MALLORCA 1ST XI vs LILLEY CC TOURING XI

Mallorca (179-5, D Carman 2-25) beat Lilley (171 all out, Berry 44) by five wickets

With a hefty touring party, Lilley had a different looking side for Sunday's fixture.  Skipper Tim Perry missed the fixture, as did Mik Carman, Brad and Gareth Tompkins, with returns to the side for Dave Carman, Craig Paddington, Steve McArdle and Stew Collinson - making his first appearance since leaving Caddington Cricket Ground in an ambulance in May last year.

Andy Flannagan Captained the side in the absence of Perry and GT and 'won' the arranged toss - Lilley batting first.

Lilley took the opportunity to change things around to give people a chance to bat who had missed out on Saturday, so Karl Berry and Tony Allbones took on the new ball.  Both appeared to look comfortable enough, with Berry ticking the board over and Allbones leaving well.

Leaving well that was until the seventh over when he somehow managed to leave a ball on middle stump which duly clattered into his middle peg!  Dan Mills replaced him at the crease and looked in fine touch, showing a solid technique and getting forward well.

Mills made it to 9 before he was adjudged leg before.  He was replaced by Joel Mellor, the Lea Manor Love Machine.  Berry continued on his merry way and continued to find the boundary regularly.  He should have made it two half centuries in three innings, but he fell just short when he was bowled on 44 by Sadler.

Ashby joined Mellor and the pair needed to start scoring quickly as Lilley's run rate flagged.  That they did, puting on 64 runs on the board in eleven overs before Ashby was well caught on the boundary by Fleming.  Qureshi departed for just 4 but Craig Paddington managed to score his first tour run for four years when he hit three before he was caught.  Mellor's fine knock was brought to an end by a simply brilliant one handed catch by Sadler for 33 as Lilley lost their way late on.

Flannagan went for just nine and Collinson (1) followed.  Dave Carman hit a brisk 8, but his dismissal left Lilley all out for just 171, surely way short on this ground.

The Mallorcan reply started in poor fashion when Allbones ripped through Sadler's defences for 5 and Ashby had Qamar-Shazad caught well at slip by Collinson, elbowing Mellor out of the way in the process to complete the catch.  Dave Carman picked up the wicket of opener Hilton for 24 and Lilley were well in the game.

The Pixie Express was called into action and although his hat-trick ball (carried over from the Eaton Bray game) came to nothing, he should have bagged a wicket when he forced the batsman to carve the ball to point.  Joel Mellor not only missed the chance, but the ball cannoned into his meat and two veg - sending one of the sprouts back to it's original house!  Mellor limped from the field, bruised and swelling.

Bell continued where he'd left off on the Saturday, looking fluent and boundary-full.  It was clear that the wicket of Bell would swing the game irreversibly Lilley's way, with the home side fielding several youngsters.

The trap was set, Allbones sent out to deep mid wicket in the hope Bell would miscue one off Carman's leg spin.  And then, it happened.  Bell made the crucial error, swiping Carman high into the air towards mid wicket.  Allbones got into position early, the ball on an unswervable route into his hands.  The Lilley supporters partied as the ball dropped towards Allbones.  But he somehow contrived to bungle the effort, spilling the ball behind him and onto the deck.  As the ball his the sand, it was clear; Allbones had just dropped the Ashes.

Despite the set back, Lilley continued and Carman bowled Warhurst for nought.  Dan Mills picked up Lilley 5th wicket when Jack Scholes spooned the ball to Craig Paddington, where Screech completed his first catch of 2007 (including garden cricket).  With Mallorca still thirty short, there was a chance for Lilley, but Bell stood firm and crashed the ball to the boundary twice in succession off Ashby to bring up his century and then the victory, ending 105 not out.

So Mallorca victors in this match and the series ends 1 apiece once again.  A great weekend's cricket!