Triumph for Dale after avoidable tense finish
PHEW! What a tight finish Rochdale contrived at Middleton last Sunday when they won by one wicket with just four balls to spare.
Set 190 for victory they scraped home thanks, in the main, at least from a batting point of view, to a marvellous innings from opening batsman Zimmy Khan who batted throughout to finish undefeated one short of what would have been a much deserved century.
Exciting a conclusion though it was, this was no game for the perfectionist, with flawed cricket in abundance on display.
Ill judged shots, dropped catches, wayward bowling. They were all there.
Yet there was still room for some notable performances.
On a blustery day that felt more like mid October than the end of June, Steve Oddy once again led the Dale attack in his own inimitable way.
He immediately made a mockery of a pre match assertion that his impressive performances this season were largely due specially prepared, home made wickets.
Within five balls Middleton were none for 2 and Oddy on a hat-trick and, furthermore, James Price, Middleton’s professional at the crease with the ball still almost brand new.
Any Middleton recovery at this stage appeared to depend on Price, but since Rochdale’s admission to the Lancashire League five seasons ago Price has become Oddy’s rabbit, and so it was again here when he edged to Jamie Roche, the Dale wicket keeper.
Rhys Tierney soon followed, Oddy taking a return catch, and although George Walker, who had viewed the mayhem from the non striker’s end, and Andrew Georgiou hinted at a recovery, Middleton became 37 for 5 when Andrew Dawson leapt to catch Walker one handed at short extra cover.
Oddy, not for the first time this season had taken all five.
But now, with only half the job done, Dale switched off.
Professional Sean Whitehead, whose visa had arrived six days earlier after an eleven weeks wait, had by now slipped into his characteristic economic mode. But it was Whitehead who was the main victim of Dale becoming slipshod .
As Gergiou and Malik Amjad set about the rebuild, Rochdale spurned six chances of mixed difficulty.
In addition, James Maurice-scott dislocated his thumb and was eventually replaced in the field by 12 years old Tom Gilbertson.
And, buoyed by these fielding lapses the two batsmen, at first tentative, grew in confidence, took the attack to the visitors, and the Middleton batting, earlier certified as a corpse was now in full beaming health.
They put on 105 for the sixth wicket and both reached their half century almost simultaneously.
But immediately after reaching his, Amjad spooned Casey Roche to long leg where young Gilbertson, running backwards, showed his seniors how to catch.
Still, Georgiou continued defiantly and plundered a further 32 runs from the final overs, his excellent 82 not out promoting his team’s final total to 189 and providing them with a chance of victory.
And those chances increased when Dale’s batting started as carelessly as they had fielded, and they were soon 36 for 3.
Now Whitehead joined Khan and the pair assumed such dominance that you wondered what the earlier fuss was all about.
That is, until with score on 89 and Whitehead on 31, he attempted and missed an ugly hoick to a straight one from Tom Rutter.
Declan Wilkinson failed to influence proceedings and when he left, caught at mid on for 1 Dale were only just over half way to their target.
But then Maurice-scott emerged from the pavilion, his thumb back in place and bandaged and at last Khan, playing a totally unperturbed manner, had some durable assistance.
Maurice-scott is by nature an aggressive batsman, but here, no doubt hampered by his injury, he played circumspectly although he did unleash three blistering cover drives.
The two put on 74 for the sixth wicket, and with overs to spare Rochdale were cruising to victory.
But this was the sort of game where nothing was straightforward.
Maurice-scott tamely lobbed a long hop from Dale Highton to mid wicket and with intelligently set fields stifling Andy Harrison Rochdale could only scramble seven runs from the next five overs.
Harrison’s torment ended when he hit Rhys Tierney to mid on, and when the Roche brothers came and went went without scoring Dale still need 11 from under three overs with nine wickets down.
But Khan, who would probably claim that he had matters under control all along, eased Rochdale worries by lofting Highton over mid wicket for six, taking a single, then, in the last over, driving Tierney wide of mid on for four.
And so Rochdale had created a tense finish and a victory which will have left their supporters with feelings of relief rather than joy.
Middleton 189 for 7, 50 overs. ( Georgiou 82 n.o., Amjad 50, Oddy 5-20) Rochdale 192 for 9, 49.2 overs. (Khan 99 n.o., Maurice Scott 41, Whitehead 31, Rutter 4-42)
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