Retford 242 for 5

A FANTASTIC match between local rivals Bridon and Retford ended in a high scoring draw at Ordsall, with the home side just emerging with the bulk of the points.

It was one of those games that anyone not really interested in cricket would have enjoyed, and it was also played in a wonderful spirit and was a credit to the league.

Retford shot away to a brilliant start when Sam Shepherd had Bridon’s skipper Roger Wells lbw off the second ball of the match, but a fine partnership between Wayne Spooner and James Boock redressed the balance until the former was caught at mid-on.

Mark Brewer, who chanced his arm to good effect, then joined Boock.

This partnership laid the foundation for a big total and Bridon were in a commanding position until Boock was dismissed for a superb and patient 65.

Brewer continued to prosper and found another excellent partner in Stewart Parkin, who hit the ball cleaner than anyone else in the entire afternoon.

Brewer was finally stumped for an excellent 55, and Parkin was dismissed for 53.

In addition Jon Tomlinson also blasted a tiring Retford attack for 32 as Bridon closed on 268 for 8 with Darren Spooner (3 for 53) being the pick of their attack.

In a storming reply, Retford’s Australian opener Rob Condy blasted the first ball of the match to the boundary and it took 23 more overs before this new ball was found.

Condy and his partner Pascal Broadley gave Retford the perfect start, putting on 132 before young left armer George Appleyard clean bowled the Australian for an highly impressive 79.

From this point, Bridon’s superb fielding prowess started to gain the ascendancy and Retford began to get further behind the clock. Appleyard wheeled away to good effect and took 3 for 66 from 15 very good overs including the prized wicket of Broadley for a superb 80.

At this point despite a few flutters, Bridon were always in command and Retford finally closed on 242 for 5, just 27 runs short of victory in as good a game as you will see all season.

Another feature in Bridon’s performance was the opening 15 overs off the reel from veteran Colin Hurst who, although not taking a wicket, conceded a mere 21 runs in a spell as good as anyone had a right to ask for.

Both sides deserve the greatest of accolades for producing a memorable game.