NATIONAL VILLAGE CUP QUARTER-FINAL (SUNDAY)
Grampound Road v Painswick
GRAMPOUND Road are into the semi-finals for the second straight year after a remarkable fightback to beat Painswick by just four runs in mid-Cornwall.
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The Gloucestershire visitors were cruising at 118-2 in the 23rd over in pursuit of 192, but the dismissal of Alastair Conolly for 29 sparked a collapse as Tom Hughes took 4-34.
The Road will now welcome Cambridgeshire-based Foxton Granta on Sunday, August 4 for a place at Lord’s.
Earlier on in the day, it was Painswick that won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to field following plenty of rain across Cornwall on Saturday.
And they made it tough for the Road early on.
Jack Mingo went for just three, and although Alex Lean and Chris Roberts took the score to 55 in the 19th over, Lean, like Mingo, was run out.
With just 55 on the board and only 40 overs to bat, the innings needed some impetus and it was provided by in-form skipper Tom Orpe.
He made an unbeaten 50 in the quarter-final a week earlier, and this time produced an even better knock as he smacked 62 from just 54 deliveries.
Alongside number three Chris Roberts who made 58 from 88 balls, they added 41 before Roberts went in the 29th over.
Tom Hughes was in and out for a single, stumped by Luke Woolway off Jack Hobbis, but Orpe found a perfect foil in wicket-keeper Harry Gregory who made 29 himself at slightly better than a run a ball.
They added 63, and Orpe kept going until the penultimate over before he was caught by Rogan Wolhuter off Matthew Conolly.
Grampound finished on 191-6 from their 40 overs meaning Painswick needed to go at a shade under five an over.
Knowing Grampound’s strength is their spinners, opener Reece Morris went out and attacked from the off, in particular enjoying the seam of Chris Roberts as he swiftly made his way to 29.
But having struck five fours in his first 17 balls, he edged paceman Nathan Keevil (2-39) to Gregory (33-1) in the fifth over.
Fellow opener Keegan Van Rensburg was out for 12 in Keevil’s next over, but Alastair Conolly and Luke Woolway looked to be guiding their side home as they added 74.
Needing less than four an over with eight wickets in-hand is usually a walk in the park, but knockout cricket and the pressure that comes with it, can provide plenty of drama, and so it proved again with Hughes being the chief orchestrator.
Conolly was first to go, lbw to Hughes, and Woolway departed in identical fashion eight runs later.
Hughes’ third arrived when Matthew Conolly picked out Tom Orpe for just a single (134-5), the large home crowd sensed the comeback was on.
Despite those wickets, just 57 were required from 83 balls, and 16 were added off the next 18 balls as Painswick appeared to be closing in on victory.
But Jonathan Conolly found Keevil off Alex Lean, and when Rogan Wolhuter (21) was caught by Lean off Hughes it was 155-7 and the hosts were marginal favourites.
The Road’s bowlers continued to apply plenty of pressure and Cornwall Over 50s spinner David Neville soon had George MacDuff was caught behind for a single.
David Bennett hit a six before being caught and bowled by Neville (2-30), but the drama continued as skipper Jack Hobbis (11) and last man Nathan Fagg (6no) eeked away at the target.
Just four were required off the final over bowled by Tom Fox-Dean, but the spinner held his nerve to bowl Hobbis with the first delivery and spark wild celebrations.