LILLEY (189-4, Perry 68, Tomsett 61) beat Ivanhoe (122 all out, Hammond 7-35) by 67 runs
Lilley won their sixth match on the trot yesterday thanks to fine half centuries from Tim Perry and Doug Tomsett and Ken Hammond’s burst of 7-35.
It was a sixth toss victory on the trot for Lilley, as the away side elected to bat on a fine if breezy summers day. Gareth Tompkins was rejoined by evergreen Doug ‘Bluetooth’ Tomsett at the summit of the Lilley batting line up, but it was to be a short lived re-union. GT’s mini drought (to Craig, it would be a run-fest…), continued as he was again bowled for just 7. The early breakthrough was to prove to be a false dawn of hope for the nomadic home side however as Tomsett and the rejuvenated Tim Perry piled on the misery, adding 122 for the second wicket in 28 overs. Tomsett, after a troubled start, looked in prime touch and smashed 9 fours in a blast-from-the-past knock of 61 in good time. Doug has struggled to find his mid/late nineties form of late, but was right back on song here and in fine fettle. Eventually, he was trapped leg before wicket, but with Lilley 133-2, his job was done.Tim Perry continued the wrecking job and he too passed fifty for the first time this season. His promotion back to three after weeks in the doldrums appears to have given him a new zest for batting. Az Sakhi came and went for a fortunate 14, having been dropped three times and Perry’s dismissal for 68 left Ashby (5*) and Hammond (11*) to scramble some late runs to take Lilley to 189-4 at tea.
Chasing 190 against Lilley’s near full strength bowling attack was always going to be a tall order for an Ivanhoe side missing three key players. Despite this, Evans and L. Parnel put on a gritty opening stand of 44 in the face of some tight bowling from Ashby and Hammond. Evans, the left hander, edged Ashby into the slips on 12, only for the ball to drop agonisingly short of Tim Perry at 1st slip. Hammond removed the stubborn opener shortly after though, getting a ball to pop from a length which Evans could only glove to GT at second slip. Hammond then bowled M. Parnell for nought and when Ashby bowled the senior Parnel for 21, Ivanhoe had slipped to 44-3.
Hammond continued his destructive wave, dismissing Martin courtesy of a brilliant catch at short cover by Az Sakhi, bowling Wetherburn for 4 and removing Ballard with a tidy caught and bowled for 24. S. Parnel was bowled for 10 and when Hammond had Roaper snaffled behind by Brad Tompkins, he had picked up seven wickets for 35 runs in 15 accurate overs.
GT had long since replaced the Captain at one end and picked up a wicket himself, having Holden well caught by the diving Stew Collinson at Gulley. The final chapter was written by Hammond’s replacement, Tim Perry, who picked up the final wicket of C. Parnel (four of them in the Ivanhoe side) with Ivanhoe 122 all out, 67 runs adrift of Lilley’s total.
