Shahid gets six but win just out of reach
ASHBOURNE had their lead trimmed by another couple of points – to 15 – when they could not quite finish off Brailsford seconds in a rainshortened Derbyshire County League Division Six South match.
After making what seemed a modest 102-8 in the 26 overs they could fit in, Ashbourne had their opponents in trouble at 69-9 in the reply, before Brailsford hung on at 81-9 at the close.
Shahid Ali almost brought Liam Duffy’s side a victory with a near-unplayable spell of 6-17 from eight overs, while Duffy kept it tight with 1-17 from seven overs and Andy Hill took 2-23 from seven.
“It was a draw that felt like a win,” said Duffy after Ashbourne took 14 points from the game.
“With other results going our way, we are still a few points ahead. We have three games now before a week off and if we can come out of those with a decent number of points, it will set us up for the last four games.”
Duffy knows that promotion may depend on the batsmen getting their act together in the second half of the season, however.
Charith De Silva’s 22 from 18 balls was the best score for Ashbourne on a day dominated by bowlers, with Brailsford’s Jack Wilson taking an excellent 3-8 from six overs and veteran captain Ian Clarke taking 3-28 from eight overs.
“It is time for our batters to start performing like the bowlers have done consistently every week this season,” said Duffy.
“It is unusual to have such a successful season so far and yet only one player has scored a 50, which became a 100.”
A BRILLIANT innings by Jack Moran, who smashed 83 not out from 70 balls, was almost enough to bring Clifton victory in their Premier Division relegation fight – but visitors Ockbrook & Borrowash edged past a 42-over target of 188-9 by one wicket from the last ball.
Clifton, put in by their opponents, were in terrible trouble at 15-4 and 43-6 before Moran and Tom Lawson (28) added 64 for the seventh wicket.
Moran, who hit eight fours and three sixes, then added 63 more with Stuart Blake (16) as Clifton posted a competitive total.
Ockbrook threatened to make light of it when, after an early wicket for Lawson, they reached 77-1 but two wickets at that score pegged them back.
Clifton continued to chip away at them and after two more wickets fell on 141, the eighth and ninth wickets fell at 148 and 176, with 13 runs still needed for victory.
Agonisingly for Clifton, Ockbrook’s last pair got them, the winning hit coming from the last ball to leave Alex Woolliscroft’s men 36 points from safety with eight matches to play.
BRAILSFORD were denied a