1982: Afternoon of Agony

Sent from in BCTHIC – (Original post here)

Agony for skipper Alan Holden who is just inches away from a fine slip catch that would have stopped Church’s pro McArdle from reaching his half-century
By Garry Brannigan. Everything went terribly wrong for Lowerhouse on Saturday. Perched at the top of the Lancashire League, tackling a lowly side like Church should have been easy. But on a dismal day for weather, they let a side fourth from the bottom of the league amass 189 runs, then when they faced a side who bat better than they bowl, they failed to reach the vital four point target. Lowerhouse fell only three runs short of victory, but things should never have got to such a desperate stage. Australian pro Brendan McArdle and skipper Ian Osbourne made Lowerhouse’s bowling look average, but Lowerhouse should have still been able to score 190 off a team like Church. They should never have needed 14 off the last two overs. Fingers will be pointed at New Zealand pro Evan Gray who brought their run chase almost to a drastic halt, scoring just 14 runs in an hour before being caught. The amateurs however were racing away as Gray struggled. Openers Heaton and Higgin put on 56 for the first wicket, but both were out to careless shots when the run chase looked comfortable. Astin scored a quick 27, and Graham Bushell took on the dominant role as Gray still struggled. Once Gray was out the chase hotted up with Bushell and Dave Bartholomew haring between the wickets until Bushell was run out for 33. However, with four overs left, needing 22 runs with five wickets in hand, a win was still on the cards. They needed 8 off the last over but didn’t get them. Church 189 for 4, Lowerhouse 187 for 9. Church won by 2 runs, 4 points.