Unicorns
Berkshire’s Chris Peploe embraces a special day
CHRIS Peploe was the hero for Berkshire as they beat Lincolnshire to claim the Unicorns Trophy and he enjoyed a double celebration after girlfriend Claire Harper said Yes to his proposal after the game.
The 36-year-old sealed a fourwicket victory at Wormsley with two sixes in a row, completing a quickfire 35 not out off 14 balls that took the game away from Lincs.
And having clinched the win, Peploe then surprised everyone by getting down on one knee to propose.
It capped a perfect day for the all-rounder, whose belief in his team never wavered, even when they slipped to 205-6 with a further 41 still required.
“With the amount of overs we had in the bag and the level of batting we had left in the locker I was very convinced we would see it home,” Peploe said.
“I didn’t think we would get there as quickly as we did, with ten overs to spare, but it was a fantastic win for the boys.
“We felt very much in the game, we knew beforehand we would have to bat well.
“They’ve got a very strong bowling side and they tested us, but we showed good resolve. I feel we played the better cricket on the day and deserved to win.”
Berkshire rarely lost momentum throughout the encounter; despite being pegged back to 79-4 in reply to Lincolnshire’s total of 245-5.
That had been based on a controlled 94 not out from Conrad Louth to set up a challenging total. Batting at four, Louth played cautiously for the majority of his innings before he hit a flurry of boundaries in the final overs.
He was ably assisted by Matthew Lineker’s 49 – a knock ended by a fantastic catch from Tom Nugent – and a measured 51 from Adam Tillcock. But a 15-over period in the middle overs where the run-rate was just two an over damaged Lincolnshire’s chances.
“They bowled very well, they bowled as a team – we just unfortunately lost key wickets at key times,” said Louth.
“But we still thought 250 was a decent score, so we tried to get as close to 250 as possible. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough, they played positive cricket from the get-go.
“With our bowling line-up we were always in the game.
“Even until they got over the line we always believed, especially with our attack. It just wasn’t our day unfortunately, but on another day we’ll blow through teams like we have all year.”
Waqas Hussain caught the eye with some stylish strokeplay as Berkshire began to chase down their opponents’ total. Hussain’s 49 added to two wickets to complete an impressive all-round performance, but his wicket was one of three to fall in quick succession.
Euan Woods and skipper James Morris were dismissed either side of the key wicket of Hussain and a scoreboard that minutes earlier read 69-1 suddenly showed 79-4.
Richard Morris and Andy Rishton were forced into a salvaging job and at the halfway point the match was finely poised – Berkshire’s 134-4 was just nine runs better off than their opponents’ 125-4 at the same stage. Three balls after drinks the momentum threatened to swing again when Rishton was caught by Carter off Tillcock. Dan Lincoln was the new man in and picked up where his team-mate left off, scoring at almost a run a ball for an invaluable 42. The MorrisLincoln partnership put on 50 to push the score over 200, mixing quick singles with flashing fours. Morris reached his halfcentury and Berkshire seemed to be coasting, but moments later Lincoln gloved to the keeper. Morris remained however, eventually finishing unbeaten on 56 in what proved to be the anchor role, as Peploe finished the job. The experienced all-rounder ruthlessly extinguished any hope for Lincolnshire – a feat he will want to repeat in the Unicorn Championship final against the same opponents this weekend.