119 for four and 122 for five before plummeting to 150 for nine; still 50 adrift of the 200-run target.

Suddenly, the 199 posted by St. David's in 50.2 of the 70 overs at their disposal appeared mountainous. Could Bay get there and, if so, how?

The answer: Charlie Marshall with vital assistance from Corey Hill and Clarkie Trott.

In fact, the Marshall-Hill combination almost made it all the way, somehow finding 45 runs between them for the ninth wicket.

However, when Hill clipped a Jacobi Robinson delivery back onto his stumps, five runs were still needed and the momentum, that had shifted to Bay, swayed back in St. David's favour just a tad.

So much for West Indies skipper and superstar batsman Brian Lara signing autographs at the ground, all eyes were riveted on the action in the middle.

Instructions and encouragement were being screamed to both sides, hearts were beating uncontrollably and time seemed to stand still. What a match!

Suddenly, it was all over - tie or win, the trophy was Bay's again.

"It was good for the game of cricket but as a skipper I never wanted it to come that close. My heart was thumping like crazy," declared Bay skipper Dennis Pilgrim.

Candidly, he blamed the middle-order - including himself - for the too-close-for-comfort scenario.

"We gave a lot of our wickets away. We were all supposed to stay there and defend and just rotate the strike for Charlie to dictate the game. He is the senior man and he played extremely well for us."

His opposite number, Clay Smith, also saluted Marshall's phenomenal knack for weathering the on-field storms.

"Charlie showed his experience and that was the difference in the match," noted a disappointed Smith.

He also rued the fact that St. David's didn't score another 30 or 40 runs.

"After lunch we really didn't apply ourselves. We got away from the game plan. We were looking to score at a run a ball and come out after batting about 53 overs.

"That would have give us about 230 or 240. Those extra runs were the difference between winning and losing."

They still had a hope with 199 but the key was to get Glenn Blakeney and Marshall early, he noted, because the rest of Bay's line-up "have not played cricket at this level all season being in the first Division" and St. David's felt they could capitalise on that.

It wasn't to be though and those instrumental in taking the title to Sea Breeze Oval for a second successive year delighted in the triumph.

"I trained from Monday to Thursday for this match. I prepared myself for St. David's because they are a tough team with experienced players.

"I focused on batting long. It was unfortunate my partners didn't stay with me because we shouldn't have lost so many wickets but I never panicked. I knew I had the potential to win the game for Bailey's Bay," said Marshall.

The 42-year-old noted he was so relieved to have secured the game for Bay by tying the scores that he jumped up in mid-pitch but it was not meant to spark the fans' invasion. He would have loved to finish the game properly by getting the winning run, he said.

Hill, who made 23, was determined not to let his team down and therefore resisted his natural inclination for big shots.

"I tried to keep the ball on the ground and work the singles. I really surprised myself that I kept my head, not going for any crazy shots and thank God that it worked out."

The march towards this glorious end began not with the bat but with the ball. At lunch, the game was evenly poised with St. David's - asked to bat first - at 149 for four in 37 overs.

However, a post-lunch upheaval of record-breaking proportions by 15-year-old Rodney Trott wrecked the batting side's game plan and saw them lose their last six wickets for 66 runs.

In only his second match of the season, the right-arm off-spinner showed the fruits of a recent West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) training camp as he celebrated the second hat-trick in Eastern Counties history. The first was by Cleveland's Glen Smith in 1954 also versus St. David's. In addition, Trott's returns of six 48 off 12.2 overs were also his best ever.

The trio of Lionel Cann, Herbie Bascome and Arthur Pitcher Jr had the dubious distinction of being Trott's hat-trick victims: Cann caught at long-on by Blakeney, Bascome bowled and Pitcher caught in the slips, fittingly by Trott's cousin, Clarkie.

Swamped by his Bay team, an emotional Trott cried openly, clearly overwhelmed by his achievement.

"I couldn't believe it. A lot of credit goes to my team because they motivated me. They knew I could do it. I feel good but it wouldn't have felt so good if the team didn't win," he said afterwards.

For St. David's guest player, Albert Steede, showed true character, fighting his way to 72 before being bowled by Trott and O.J. Pitcher made 32 before he was leg before to Trott.

In Bay's reply, opener Dennis Trott scored 51, including eight fours, while Blakeney - who opened aggressively - and Jermaine Warner each got 18. Jacobi Robinson had a memorable performance as a colt, taking five for 47 from 12 overs for St. David's while Delyone Borden took two for 28 from nine overs.