Unsporting bowler denies Jay a maiden ton
A YOUNG cricketer was denied his moment of glory with a debut century after an opponent deliberately sent the ball to the boundary to end the match.
In an act of bad sportsmanship which has been branded “utterly pathetic”, Jay Darrell, 23, was left stranded on 98 not out as Minehead 2nd XI beat Somerset League rivals Purnell.
Minehead were on the cusp of a four-wicket victory when Jay was denied the opportunity of scoring the winning runs, and a maiden ton, by a Purnell bowler, who hurled the ball to the boundary to end the match. Former England cricketer Rob Key was made aware of the match while commentating on Sky Sports. “How average is that? That is appalling,” he said.
Cricket fan Piers Morgan described the controversy as “pathetic” in a Twitter post. He said: “SERIOUSLY?
“How utterly pathetic. Shame on you Purnell CC.”
Minehead player Angus Marsh described it as “the worst cricket moment of my life”.
In a post on Twitter, Minehead said: “Not nice to see. But more to the point, a great innings and a great win. Respect to the Purnell CC captain who apologised to the batsman on behalf of his bowler. But some things just can’t be undone.”
Last night, labourer Jay said: “I couldn’t really do much about it so I had to accept what happened.
“It’s a shame because I’ve never had 100 for Minehead before.
“The captain and a few players apologised straight away after the match and the bowler apologised later.”
Jay, who lives near Bridgwater, Somerset, added: “It was surreal to have ex-England cricketers discussing it on TV and social media.
“The bowler threw it wide and over my left shoulder. It was a legitimate ball, but way wide and bounced just before the boundary.”
Purnell Cricket Club, which is based in the village of Paulton near Bath, said the incident would be “dealt with internally by the club”.
The club said on Twitter: “The unsavoury scenes to end the game can’t be condoned and both the captain and the player made full and sincere apologies to those involved after the game.”
Last night, the identity of the unsporting bowler remained a mystery.