McDonald drives to complete the chase
FPs pulled off a remarkable run chase, chasing down 235 to hand league leaders Mannofield their first defeat of the season. JohnWaldron (53),Pehlaj Tenneti (59) and Tom Booth (53) all hit half centuries and skipper Morrison was the lowest scorer of the men out but still hit 41. Earlier on Elliot had made 101 for Mannofield as they confidently declared on 234 for 8, Dave Bishop claiming 3 for 59.
Morrison won the toss and opted to field. FPs were forced into a number of changes as both Roland and Sam Knudson were unavailable along with Harry Mapplebeck. Arul Senthil returned to the middle order and Dave Bishop returned after missing the cup tie with 16 year old Jesten D’Costa stepping in to open the bowling on his top team debut.
He and Vijapur started solidly for FPs and it did not take long for Vijapur to remove Grayson, well caught at slip by the ever alert Senthil for 10. It was to prove to be the only breakthrough for 21 overs as Elliot and Rana batted aggressively, dispatching the bad balls with great skill and keeping the scoreboard moving. Bishop was convinced he had Elliot LBW for 30, but it was turned down despite a very strong appeal from the close fielders and bowler. Stuart also had a strong appeal soon after, but it looked like it may have been high.
FPs were sticking to their task, but were bowling too many wides (21), although a number were more of the one day variety, but in general did not bowl a consistent enough line and length. Therefore it was a great relief to them when Rana on 56 was superbly caught in the gully by Senthil off Bishop, Mannofield 138 for 2. Russell (10) offered good support to Elliot as they added 35, but he was undone by a short ball from Bishop which he gloved to Waldron at square leg who took a tumbling catch. Kieran Findlay and his bright orange cap, came and went for 2, superbly stumped by Booth standing up to the pacey Bishop off his last ball as he finished with 3 for 59.
Lawson saw Elliot to his ton, a fine effort with 16 fours and 1 six but they both fell in quick succession, Lawson unluckily stumped via deflection off Stuart for a duck and Eliot (101) well held at long on by the reliable McDonald off the returning Vijapur. Wickets continued to tumble as Horne was plumb LBW to Stuart, following a reprieve for Shorten moments earlier. Shorten appeared to be out LBW and was given LBW for a duck but on pointing out to FPs he had in fact hit the ball, FPs captain recalled him and allowed him to continue his innings. It did not last much longer though as he was run out in comical circumstances, Senthil marginally misfielding, about a foot away from himself at short mid on and comfortable effecting a run out by about 10 yards as Mannofield attempted to steal a run. FPs claimed an 8th wicket off the final ball, Waldron’s throw from the deep easily beating D Elliot going for an unselfish 2. It left Mannofield on 234 for 8 in 42 overs and to most observers appeared to be a winning total.
FPs had done well to pull it back from 138 for 1 in 25 overs and at least gave themselves a chance to chase down the runs. Elliot batted well for his century and Rane’s half century was also full of fine shots. Bishop did well claiming 3 wickets and Stuart and Vijapur continued their good seasons with 2 wickets each. D’Costa showed great promise for the future and overall FPs did very well in the field.
If the runs were to be chased down, it would need a good opening stand and FPs got exactly that as Morrison and Waldrom put on 94 for the 1st wicket in 25 overs. Waldron the dominant partner, playing the more attractive shots and with much more fluency than Morrison, who was content to give Waldron the strike, occasionally crashing a boundary. Waldron also ran aggressively, turning 1s into 2s and pinching a number of tight singles.
Morrison struck 41
He was lucky to survive a suicide run on getting to his first 50 for the club, but the fielder could not gather cleanly and only just squeaked home soon after, surviving a superb direct hit from Findlay. However, his luck ran out when Morrison sent him back and he was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from at the on strikers end from fine leg by Gavin Jamieson, Waldron out for 53 (5×4).
Tenneti joined Morrison, but the captain fell almost straight away, miscuing a lofted drive to Russell who took a well judged catch, Morrison dismissed for 41 (5×4). Booth joined Tenneti and they combined in a match wining stand of 120, defending the good balls, running intelligently and hitting the bad balls to the boundary.
Mannofield were apparently not impressed by Tenneti’s style or ability with wicketkeeper Grayson in particular critical of Tenneti’s efforts despite his 5 half centuries already this season. The keeper also became obsessed with whether batsmen were running short runs, but may have been better served to complete a simple stumping off the impressive Horne, Booth receiving an incredible let off, which was to prove pivotal.
Tenneti was beginning to live up to his test match nickname, hooking a sharp Jamieson bouncer for 4 before casually late cutting the next ball for 4 as the FPs chase gained momentum. Booth smashed 2 huge sixes as FPs rattled along. Mannofield cause was not being helped by a reluctance from bowlers to bowl from the pavilion end, but Rane and Horne did a decent job and were unfortunate to claim only 1 victim between them.
FPs were up to 200 by the 43rd over and now only needed 35 from the remaining 5 overs. Booth and Tenneti however were keen to end it quicker and both passed 50 as the boundaries continued to flow. In fact it was something of a surprise when Tenneti fell, well caught and bowled by Jamieson after a mistimed pull. Tenneti keeping up his astonishing season with yet another half century, top scoring with 59.
Senthil made sure of the win and took 2 fine catches
FPs still need 14 and Mannofield sensed renewed hope when Booth was caught at long on by Findlay to give Jamieson another wicket. Any hope was quickly extinguished though as FPs only needed 9 more balls, Senthil flicking an outrageous boundary before Paul McDonald drove the winning runs through cover, launching into his mandatory low key celebration.
Overall it was a great game of cricket, with over 450 runs scored. Mannofield deserved more than 14 points for their efforts and with such a fast outfield, it was a tough declaration to judge, but skipper Findlay did the right thing in trying to give Mannofield the best chance of forcing a win. FPs batting has been a highlight this season (Cults in the cup apart) and the top order once again getting runs meant that the chase always had momentum. Tenneti especially continues to show his quality and his runs have been invaluable this season. Next up for FPs is Methlick away, Methlick will likely start as favourites following their victory over Bon Accord.
