Pencarrow

Pencarrow v Tintagel II - Saturday 25th April 2009

Pencarrow CC got their Division 5 East campaign off to the perfect start with a 9 wicket win over Tintagel 2nds at a wintery P.C.G. With the rain holding off just long enough for Pencarrow to complete a dominant victory over their visitors, skipper Stuart Ellis's decisions to both play the match and bowl upon winning the toss were totally vindicated. After a whole off-season of attentive nurturing by head groundsman Tim Redman, the wicket was firm and flat, the square was impeccable, and the rest of the PCG was donig its best to shine through the spring-time gloom. Having been inserted, Tintagel's experienced opening pair safely negotiated the first 14 overs without frequently torubling the scorers, as the returning Matt Dingle saw a miserly spell ended by a groin strain. It was left to fellow opener Mark Kempthorne to get the breakthrough. Having begun impressively with 3 consecutive maidens, Kempthorne snuck one through the defences of S Harrison to have him bowled for 8 with the score on 26. A wonderful spell followed for Pencarrow, as Oliver Sleeman replaced fellow spinner Sam Millatt and 5 further wickets fell for the addition of just 10 runs. Opposing skipper Paul Higgs was next to go, well caught by Caleb Rowe after being beaten by the flight of Sleeman's legbreak. K Thompson drilled Kempthorne for a boundary before being bowled later in the same over and then Anthony Mitchell, having been cleverly moved into a wide slip position the previous ball, clung onto a flyer as P Abbott came and went. T Preston-Evans became Sleeman's second victim as Mitchell claimed an easier chance, and Kempthorne reduced the visitors to 36-6 by having G Keenan caught behind by Pete Cann to finish with an exceptional spell of 12-5-19-4. A Warren attempted to rescue the Tintagel innings with a few clean hits as he struck a pair of boundaries off Sleeman before undoing all his good work by taking a suicidal single and seeing Pete Cann whip off the bails before he'd slid home. Father and son combo Rob and Lee Squires saw off the last of Kempthorne's spell but were both undone by his replacement as Caleb Rowe marked his off-season improvement with the final two wickets in a tidy 3-over spell. After Lee was bowled by a deceiving yorker, Rob was also undone by the youngsters flight to be stumped by Cann to bring the Tintagel innings to an early close in the 30th over, leaving Pencarrow a sub-par 62 to chase for victory.
Sensing rain on the horizon and 20 points up for grabs, PCC captain Stuart Ellis placed his 4 most attacking players at the top of the order and told them to go and win the game as quickly as possible. After Ryan Curtis suprised all by managing to play out a maiden from Harrison's opening over, Ant Mitchell was more ruthless on young G Keenan, as he watched the first ball go harmlessly by before crashing the next 3 all to the boundary. As Pencarrow's openers proved the pitch was as true as Redman's preparatory hours had suggested, the result never looked in doubt. Even the loss of Curtis didn't halt the home sides progress. Curtis had found his feet with a pair of lofted boundaries before mssing a Harrison cutter to be bowled for a run-a-ball 13, but Mitchell wasn't to be restrained as he picked off the tame offerings to reach 33* off just 27 balls. And it was fitting that former skipper and club hero Olly Sleeman rounded a fine allround game by calmly nurdling the side over the line with a driven 2 off Lee Squires. Sleeman ended unbeaten on 13* from 23 balls as Pencarrow met their skippers run-a-ball target to compile 62-1 off just 10.3 overs. It was a mixture of relief and excitement for their season from the Pencarrow dressing room when the rain set in at 5pm, just 15 minutes after the game was finished. Ellis was delighted to have got off to a winning start, noting that not only had key players in the team not been required to make significant contributions to such a dominant victory, but that it was achieved without star newcomers Charlie Ellis, Chris Rippin, Jonny Andrews or Chris Gill. And that can only bode well for the PCC XI that travels next to Roche...

Pencarrow v Roche II - Saturday 2nd May 2009

Pencarrow continued their excellent start to the season by seeing off a valiant Roche fightback to hang on to top spot in Division 5 East.

While the ground at Roche looked a picture it was no surprise that, given a wet week, the pitch and outfield were soft and never conducive to free-flowing strokeplay. And so when Pencarrow skipper Stuart Ellis lost the toss, openers Ant Mitchell and Ryan Curtis had to stride out to attempt to see off the new ball on a sticky surface. And immediately Pencarrow found themselves in a similarly stick situation. Left-arm seamer Stephen Biggs found the opening breakthrough, getting one to shape back into Mitchell who, looking to be a positive as ever, found his drive beaten and was adjudged LBW for 5. Classy debutant Chris Rippin came to the crease and briefly showed his abundant class with a pair of effortless clips before edging a vicious outswinger from the dangerous Ben Libby to be caught behind for 3. And without the score having been added to, Ryan Curtis completed a bad day for the top 3 by seeing his lofted drive fly straight to mid on to give Biggs (2-47) his second wicket with the score yet to reach 20. A rebuilding period was needed from Pencarrow, and that is exactly what was provided by the re-united middle order of Charlie Ellis, returning to the side after 2008's globetrotting absence, and Sam Millatt. Charlie began in refreshingly positive manner by driving two fierce boundaries early on before settling for singles once the field dropped slightly, and while Millatt never really looked comfortable, he did exceptionally well to reign in his attacking instincts without missing out on punishing the bad balls. The pair played very sensibly in adding 91 for the 4th wicket in 22 overs before Millatt perished shortly after drinks, being caught and bowled by the otherwise erratic Sean Trudgeon (1-25) for a valuable 37. Skipper Stuart Ellis joined his son at the crease as they continued to work the ball inside the ring before Charlie, attempting to up the tempo against the miserly Nathan Libby (1-28) in the 34th over, made room to pull a short ball only for it to shoot viciously beneath the bat to have him bowled for a sensible 34. Ellis and Millatt had further reason to bemoan their impatience as young spinner Luke Burnett was introduced and bowled a series of inviting looseners at slow-motion pace. But Simon Patterson had joined his captain and the pair accepted the many singles on offer to move Pencarrow towards 150. Stuart Ellis (16) fell just before that landmark as he was run out by a direct hit from mid-off as he backed up too far, before Tim Redman came and went the same way for 3 as Pencarrow struggled to up the run-rate. But Mark Kempthorne added vital impetus as he lofted his first ball gloriously over cover with the shot of the day against Ben Libby (1-42), before striking a further boundary off Burnett (0-30)and hooking a towering 6 off the inning's penultimate ball to finish 16*. Simon Patterson batted well for his 21 in his first innings for Pencarrow before being selflessly run out off the last ball as Pencarrow totaled 178-8 from their 48 overs. While all agreed at tea that 200+ had been there for the taking after the 4th wicket stand, skipper Ellis noted that it still represented a good recovery from 19-3 and that the wicket wouldn't be easy for Roche.

Ben Libby (8) certainly made it look easy early on as he chipped effortlessly over mid-off and mid-wicket off Kempthorne's opening over before skying another swing that Charlie Ellis comfortably pouched at square-leg. Charlie then had his turn with the ball and after a couple of tidy overs and having induced several false shots from number 3 Kevin Masters (0), his off-cutter clipped off-stump with just enough force to send a single bail to the floor. And next over his clever slower ball saw Sean Trudgeon (2) chip tamely to mid-off, where Ryan Curtis made good ground to scoop up a low catch. Luke Burnett came and went for a duck as he smacked an aerial drive straight back to off-spinner Sam Millatt (1-39) to give him a caught and bowled. And then Simon Patterson dived forward to hold a fantastic catch at point with the ball just millimeters from the turf, which gave Kempthorne (2-38) another scalp and ended the solid vigil of opening prodigy Courtney Rowe on 15. At 36-5 after 15 overs, Roche II were in disarray, and needed a special partnership soon if they were to get anywhere near the target, but that is exactly what Ian and Martyn Trudgeon provided. With both men looking to exploit the worryingly frequent short balls, the pair smacked several boundaries each to have Roche better placed on 77-5 at drinks, needing another 102 for victory. Charlie Ellis was re-introduced to make the breakthrough Pencarrow needed, but saw only resolute defence from the pair, while Chris Gill's opening spell was treated mercilessly as the Trudgeon's went on the offensive with two boundaries each off his second over. Chris Rippin replaced him but initially fared little better as the equation was reduced to 60 needed off the last 16 overs. But in his tenth over, Charlie Ellis got the crucial wicket of Ian Trudgeon for 42 as he clung on to a powerful drive to claim a caught and bowled. The classy Nathan Libby joined Martyn Trudgeon though and any hopes of a Roche collapse soon evaporated as Libby worked sensible singles while Martyn Trudgeon scorched boundaries off Ellis (3-23) and Rippin to register his 50. But with 31 still needed, Rippin (2-24) got his own back by crucially bowling Trudgeon and Libby (11) in consecutive overs with an increasingly impressive spell. And with conditions getting very gloomy in the early evening, Gill returned to trouble the tail with his off-breaks as Pencarrow looked to wrap it up. First he had Antony Leaney caught behind for a duck as Pete Cann anticipated perfectly to snaffle a thin nick to a wider one, and then with the first ball of his next over, Gill saw Truscott launch a fierce swing that only succeeded in lodging into the safe hands of Kempthorne at short mid-wicket to give Pencarrow victory by 27 runs.

The win leaves Pencarrow 6 points clear at the top of Division 5 East as the only side to have won both of their games. Team Mentor Gerald Sleeman said after the game that the win "highlights the newfound character and desire in the squad, and shows that we are totally right to still Believe."

Pencarrow v Tideford II - Saturday 27th June 2009

An excellent, unbeaten 5th wicket partnership of 77 from Simon Patterson and Sam Millatt was enough to see Pencarrow overhaul Tideford's under-par 109-9 despite an early batting collapse by the home side.

Having scraped around for a side all week, Pencarrow were in the unusual position of having 12 players available after the late inclusion of Barry Punter meant that he joined fellow debutant John Child in the XI, with Rob Hooper resting a troublesome calf injury. Stand-in skipper Charlie Ellis was prepared to bat on an incredibly hard deck with the sun shining, but visiting captain and the league's leading batsman, Anton Luiten, called correctly and opted to pad up. However, Charlie made light of the misfortune and gave his side a dream start when he took the new ball and with the very first ball of the match, bowled full on off-stump and induced a flying edge from Luiten to where Simon Patterson grabbed a great catch low to his left at 1st slip. And it got even better for Pencarrow when fellow opener Harry Sawyer had his leg-stump pegged back to the first ball he faced to leave leave Tideford 1-2. Melvin Rigler was joined by Dave Holland and both found boundaries off the otherwise tidy Caleb Rowe before Ellis struck again in his 3rd over as Dave Holland could only fend a seaming delivery towards 2nd slip, where Sam Millatt showed excellent reactions to pouch a sharp chance, leaving Tideford 13-3. Young Caleb Rowe's impressive accuracy saw consecutive maidens pass at both ends as M Burnett dug in, before John Child was unleashed into the attack. The quality Kiwi took a few deliveries to blow away the cobwebs, but was soon beating the bat at will and inducing some extravagant bounce and seam movement up the hill. Sam Millatt's offspin made a double change and he was instantly a transformed figure from the bowler who sheepishly hemorrhaged runs at Tregony. Millatt yielded just 4 scoring shots from his opening 7 overs as he got decent turn from a consistently flighted line and length, but Pencarrow's catching began to let them down as stand-in keeper Tim Redman dropped Rigler's thick edge off Millatt and then failed to hang on to a second snick from Burnett off Child, having already parried an earlier chance off Ellis. Redman did perform admirably in the circumstances though, and took a couple of excellent saves down the leg side that saved runs and he gave just 1 bye all day. Tideford reached 50-3 at the halfway stage as Burnett cut Child for consecutive boundaries before being dropped again by Patterson and Millatt in the slips to compound Child's agony. His mood was improved slightly when he had Rigler trapped LBW by an inswinger to end his watchful 26, and Millatt too got the breakthrough his efforts deserved when he got enough turn to bowl Rich Cruickshanks behind his legs for 8. And when James Gallagher's (1-6 from 4) introduction saw the promising medium pacer induce a scoreless Ian Trundley into chipping high to point, where Jonny Andrews took a good catch at full stretch, Tideford were 84-6 with 14 overs left. Andrews held another sharp chance when Nick Pooley drove Millatt's penultimate ball straight to midwicket as the offy finished an excellent 12 overs with 2-25, and Ellis's ensuing return reaped instant rewards when Burnett edged his first ball back and this time Redman was all smiles as the ball lodged between elbow and rib to dismiss the batsman for a fighting 44. At 93-8 with 10 overs remaining, Pencarrow looked set for an early tea, but the obdurate Mark Everett edged his first ball from Ellis between keeper and slip to the line and J Pollard survived countless play-and-misses to the frustration of Ellis and the returning Caleb Rowe, who showed fantastic stamina and ability to yield just 4 runs from his final 4 overs as he completed a great 10 over spell for just 25 runs without getting any luck. Ellis revived hope that maximum bowling points could be mustered when his delightful slower ball looped through to defences of Pollard to clean bowl him for 3, but number 11 Steve Osbourne went criminally untested by a pair of leg-side deliveries as Ellis finished with a dominant 5-19 from his 12. Child (1-28 from 10) returned for the last over and Mark Everett couldn't get a single delivery off the square, he did survive the over as Tideford finished on 109-9 from their 48 overs.

After doing their best to consume the absolutely mountainous feast assembled for tea, Pencarrow's new look opening partnership John Child and Jonny Andrews strode to the wicket looking to make a quick start to the chase, and things seemed to be going to plan when the surprise leg-spinning opener of Harry Sawyer was punched through the covers by Child and then walloped back over his head for the days only six by Jonny Andrews. But the left-hander disappointingly fell the very next ball as he attempted the same shot but was beaten in the flight and bowled for 6 from 7 balls. Barry Punter joined fellow newbie Child and began watchfully against Sawyer, but after Child had picked boundaries of Everett by chipping him imperiously down the ground and then flamingo-flicking him over square leg, he perished to the horror of the PCC bench as he flicked again but this time picked out Osbourne at square leg to be out for 15 from 19 balls. And 23-2 became 23-3 next ball when Barry Punter's 8-ball stay ended in an ignominious duck when he was bowled by the impressive Sawyer. Two solid left-handers were now at the crease in Simon Patterson and Charlie Ellis, but the ball after finishing a period of 18 dots by square driving Everett to the fence, Ellis was gone cheaply for the 4th week in succession as he bottom edged an Everett delivery that kept low and was more than a bit unlucky to see the ball lodge between the keepers heels without touching his gloves but, crucially, not the turf either. With Ellis back the hutch for 5 from 21 balls Pencarrow were in all sorts of strife at 34-4 after 12 overs, and with only Tim Redman of the recognised batsmen to come. Ellis's otherwise respectable captaincy now began to backfire as he realised too late that Gerald Sleeman had to leave the ground early and had not been used as a batsman. So much rested on the shoulders of Patterson and Millatt, and Patterson was clearly feeling the pressure as Millatt had to send him back after a couple of suicidal calls for singles as the pair chipped away at the 77 still needed to win. The pair were happy to play risk free cricket and settled for ones and twos as the worked it around the outfield off the change bowlers of Burnett and Pooley (both 0-15). But both made sure not to get too bogged down, and having curbed his naturally aggressive game, Millatt boosted his own confidence with a majestic cover drive scorching along the turf to the line off Burnett as Pencarrow took the rate of the equation by reaching 76-4 at the halfway stage. Millatt chose the introduction of Dave Holland's (0-16) loopy off-spin to increase the pace of the chase as he cleared the front leg to sweep 3 powerful strikes along the ground to the line at square leg. And the pair crucially kept their concentration as they neared their target so that Pencarrow could garner maximum batting points from the game. The result sped to its conclusion as Patterson swept the returning Sawyer (2-30) behind square to the line and then finished the game by flaying Everett (2-26) to the cover boundary as he finished with 26* from 70 balls as Pencarrow reached 111-4 in the 29th over. Millatt turned in a vital Man-of-the-Match all-round performance in finishing with 31* from 50 balls to lead Pencarrow to a 19 point victory. And it was nice end to the day to see a fine turnout from both sides on a warm evening at Slades House, who were as hospitable as ever. Pencarrow's boys enjoyed a few well-deserved pints knowing that their 6th straight victory keeps them right in the mix in Division 5 East's tantalizing race for promotion, ahead of their massive clash with Roche next week.

Pencarrow v St Erme II - Saturday 18th July 2009

Rain prohibited Pencarrow from beginning a pursuit of 155 to win off 40 overs against a strengthened St Erme 2nds. On a sticky PCG track, St Erme posted a healthy 154-7 off their reduced 40 overs, with Nick Blandford (49), Simon Cole (19) Kevin Wilcock (19) and M Northover (20*) all providing the impetus while young Will Pearse (21) anchored impressively. Pencarrow spilt no fewer than 4 chances of varying toughness off Blandford before Oli Sleeman finally clung on to one, although the home sides' fielding did improve as two sharp run outs kept the wickets coming at the death. One excellent flick onto the stumps by Rob Hooper from a wayward return dismissed 1st XI opener Simon Cole, who was mysteriously drafted in after the 1sts' game was canceled. For Pencarrow, Charlie Ellis started well before receiving late tap to get 3-35 off his 10, while Chris Gill (1-31), Sam Millatt (0-36) and Rob Hooper (1-30) all bowled useful spells. However, what could well have been an exciting run-chase after never got started after tea as thick drizzle enveloped the PCG and both sides had to settle for 9 points, with Pencarrow's sloppy catching costing them 2 bonus points at least. And to compound matters, leaders Tregony and second-placed Roche were both lucky enough to avoid the rain and record wins, meaning Pencarrow lost more ground on the top 2. Pencarrow now head for St Blazey next week knowing they are 21 points adrift of the promotion slots, but hoping the sun finally returns again and that they can get back to winning ways...

Pencarrow v Tintagel II - Saturday 1st August 2009

Pencarrow CC put their terrible July behind them at Tintagel, welcoming August by finally getting that elusive 11th win of the season to keep up the pressure on leaders Tregony and second-placed Roche. After a torrential morning downpour had threatened to wash out yet another fixture, the clouds lifted long enough for play to take place, albeit on an incredibly wet, spongy wicket in a reduced 43-over contest. Visiting skipper Stuart Ellis called incorrectly and a weakened, 10-man Pencarrow were forced to try and assess what a decent total might be on such a challenging wicket. Barry Punter and Ryan Curtis had the arduous task of opening up and it quickly became apparent that the wet wicket was producing prodigious seam movement and exaggerated, trampolining bounce. Whatever their early sights were, they may have been lowered after the first ball of Dick Pethick's second over, which saw hard-hitting opener Ryan Curtis chip to cover for 3 off 6 balls. Charlie Ellis joined the action and began cautiously with a few singles while Punter waited long enough for a couple of looping long-hops that were dispatched to the cover point boundary, while his swiveled pull also brought 4. The pair patiently added 36 in 13 overs before Punter, the principal aggressor, attempted his favoured straight hit over the invitingly short mid-off boundary, but only succeeded in skying a catch off Pethick to depart for a valuable 26 off 48 balls. Young Caleb Rowe had been promoted to number 4 after some promising showings, and got to grips with the slowness of the pitch quickly as his punchy chip over mid-on got him off the mark, and then brought a pair of cleanly struck boundaries as Martin Pethick (0-27 off 6 overs) dropped short. He managed to see off Pethick (2-19 off 11) too, despite a ball of near half-volley length managing to leap enough to crack him on the helmet, but looked quite the part as he dropped to one knee to crunch Rus Donnelly wide of long-on with the shot of the day. However, Caleb's promising cameo was ended next ball when, perhaps getting a little over-confident, he chipped a full ball straight to home skipper Phil Higgs at cover and left with 20 off 30 balls. Charlie Ellis, who at one point had laboured 58 balls for 13, was joined by father Stuart, and the younger Ellis finally looked to be finding his feet as Steve Roach was swept powerfully to the line for a first boundary after 24 overs at the crease. But, like Punter and Rowe, Ellis Jr was gone just when he threatened to get going, as he top edged an attempted cut off Roach straight to Dick Pethick to bring to an end his 77-ball stay worth 29. At 88-4 with 14 overs left, Chris Gill was the man identified to give the Pencarrow innings some impetus but, having made 3 off 5 balls, he fell a yard short of clearing the long mid-wicket boundary and Martin Pethick hung on to a swirling catch to give Roach another scalp. Simon Patterson joined his captain in the middle with Pencarrow in the awkward position of needing acceleration without many wickets left. Stuart Ellis managed to swivel on a short one from Roach (2-23 off 7) and locate the square leg boundary, but, having added 12 off 25 balls and taken the score past 100, the re-introduction of Alex Gibbons' proved his downfall as he smacked a short one in the air towards cover, where Martin Seldon drew gasps by clinging onto a very sharp diving chance. Pete Cann, the last recognized batsman, joined Patterson as Pencarrow re-adjusted their sights towards 120, and Patterson brought that target closer as he swatted Gibbons over mid-off for a lovely one-bounce four. But his innings was yet another cut off in its prime as he jabbed a drive straight to close cover off Rus Donnelly. It never lifted more than 2 inches off the turf upon whistling off the bat, but hung just long enough for Martin Pethick to scoop his fingers underneath to send Patterson packing with 12 off 28 balls. Cann took upon the responsibility of garnering the 6 runs required for 120, pulling well when Gibbons (1-30 off 10) dropped short, and the extra batting point was indeed mustered when Rob Hooper guided through gully off the penultimate over. But Rus Donnelly (4-19 off 8.4) bowled a tidy last over, having Hooper (1 off 6 balls) narrowly stumped by Tom Preston-Evans, and then wrapping up the Pencarrow innings with 2 balls to spare as Dan Cock was bowled second ball for 0. Cann finished unbeaten on 6 off 21 balls, and Pencarrow enjoyed tea with the knowledge that their 120 would be more defendable on this wicket than a similarly underwhelming total had been at St Blazey last week.

Home skipper Phil Higgs strode out to begin the chase accompanied by Guy Keenan, but after adding 17 off 8 overs, Rob Hooper gave Pencarrow the breakthrough when he extracted turn and pop off a length and Keenan (7) could only glove behind where Pete Cann took the catch after a bit of a juggle. At the other end, Chris Gill was causing all sorts of problems with swing, but when he dropped one short Higgs rocked back quickly to crash a boundary. The slog sweep was the effective but dangerous shot of choice for the home batsmen, and Higgs moved into double figures by raking Hooper square to the line as Tintagel reached 30-1 after 14 overs. Tom Preston-Evans (5) looked to play classical shots and worked a couple of nice twos but was undone by movement off the pitch as Gill took a leading edge to complete a clever caught and bowled. Having held his injury-hampered strike bowler back, Stuart Ellis chose this moment to bring Charlie Ellis into the attack, and the move paid instant dividends when a lifting leg-cutter caught the edge of Higgs' bat and Cann's catch sent the skipper on his way for a valiant 19. With 20 overs gone and the score stuck on 39-3, it really was make or break time for Tintagel, and Chris Gill (2-20 off 11) struck an emphatic blow for Pencarrow when he hung on a fantastic one-handed chance in his follow-through to remove dangerman Steve Roach for just 2 in his last over. And 40-4 became 50-5 in the 27th over when Barry Punter ran in from long-off to take a sliced drive off Martin Seldon to give Caleb Rowe a wicket. And even bowling at half pace off a short run, Charlie Ellis was looking dangerous and extracting rare swing, which accounted for Dave Burnard when he played round a outswinger to be bowled for 3. The game looked up for Tintagel, but with such short boundaries to aim for, swinging tail-enders can be dangerous at Tintagel, and so it proved as Jamie Fuller emerged with the right intent and clubbed young Rowe through mid-off for 4 and then swung him straight back over long-on for the days first maximum, as Tintagel briefly kept up with the 7-an-over asking rate. But, having just added a slogged 4 off Rowe, Martin Pethick (5) didn't survive his first ball from Ellis (3-5 off 8), as the ball bypassed his wild heave to disrupt middle stump. And Caleb Rowe (2-20 off 5) finished strongly, the composed youngster continuing to pitch the ball up and eventually being rewarded as Rus Donnelly swung too early on one and Ryan Curtis covered good ground to take the catch running back from cover. Rob Hooper (3-19 off 8.5) was reinstated to the attack with Tintagel needing 51 off the last 10 overs, but their 2 remaining wickets didn't even last the over as first 5 balls. First Fuller's fun came to an end when he failed to connect with another swipe and was bowled for 15, and the innings was wrapped up next ball when Alex Gibbons' attempt to swing one straight got more elevation than distance and Barry Punter judged the running catch well on the line.

The 50 run victory was just the confidence boost Pencarrow needed heading into their make-or-break game at home to Tregony next week, where a win would really have the top two looking over their shoulders in the run in. As for Tintagel, Tideford's win at Menheniot and Grampound Road's extraordinary tie with St Stephen means they may well be entering sweaty-palms time at the other end of the table...

Pencarrow v Tregony - Saturday 9th August 2009

After having such a terrible time since they last beat Tregony, with only 2 wins (over Tideford and Tintagel) in the 6 intervening fixtures, Pencarrow came into the game knowing that anything but a win would see them looking forward to another season in Division 5. But their opponents had only lost once all season, and after winning the toss and batting on a sunny day at the beautiful PCG, Pencarrow hardly had it all their own way. They were helped by a wayward start from bowlers Jonny and Alex Ridd, whose wides count managed to work the scoreboard into double figures after 2 overs before either Barry Punter or Ryan Curtis had got off the mark. But thereafter the slightly uneven, skiddy bounce of a wicket that still retained underlying moisture from a wet July, meant that scoring was tricky. Both men only managed a single scoring shot from their first 20 deliveries as Richard Bray set intelligent fields and his men backed him up with athletic commitment in the ring. And when Curtis tried to pull a ball not really short enough from Steve Ridd and under-edged onto his timbers to depart for an unusually subdued 8 off 42 balls, with the score on 32 in the 16th over. Charlie Ellis joined Punter and almost departed first ball, just jabbing the toe of his bat down on a stump-bound skidder to get off the mark. Punter decided to take on the mantle of upping the scoring rate and managed to get enough bat on an edged drive off Ridd to send the ball over the boundary for the first time in the game, and this in the 18th over. He drove purposefully towards the cover line a few times too, but was generally kept in check by the accuracy of Moyses and Ridd and a little nibble off the pitch. So too was Ellis, though he did manage to time an impressive square drive off Moyses that made it to the fence. But on 59-1 after 27 overs, the nagging Ridd had the last laugh when Punter stepped away to leg, desperate to create a scoring chance, but only dragged his tuck onto his pads from where it rebounded into middle stump, sending the opener packing with 29 from 89 balls. The way Tregony had bowled had made the wicket look a low-scoring one, so there were mixed feelings from the Pencarrow bench when Sam Millatt strode out and immediately found a groove, clipping Moyses over the top for 4 and then later in the over for an effortless 6. The laboured Ellis failed to take the hint however, and persisted in his attractive, but futile drives to close fielders, as he looked to see out the change bowlers before beginning a counter-attack. It never materialized though and with the score on 85 after 35 overs, his frustrating knock was ended as he clipped Moyses' penultimate delivery straight to Josh Kendall at mid-wicket to depart for 8 off 44 balls. Home skipper Stuart Ellis joined Millatt with instant scoring required, and the captain initially looked ill at ease as he faced 8 dots from the returning Jonny and Alex Ridd. But Millatt welcomed the formers re-introduction by slapping him back over his head and laughing away some comical glares, before keeping the strike and doing the same to the younger Ridd brother (Alex). But an even bigger cheer came up from the Pencarrow boys when Stu Ellis got off the mark with a long-handled slog over mid-on and followed it up with another 4 wide of mid-wicket next ball. The 14 from the over brought up Pencarrow's hundred with 10 overs still left and after stealing the strike Ellis continued his remarkable assault as the front leg was firmly planted and Jonny Ridd was again swung away for a straight 4 and then a towering 6 over long-on which prompted more stares from the bowler. But the fun had to end somewhere, and after their brief partnership had added a match-high 35 in only 5 overs, Millatt slogged thin air of Alex Ridd and was bowled for an entertaining 31 off 39 deliveries. By now, the third batting point for reaching 120 had been garnered by Pencarrow but any hopes of a repeat of Chris Gill's batting heroics against Tregony were quickly shattered as Alex Ridd bowled straight and the ball kept low to see him bowled for a golden duck, and after a couple more lusty blows to the now-scattered fielders, Stuart Ellis's fun was ended in the 44th over when he missed another heave to be bowled by Alex Ridd for a rejuvenating 28 off 31 balls. With the score on 135-7 and 160 now seemingly out of reach, it was up to Simon Patterson and Pete Cann to post as many as they could for Pencarrow. After a few lusty blows from Patterson, Cann scampered a leg-bye off the last ball to take Pencarrow's total to the previously unthinkable heights of 171-7 as 19 came of the last over. And having made only 85 off the first 36 overs, Pencarrow had capitalised on their wickets in hand wonderfully well with 86 more coming in the last 12.

So it was a confident Pencarrow that emerged into the sunshine after a hearty tea, and Chris Gill and Charlie Ellis took on the responsibility of trying to break the division's best opening partnership of Graham Burton and Richard Bray. It was clear that the two talented batsmen wanted to take the run-rate out of the equation and get Pencarrow on the back foot as they launched into any errs in line and length. But with the score having raced onto 32 after 7.3 overs, Ellis picked up the pace next ball and Burton tried a hurried pull to a ball that was never likely to bounce high enough, and he could only edge onto middle stump, bowled for 17. Ellis (1-14 off 5) completed another maiden, with Bray somehow managing to avoid edging several searing seamers, but skipper Stu then held him back for later battles and Sam Millatt began encouragingly with another maiden. And Chris Gill (0-29 off 8) was replaced with Rob Hooper from the valley end, and the double change immediately reaped rewards when Bray thinly edged a flaying cut and sportingly walked for 20 as Pete Cann clung on to the chance. At 47-2, Pencarrow knew the door was ajar to Tregony's fallible middle order, and another breakthrough didn't take too long in coming as off-spinner Millatt followed a few looping tempters with a skidding quicker one that beat Andrew Bray's tentative prod and had him adjudged LBW for 3. Tregony badly needed a partnership, but Pencarrow were buzzing by now and creating excellent pressure in the field, and it brought another breakthrough before the score was added to. Following a tight run out by Charlie Ellis, Alex Ridd joined Biddick with 118 still needed to win, and looked uncomfortable against the teasing offerings of Hooper. He stayed with Biddick while 12 were added from 6 overs, even contributing a lofted boundary through a vacant mid-wicket, but when Charlie Ellis was stationed there next over, he couldn't resist the trap and another heave off the wily Hooper saw a top edge give Ellis the simplest of skied catches to depart for 4. And Pencarrow got the last of the recognised batsmen a couple of overs later when, having already slog-swept Millatt for 4, Biddick attempted the same shot again but was beaten by Millatt's tantalising flight to be bowled for 16. James Lloyd (5) was now senior partner, and managed to get a short one from Millatt away to the cover line, but again perished soon after as he edged an attempted force off the back foot to the same bowler and Pete Cann held the catch behind. Josh Kendall entered at 10 and confidently flicked Millatt's first ball through mid-wicket for a couple, but his stay was ended next over when he failed to get over another flick through the on side and Curtis dived forward to take another catch and give Hooper the outstanding figures of 10-5-13-4. Tregony had lost 9 wickets for 51 in a collapse that spanned all of 20 overs, to the extend that, at 83-9 Stuart Ellis felt confident enough to give even Ryan Curtis a bowl. Caleb Rowe replaced the excellent Millatt (3-22 off 9) as Pencarrow went in search of the final wicket, and after Dave Sanderson and Dave Moyses had bravely resisted for 10 overs and taken the score onto 101, Rowe (1-5 off 4.3) finally bowled Sanderson (4) with an unplayable leg-cutter to signal victory for Pencarrow. Tregony, among the most sporting and friendly of sides in the county, were quick to congratulate Pencarrow on their victory. But although they (and Roche) still hold all of the aces as the Division 5 promotion race comes down to the last month, Pencarrow had at least given themselves a shout with this memorable victory. And with games against bottom two Looe and Grampound Road next on the agenda, Pencarrow have the chance to pile some serious pressure on the leaders as the season reaches its climax.

Pencarrow v Looe II- Saturday 15th August 2009

Phil Shepley gives Looe a surprisingly rapid start in dominating a totally lacklustre Pencarrow, who lose count of the number of dropped catches, misfields and gift wrapped long-hops. But Rob Hooper (3-52) gets him in the end for 57, then adds Spencer Delf (29) and Luke Lane (16) after cameos. Mark Musgrave (24) and the evergreen Malcolm Trethowan (10*) hang in their but Charlie Ellis takes 4-11 to restrict Looe to 160 all out. Ellis then makes 34 and young opener Caleb Rowe gets 23, though Mark Jefferies (3-41) dismisses both to leave Pencarrow 4-down and needing another 74 after drinks. But Stuart Ellis (14) and Simon Patterson (30*) put on 48 before some late hitting from Pete Cann (22*) sees PCC home with 4 wickets and 5 overs in hand for 20 points.

Pencarrow v Grampound Road III - Saturday 22nd August 2009

Reduced to 36 overs by rain, Pencarrow get a flying start after aggressive cameos from Barry Punter (13 off 17 balls), Charlie Ellis (28 off 33) and Sam Millatt (19 off 17), but all perish leaving Stuart Ellis (35 off 101) to nurse a tail missing the AWOL Chris Gill. Promising leggie Sam Ainsworth picks up 4-25 while Alan Hosking (2-20) and Jeremy Brewer (2-44) chip in as PCC are 116 all out in 33 overs. In reply, Grampound start steadily but collapse to 32-4 at drinks, as Millatt (4-25) gives brave flight to find big turn that accounts for 4 of the top 7 batsmen in an excellent spell that is well supported by Rob Hooper (2-20). Sam Ainsworth hangs on in making 15 and PJ Craddock threatens briefly with a trio of fours in his 13, but Grampound are eventually all out for 78 as Caleb Rowe (3-21) mops up the tail. All 10 Road batsmen are caught, with Charlie Ellis (3), Pete Cann (2), Caleb Rowe (2), Sam Millatt, Rob Hooper and a stunner from Dan Cock at cover point sealing PCC's 14th win.

Pencarrow v Menheniot II - Saturday 29th August 2009

Pencarrow kept their faint hopes of a slip-up from Roche allowing them back into the top 2 as they hammered Menheniot by 193 runs at a sunlit PCG.

After losing the toss, Pencarrow commander Stuart Ellis was pleasantly suprised to be inserted by Alan Sedgley on what looked a firm track and the first forecast in weeks that didn't include the threat of rain. PCC's County Over 50's opening combo, Barry Punter and Simon Patterson, gave Pencarrow a rare sturdy start as they looked to see off the nagging Phil O'Connell and score off the quicker but less accurate offerings of Luke Ripley. Punter cut handsomely for the first boundary through square cover, whilst Patterson looked to be finding his touch as he worked consecutive fours off Ripley (0-31 off 5 overs), but his stay was ended next over when O'Connell's persistent appealing seemed to do the trick as Patterson, despite being a long way forward, was adjudged LBW for 17 from 36 balls, with PCC 42-1 in the 11th over. Having been promoted to 3 in the order, the aggressive Sam Millatt made an instant impression as he doubled O'Connell's run-rate by boosting his 4th ball for an almighty 6 over mid-wicket. Charlotte Phillips replaced Ripley and produced an admirable 4-over spell, restricting the attacking batsmen to just ones and twos throughout, but Millatt swung O'Connell (1-32 off 12) over mid on as Pencarrow reached a promising 78-1 after 20 overs. And the pair upped the ante after the introduction of Chris James's gentle spinners, with Millatt in particularly ominous touch. The burly right-hander stroked 15 off his 3rd over, as he used his feet positively to get to the pitch of the ball, and was impressively orthodox in peppering the cover boundary. Millatt recieved a huge cheer from the Pencarrow bench when he punched the single to long-off that brought up only his second league fifty for Pencarrow, and his first since 2007. Punter was looking in great touch too as he moved to his highest score for Pencarrow, but a maiden fifty was not to be as James recovered from yielding 39 from his first 5 overs to have him caught and bowled having made 48 from 88 balls, and after striking 5 fours and adding 95 for the second wicket with Millatt in only 19 overs. Charlie Ellis entered the action at number 4 at a later stage than he is accustomed to, with the unusual freedom of a scoreboard that read 137-2 after 30 overs. But he spent most of his early time at the crease attempting to calm Millatt, who seemed intent on giving his innings away as he continually flogged aerially to the leg-side. And with a hundred seemingly there for the taking and having already been dropped 5 times at deep mid-wicket since reaching 50, Millatt holed out to that region once again off Steve Hitchens, where Colin Phillips showed his team-mates how to do it by clinging on. It was a disappointing end to a fantastic innings from Millatt, who had compiled an even run-a-ball 58, with 5 fours and a six. At 150-3 with 15 overs left, Pencarrow had the licence to motor, but Stuart Ellis joined son Charlie and these notorious slow starters appeared to be squandering their sides' momentum as James and Hitchens managed to restrict them to singles for all of 5 overs. Charlie looked to wrestle back the initiative as he swept James powerfully for a pair of boundaries behind square and finally Stuart began to time it too, twice rocking back to pull Hitchens (1-46 off 10) to the legside boundary. Charlie looked be moving into top gear as he brought up the 200 by striking a sumptous six over long-on to end James's spell (1-69 off 11), but after adding 52 in 10 overs, Stuart Ellis fell to young Robert Cowling, slicing a full toss straight to short cover to depart for 14 from 29 balls as the inspired bowling change reaped a wicket-maiden. Pencarrow legend Mark Wallis celebrated his long-overdue return to the side with an appearance at number 6, and though he initially struggled to get bat on ball, Charlie Ellis was making use of his famously spritely efforts between the wickets by taking singles anywhere and everywhere. Wallis did finally manage to find his feet as he greeted Charlotte Phillips's return to the attack with a firm pull to the square leg line, and Charlie Ellis finally gave Cowling some tap as he crunched a 6 over the head of deep square leg. Wallis scrambled a trio of two's off the 47th over as Cowling (1-14 off 3) finished promisingly, before Charlie Ellis brought up his fifty with an ugly hoick through mid-wicket off Charlotte Phillips's (0-40 off 7) penultimate ball that brought up his first fifty since May. Pencarrow finished on an imposing 243-4, their highest score of the season, with Ellis accelerating to be unbeaten on 53 from 54 balls, and Wallis having contributed 19* from 23 deliveries.

After a hearty tea, Menheniot set about their distant target patiently, partnering the promising Luke Ripley with make-shift opener Colin Phillips, but found nothing loose from Rob Hooper or Charlie Ellis on which to get stuck into. A good start was imperative for the visitors if they hoped to challenge the target, but Ripley, the dangerman, was back in the hutch in Hooper's second over, missing a straight drive when on 4 to see his middle peg knocked back by the wiley left-armer. At the other end, Charlie Ellis was building up a head of steam, and slipped a yorker through the defences of new man Chris James to have him bowled for 3, leaving Menheniot 8-2 after 6 overs. And the start got even worse before it got any better. With both bowlers only offering the occasional single, number 4 Dave Whiltshire survived until the 12th over before he fell for 2, as Charlie Ellis got a quicker one to lift and Pete Cann clung onto the outside edge behind the stumps. And visiting skipper Alan Sedgely fell in Ellis's (3-6 off 8 overs) next over, bowled for a duck for the second time this season by the lanky seamer, as Menheniot slid to 14-4. Steve Hitchens emerged from the pavillion to arrest the slump, and managed to find Menheniot's first (and, ultimately, only) boundary as Sam Millatt was briefly given a taste of his own medicine in having his flighted offspin swung through wide mid-on to the fence. By now home General Stuey Ellis had a field suitable for a fifth day Test match, with 5 slips and close catchers on both sides of the wickets, but Colin Phillips was intent on leaving as much as possible, even a few from Hooper (1-13 off 8) which all but kissed off stump. Mark Wallis looked anything but rusty as he bowled a probing 8 over spell, blowing away a year's worth of cobwebs as he swung and seamed the ball impressively. Phillips endured a nasty moment when his attempted sweep off Wallis (0-14) was top-edged into his own face, but despite his glasses flying over the head of 3rd slip and the ball leaving a painful cut above his right eye, the left-hander battled on admirably before Millatt finally grabbed the breakthrough, removing Phillips for 7 as Joel Thomson hung on to a lofted paddle after the pair had added a patient 29 in 14 overs. And Hitchens' defiance was ended in Millatt's next over, the allrounder beating his drive in the flight to have him bowled for 17. John McPherson, Menheniot's most reliable bat, had been held back to 8 in the order, but even he couldn't stem Pencarrow's momentum as Stuart Ellis (1-1 off 2) capped his annual spell of slow floaters with his wicket for a duck, Danny Cock extending an arm at square leg to hold a superb one-handed catch from McPherson's aerial sweep. It was only a matter of time now for Pencarrow, and Millatt soon held one back long enough to beat Phil O'Connell's mistimed slog, the tail ender being bowled for 2. Charlotte Phillips (1*) proved she is worth her place in the side by seeing off Millatt (3-10 off 11), but Danny Cock's (2-3 off 2) slow chinaman hastened Menheniot's downfall as first Rob Cowling was bowled for 2 and then Pencarrow nutritionist Joel Thomson capped an inspirational performance in the field as he dived forward to snatch a world-class catch at mid-wicket off young John Cowling (0). Menheniot had been bowled out for 50, as Pencarrow cruised to 20 points with a massive, 193-run victory. Credit must go to a weakened Menheniot for their part in an enjoyable days' cricket in the sunshine, ensuring the game went most of the distance by generously inserting Pencarrow at the toss, as both sides played in a fantastic spirit throughout.

Charlie Ellis - 01/09/2009

Gerrans v Pencarrow - Saturday 27th April 2008

Pencarrow 121-7 (T Redman 39, G Sleeman 22no; D Rowe 4-13, S Reid 2-40), Gerrans 124-1 (S Reid 70 no, S Hooper 21no). Gerrans (18 points) beat Pencarrow (three) by nine wickets.

Pencarrow v South Petherwin - Saturday 3rd May 2008

After Pencarrow's dismal start to the season at Gerrans, a win today against an understrength South Petherwin was crucial. Pencarrow's hopes were lifted with the news that opposing star player Ian Searle had departed for Launceston, and the wicket was looking as flat and true as ever. After being inserted by the visiting captain, Pencarrow's new opening pair of Tim Redman and the enigmatic Ryan Curtis got off to a steady start, with Curtis smashing a straight six and a few elegant fours before being bowled by Felix Sampson (3-19). After this a period of consolidation followed, as Olly Sleeman came and went for 14, and Redman dropped anchor for a patient 15, as the home side struggled to break free against some tight and nagging bowling. The middle order attempted to up the tempo, as the returning Anthony Mitchell grafted 22, Stuart Ellis nurdled 14 from 27 balls, and vice-captain Sam Millatt hit an aggressive if unorthodox 22 from 30 balls, despite struggling with dehydration. The innings never really got going, as the tail also failed to make an impression, with Gerald Sleeman (0), Chris Partridge (0) and Rob White (2*) all failing, as Pencarrow scraped up to 147 all out with the wily Mike Searle taking 2-36 D Clements returning flattering figures of 3-43.

Petherwin's innings almost got off to a nightmare start, with Gerry edging behind on 0, but the chance was grassed, as he and opening partner Clements (41) added a crucial 66 for the opening wicket. Once this partnership was broken by the impressive Jake Rowe (12-4-24-1), wickets continued to fall depsite some lusty blows Volz (29) and Hatch (21), as Pencarrows spinners toiled away valiantly with Sam Millatt taking 2-24 from 8 overs, and Olly Sleeman 4-42. Despite some tight and energetic fielding, the back-up bowlers of Rob White, Anthony Mitchell and Chris Partridge failed to make a real impact, and South Petherwin eventually stumbled home to win by 3 wickets, inflicting an agonising and devestating defeat on the home side.

Pencarrow 147 (S Millatt 22, A Mitchell 22, R Curtis 20; F Sampson 3-19, D Clements 3-46, M Searle 2-36), South Petherwin 148-7 (D Clements 41, D Hatch 21, P Volz 29; O Sleeman 4-42, S Millatt 2-24). South Petherwin (19) beat Pencarrow (six) by 3 wickets.

Torpoint v Pencarrow - Monday 5th May 2008

Torpoint 152-8 (A Radley 31, M Gray 25no, D Full 25, O Davies 23; A Phillips 3-22, S Millatt 2-34, J Rowe 2-57), Pencarrow 131-8 (T Redman 24, J Rowe 24, O Davies 3-29, A Radley 2-20). Torpoint (17 points) beat Pencarrow (seven) by 21 runs.

Pencarrow v Fowey II - Saturday 10th May 2008

Coming into this game on the back of 3 straight defeats and rock bottom of division 4 east, a win was crucial for Pencarrow. Home spirits were slightly dampened after skipper Olly Sleeman lost the toss and a full-strength Fowey opted to bat on a hard and true surface, but the early breakthrough was a boost, with Rob White clinging on to a tough catch to dismiss the dangerous Chris Knight off the bowling of the ever-impressive Sleeman. The strong Fowey batting line-up appeared to be settling in, with young Will Tinsley playing a few powerful drives before falling to Phillips, with a remarkable one-handed caught and bowled. From this point on the home spinners again worked well in tandem, with Sam Millatt continuing his good form with the ball taking 2-25 and was unlucky not to have more, and Jake Rowe bowling 12 overs to return 1-42. This caused Fowey’s middle order to stall slightly, with Starkie, Mitchell, Crapp and Bennetts all failing, but some lacklustre bowling allowed to tail to cut loose, getting the visitors up to 183 all out. M Bullock (39) and Dave Sanchez (28) were particularly brutal on the death bowlers, and Gary Jones nurdled a useful 27* despite clearly edging one behind on 0 and refusing to walk. Throughout this Olly Sleeman bowled a superb spell of leg-spin, taking 4-62 from 12 overs, his 4th wicket coming from the last ball of the innings to wrap matters up.

Pencarrow’s reply got off to a good start, with the returning Anthony Mitchell hitting some blistering 4’s through the off side, and fellow opener Adam Phillips dropping anchor for a patient 3. The usually unflappable Stuart Ellis entered the fray at 3, and got slightly bogged down against some tight bowling, as the required run-rate creeped up. Number 4 Olly Sleeman hit an aggressive 27, but once he and Mitchell had fallen in quick succession the game appeared up for Pencarrow. Jake Rowe made a patient 29*, but the asking rate became too much, as Millatt came and went for 5 trying to hit over the top and up the tempo. The innings finally came to a depressing end on 138-5, with M Bennetts taking 2-29. Pencarrow make one change to the team that visits Liskeard next Saturday, in what is a crunch game in their battle to retain division 4 status.

Fowey 183 (M Bullock 39, D Sanchez 28, G Jones 27no, W Tinsley 21; O Sleeman 4-62, S Millatt 2-25), Pencarrow 138-5 (A Mitchell 37, J Rowe 29no, O Sleeman 27; M Bennetts 2-29). Fowey (19 points) beat Pencarrow (eight) by 45 runs.

Liskeard II v Pencarrow - Saturday 17th May 2008

Liskeard (6 points) Pencarrow (six) match cancelled

Pencarrow v Grampound Road III - Saturday 24th May 2008

Pencarrow’s season finally got off and running with a victory over an understrength Grampound Road outfit on a blustery and murky day at the coveted PCG. After winning the toss and opting to bat, Pencarrow made a quick start with Ryan Curtis dispatching young opener Christian Walton back over his head for 6, but the momentum was soon lost as Curtis’ partner Gerald Sleeman ran himself out in suicidal fashion for 4. Olly Sleeman followed soon after in unfortunate and controversial fashion, to a high full toss that he smashed straight to mid-on. After this shaky start the reliable Tim Redman nurdled and swept effectively whilst Curtis began to play some remarkable shots at the other end, smashing five sixes and hitting young spinner Judson for 28 from 2 overs. After passing 50, Curtis looked set for a big score but appeared to lose concentration to be bowled for a career-best 62. The resourceful vice Captain Sam Millatt entered the fray at 5, and despite having some edgy moments proceeded to drill a few fours and make a quick-fire 29, putting on a valuable partnership with Redman. Both players followed in quick succession soon after, with Redman making a useful 21. Jake Rowe and the tail failed to capitalise on this foundation, with an alarming collapse ensuing. After Rowe departed for 15, he was followed in quick succession by Rob White (1), Nick Dowrick (0), Ben Hurst (0) and Chris Partridge (0). Some thoughtless batting at the end allowed Pencarrow to only make 142 all out, with Eastwood taking flattering figures of 6-28, and young Sam Morris 2-28.

Grampound Road’s reply got off to a poor start, with Ryan Curtis taking a wicket in his first and only erratic over, having Lawrence well caught by Dowrick for a duck. The dangerous Nigel Sanders played his natural attacking game, and provided stability at the top of the order before departing to the accurate off-spin of Millatt for 30. Millatt also removed Judson for 5, and Christian Walton for 2, taking an athletic one-handed caught and bowled. The fragile middle order was exposed, with Jake Rowe bowling a tight spell of 3-18 from 12 overs, and applying pressure with fellow spinner Millatt, Pencarrow appeared to have the game wrapped up at 88-8. Any hopes of an early finish were soon dashed by a remarkable 9th wicket partnership between youngsters Danny Barreto and Judson, who both batted with incredible maturity and calmness beyond their years adding 50 and taking ‘the Road’ to within 10 runs of victory. The re-introduction of captain Olly Sleeman’s leg-spin did the trick, with Sleeman ending Barreto’s vigil for 29 having him caught and bowled, and clean bowling number 11 Sam Morris next ball to seal Pencarrow’s first win of the season at the 6th attempt, triggering jubilant celebrations in the home dressing room. Sleeman finished with figures of 2-22, and Millatt returned career best figures of 4-27 from 12 overs. Ben Hurst, Rob White and Chris Partridge all also bowled. Grampound finished on 132, just 10 runs short, although when the scores were added up in detail after it showed that Pencarrow won by a margin of 20 runs which could have proved very crucial.

Pencarrow – Pencarrow 142 (R Curtis 62, S Millatt 29, T Redman 21; M Eastwood 6-28, S Morris 2-28), Grampound Road 132 (N Sanders 30, D Barretto 29; S Millatt 4-27, J Rowe 3-18, O Sleeman 2-22). Pencarrow (18 points) beat Grampound Road (eight) by 10 runs.

Luckett II v Pencarrow - Saturday 31st May 2008

Pencarrow set off for the green fields of Luckett in high spirits following last week’s monumental victory over Grampound Road, under murky and threatening grey skies. After Pencarrow skipper Sleeman won the toss and curiously inserted the opposition, Luckett opening pair Piper and the evergreen Roy Williams immediately went on the attack, exploiting the 30 yard square boundary with powerful drives and pulls to put on a superb 157. The partnership was eventually broken by Olly Sleeman’s leg-spin, as Williams chipped a catch to square leg to depart for a superb 102, which included 6 6’s and 11 4’s. Sleeman also removed number 3 Hoskin lbw for 2, but Gold entered the fray at 4 and began to take the attack to the visiting attack with opener Piper. Piper eventually fell to Millatt for a steady 61, but Gold continued to frustrate the bowlers with an unorthodox technique as he smashed 74* with mainly leg side hits. Some late flurries from the middle order allowed Luckett to reach an imposing and match-winning score of 287-4. All the Pencarrow bowlers struggled with the short boundary and some lacklustre fielding, with Millatt and Rowe taking one expensive wicket each, and Sleeman 2-43 from 7 overs.

After an energising tea, Pencarrow’s new-look youthful opening pair of Olly Sleeman and Ryan Curtis began to attack the home bowling in pursuit of the massive target, and quickly put on 50 for the first wicket in 6 manic overs. Curtis was the first to depart, bowled by the nagging Ian Piper for 7, and was replaced by vice-captain Sam Millatt. Sleeman continued his thrilling counter-attack, before being well caught in the deep off Parker for 44. This wicket triggered a reduction in the run rate, as Jake Rowe quickly departed for 1, and number 5 Stuart Ellis and Millatt became bogged down by some accurate bowling. Millatt eventually got frustrated and chipped a catch to cover to depart for 24, which included 3 4’s. Once Ellis departed for the same score, and with the game well and truly up for Pencarrow, the tail began to express themselves with Rob White smashing a quick 28 from number 8, including a flat six over mid-off. Despite this, Pencarrow never got near the massive target, and a late collapse saw them end tamely on 160 all out. Ian Piper (4-37) and A Hoskin (3-17) both impressed with the ball.

Luckett 287-4 (R Williams 102, R Gold 74no, D Piper 61, R Brown 23; O Sleeman 2-43), Pencarrow 160 ( O Sleeman 44, R White 28, S Ellis 24, S Millatt 24; I Piper 4-37, A Hoskin 3-17). Luckett (20 points) beat Pencarrow (six) by 127 runs

Pencarrow v Gorran II - Saturday 7th May 2008

Pencarrow – Gorran 119 (H Bamber-Jones 28, M Adams 24; J Rowe 4-23, R White 2-39), Pencarrow 123-3 (J Rowe 43no, S Ellis 37no; M Adams 2-28). Pencarrow (20 points) beat Gorran (three) by seven wickets.

Newquay III v Pencarrow - Saturday 14th May 2008 - By Mike Jelbert

On a hard and true wicket at the Sports Centre, comfortably the best batting surface the 3rds have played on this season, Newquay’s start gave no indication of the fireworks to come. The 50 came up in the 14th over with just one wicket down, but in the next 6 overs, Mike Jelbert departed for 21 along with three other batsmen to leave Newquay rocking at 80/5. Things became worse when John Neill had to retire hurt with a pulled hamstring in the 23rd over. This brought in the Kiwi, Shannon Jenkin, and what an entrance to the ball this debutant made. After taking two balls to play himself in he went on a fall on offensive, smashing the ball to all parts of ground. His straight driving was particularly destructive and after a mere 14 overs at the wicket he was bowled for 85 having hit eight 4's and six 6's. He was well supported by Cory Wood (34), who has shown his growing maturity with good supporting innings this season. 107 were added for the 6th wicket, a new division record. With Newquay on 211/9 in the 43rd over, Neill returned to bat with a runner. Good running saw another division record stand as a further 41 undefeated runs were added, Neill ending up with 25* and Graeme Booth 15*. The youthful Jake Rowe bowled his slow left armers with great control and was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/40. Rob White took 3/35, Ollie Sleeman 2/39 and there was a wicket a piece for Adam Phillips and Mark Wallis. Pencarrow conceded 39 extras with crucially 17 byes within this total to lift Newquay to 252/9.

Pencarrow showed they meant business with Ollie Sleeman in particular punishing any lose deliveries. Jenkin was brought on to bowl and, extracting bounce and pace from the wicket, had Sleeman caught by the keeper for 52. With Josh Busby bowling Adam Phillips and Jenkin removing Stuart Ellis (28) caught at slip and Sam Millatt to Jelbert’s second catch behind the stumps Pencarrow lay at 108/4 at the midway stage. Jake Rowe was dropped in his twenties but as Newquay continued to take wickets the game appeared won and some sloppiness crept in to Newquay’s fielding. Rowe took full advantage of his life and took the game to Newquay scoring an impressive 83 before giving Tony Roberts a caught and bowled. Even then Pencarrow refused to give up. Nineteen were needed from the final over, reduced to ten from the last two balls. In an excellent game of cricket with almost 500 runs scored Newquay just edged Pencarrow out. All Newquay bowlers picked up wickets with Jenkin 3/40, Roberts 2/46, Booth 2/55 and a wicket for Mike Blackshaw and Busby.

Newquay 252-9 (S Jenkin 85, C Wood 34, J Neill 25no, M Jelbert 21, Extras 39; R White 3-35, O Sleeman 2-39, J Rowe 2-40), Pencarrow 242-9 (J Rowe 83, O Sleeman 52, S Ellis 28; S Jenkin 3-40, T Roberts 2-46, G Booth 2-55). Newquay (19 points) beat Pencarrow (nine) by 10 runs

South Petherwin v Pencarrow – Saturday 28th June 2008

Pencarrow suffered yet another close and immensely frustrating defeat at the hands of a seemingly weak South Petherwin outfit for the second time this season, again by the narrow margin of 2 wickets. Despite losing frontline batsman Ryan Curtis to work commitments on the morning of the game, the Pencarrow XI appeared strong on paper, but the destructive top order failed to deliver after Sleeman lost the toss and was asked to bat. Sleeman himself cracked a few fours before falling for 12, soon to be followed by the hungover Anthony Mitchell (0) and the in-form Jake Rowe, unluckily bowled by a shooter for just 3. After such a disastrous start at 21-3 the vastly experienced middle order had to drop anchor and rebuild the innings, but with tight bowling and an unpredictable wicket this proved difficult. Stuart Ellis became slightly bogged down and played across the line to the nagging length of Mike Searle and top edged to depart for 14, soon after the unfortunate Adam Phillips had been bowled for a duck by the promising medium pace of young E Wharton (5-30). Sam Millatt joined the crease at 7 after arriving late at the ground, and after a watchful start began a counter-attack with some hard-hit 4’s through mid-on and square leg as he and Tim Redman attempted to bring some stability to the innings. Once Redman departed for 8, Millatt continued to play his shots, but wasn’t supported by the feeble lower order, as the promising on-loan James Cox ran himself out for 0 and was quickly followed Phil Baker (2), Gerald Sleeman (9) and Bobby White (1*). Once Millatt was caught in the deep off Clements for 40 the innings stumbled to a close on a below-par 115 from 47 overs.

Pencarrow’s attempt to contain the weak South Petherwin batting line-up got off to a dream start, with Jake Rowe and Adam Phillips making immediate breakthroughs, with Gerry (0), Clements (1) and Sampson (0) all falling in quick succession to reduce the Petherwin to 10-3. Number Four D Hatch decided the best form of defence was attack, and immediately began throwing his bat with gay abandon, and with a succession of fours began to wrestle the game back in South Petherwin’s favour. However, wickets continued to fall at the other end to keep Pencarrow in the game, as Phillips (8-3-32-2) and Rowe (9.4-1-28-5) toiled away with accuracy and guile, but Hatch’s wicket remained agonisingly elusive as the target became closer and closer for the home side. As the change bowlers of Sleeman, Mitchell and White all failed to make an impact and alarmingly leak runs, Sam Millatt came on and immediately struck, removing Hatch with a well-flighted delivery for a match-winning 87 when scores were level, but the match was already gone. A late scare ensued as Rowe clean bowled the stubborn S Gerry to memorably claim his first ever 5-fer, but Mike Searle and Townsend scrambled a bye to seal a tight victory for the home side and to leave Pencarrow alarmingly and firmly stuck in the 2nd relegation spot.

South Petherwin – Pencarrow 115 (S Millatt 40; E Wharton 5-30, M Searle 2-17), South Petherwin 116-8 (D Hatch 87; J Rowe 5-28, A Phillips 2-32). South Petherwin (18 points) beat Pencarrow (six) by two wickets.

Pencarrow v Liskeard - Saturday 5th July 2008

Rained Off.

Grampound Road III v Pencarrow – Saturday 12th July 2008

Pencarrow’s topsy-turvy season took another twist as they recorded another memorable victory over relegation rivals Grampound Road last Saturday. Despite some of the visitors grumbling after noticing that Grampound brought down some 1st and 2nd team players to strengthen the team, Pencarrow maintained good spirits and made a steady start to their innings, with captains present and past Olly Sleeman and Stuart Ellis putting on a patient 28 for the first wicket. Sleeman was the first to fall, with an unusually slow 14 as he was caught at deep mid-wicket from a Danny Barretto loosener. The out of form Adam Phillips joined the fray at 3, but against nagging bowling from Pete Emery and Mark Dalby neither Phillips or Ellis could really get the ball away with much authority, both having to nurdle and work singles to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Phillips eventually became frustrated and came down the pitch to the accurate Alan Lund, and was comprehensively stumped for 13. Anthony Mitchell soon followed for a duck, bowled by Lund a few balls later, leaving Pencarrow in trouble at 59-3, just past the halfway point of the innings. With such a slow run-rate some impetus was required, and after a inauspicious start when he was dropped twice before reaching 3, number 5 Sam Millatt began to find some form and cracked a pair of sixes on his way to 32, putting on a crucial 55 with Ellis in just 10 overs. Once Millatt fell lbw to the bad-tempered Lund, the remaining Pencarrow batsman failed to make an impact, as the familiar scene of the long tail coming and going in precession. Despite the worrying fall of wickets, runs continued to come, as Ellis began to come out of his shell, and Rob White cracked a four through mid-off before being run out for 4, but Mark Wallis (1) and Tim Redman (0) also fell in the same unfortunate fashion. Pencarrow finally mustered 153 just one over short of their allocated 48, which was a below par score for a reasonable wicket and short square boundary. Alan Lund finished with 4-40, Danny Barretto 2-21 and the other wicket went to Pete Emery with 1-36.

‘The Road’s’ reply got off to a swift and promising start as Bawden clubbed a few 4’s, but they were soon pegged back by accurate bowling from Pencarrow stalwarts Mark Wallis and Adam Phillips. Phillips cleaned up Bawden for a cameo 12, soon followed by young PJ Lund and A May, both falling cheaply to the veracious Mark Wallis. Grampound dangerman Pete Emery came in at number 4, and lived up to his reputation with some trademark drives as he began to wrestle back the initiative for the home side. Emery was supported by young Stevenson who made a patient 14, but played one shot too many and was finally undone by a Phillips slower ball, and departed for 35. Once Stevenson followed soon after, another victim of Mark Wallis, the game was there for Pencarrow to grab, and they duly obliged as the dynamic Sam Millatt came on to wrap up the victory with a double wicket maiden, clean bowling M Dalby and Danny Barretto in consecutive balls to seal a priceless 45 run victory for the struggling Pencarrow outfit. Mark Wallis finished with superb figures of 4-37 from 9 overs, and Adam Phillips with equally impressive Adam Phillips 3-42 from 11 overs. This hard-earned victory sees Pencarrow climb out of the relegation zone, and allows them to cling onto the chance of staying in Division 4 next season.

Grampound Road – Pencarrow 153 (S Ellis 49no, S Millatt 32; A Lund 4-40, D Barretto 2-21), Grampound Road 108 (P Emery 35; M Wallis 4-32, A Phillips 2-36, S Millatt 2-0). Pencarrow (18 points) beat Grampound Road (seven) by 45 runs.

Werrington III v Pencarrow - Saturday 19th July 2008

Werrington – Werrington 196 (N Dennis 83, M Wills 52; J Rowe 3-29, A Mitchell 2-11, M Kempthorne 2-56), Pencarrow 191-9 (S Ellis 60, J Rowe 46, R Curtis 33; A Smeeth 4-48, P Jenkin 3-37). Werrington (18 points) beat Pencarrow (nine) by 5 runs.

Pencarrow v Gerrans - Saturday 26th July 2008

Pencarrow – Gerrans 287-3 (S Reid 106, Wilkinson 53, T Perry 51no, Woods 51; J Rowe 2-36) Pencarrow 130 (T Redman 32, S Ellis 23; T Perry 4-15, R Couch 4-27). Gerrans (20 points) beat Pencarrow (four) by 157 runs.

Pencarrow v Newquay III – Saturday 2nd August 2008

Pencarrow’s recent form against the resort town has been poor, without a win in recent memory. A victory today was paramount to aid Pencarrow’s survival bid and to keep their season alive. Newquay’s newly appointed skipper Tony ‘Test Match’ Roberts won the toss and boldly opted to bat under murky skies and on a very soft wicket. Roberts must have soon regretted this decision as he was soon run out, shortly after opener Josh Busby was bowled by the returning Chris Gill for 1. Although Tom Eggins provided brief resistance with a battling 20, the middle order collapsed under pressure from tight bowling from Millatt and Gill. Once Millatt bowled Eggins and the dangerous John Tinson in quick succession, Newquay were in deep trouble at 46/4 past the half way stage. A courageous 24 from young Cory Wood attempted to wrestle Newquay up to the 100 mark, but when he became Gill’s 3rd victim, the long tail was exposed. With no other batsmen making double figures, and Jake Rowe (2-19) and Olly Sleeman keeping the pressure on, Newquay were dismissed for a tame and under-par 99. Millatt bowled one of his finest spells to return 3-20 from 12 overs, and Chris Gill, on his welcome return from St Minver, took 3-25 from 12.

With a solid start vital on such a slow and low wicket, the usually reliable partnership of Tim Redman and Stuart Ellis was soon broken, after Redman ran himself out coming back for a suicidal second run. Ellis dropped anchor as he and the in-form Jake Rowe slowly rebuilt the innings. Rowe was particularly impressive, displaying some crisp cover drives and solid defence. Ellis unfortunately departed to the nagging line of Tony Roberts, as he played on for a patient 6. Olly Sleeman joined the crease and soon attacked the now demoralised visiting bowlers, smashing 29* as he and Rowe (48*) comfortably knocked off the remaining runs to seal a superb win with over 20 overs to spare. These 20 points could prove crucial to Pencarrow’s survival, and now drags Newquay into the dreaded relegation quagmire.

Pencarrow - Newquay 99 (C Wood 24, T Eggins 20; S Millatt 3-20, C Gill 3-25, J Rowe 2-19), Pencarrow 102-2 (J Rowe 48no, O Sleeman 29no). Pencarrow (20 points) beat Newquay (three) by eight wickets

Pencarrow v Luckett II - Saturday 23rd August 2008

Luckett 188-7 (I Clements 88, D Billing 35; I Sleeman 3-40), Pencarrow 106-7 (O Sleeman 22, S Millatt 21; I Clements 3-15, R Brown 3-21). Luckett (17 points) beat Pencarrow (five) by 82 runs.

Pencarrow v Torpoint - Monday 25th August 2008

Pencarrow 109-8 (O Sleeman 60; D Full 4-14, C Baines 3-17), Torpoint 112-5 (P Dawe 40, S Adams 24, D Nobes 21; N Hurst 3-15). Torpoint (18 points) beat Pencarrow (four) by five wickets

Pencarrow v Cornish Choughs – Wednesday 27th August 2008

Under the part-time leadership of club stalwart Sam Millatt a strong Pencarrow XI took to the field against a Choughs squad comprised of various Camborne, Troon and County youth players. With such a strong batting line-up, Pencarrow must have fancied their chances of posting a decent total. However, burly openers Tom Eggins (0) and Millatt (1) had both fallen within the first 3 overs, mis-timing drives to be caught off the bowling of the young Melissa Rowe. Rowe continued to bowl a good length, and backed up by some good catching soon removed Jake Rowe (14) and débutante Terry Marks (7), reducing Lanherne to 25-4. Once the dangerous Chris Rippin had also fallen for a duck, Pencarrow were in deep trouble. Some obdurate batting from veteran Geoff Husband allowed Pencarrow to stage a mini-recovery, aided by Tom Brooks, as the pair put on 67 for the 6th wicket. Brooks was particularly strong through the covers and drove powerfully, to make his first ever Pencarrow 50, before being smartly stumped by Ben Pascoe off the bowling of Prout for 54. Husband soon followed lbw to Luke Johnson for a crucial 12. The notoriously weak Pencarrow tail failed to make an impact, with Caleb Rowe (4), Joel Thomson (0), John Kelly (2) all falling in quick succession, with Chris Baskerville left on 2*, and Pencarrow on a disappointing and under-par 131 all out. Melissa Rowe finished with superb figures of 5-45, Prout returned 2-5 and wickets also went to Williams, Johnson and Pascoe.

The Choughs’ reply got off to a slow start against the surprise opening pair of Joel Thomson and Chris Baskerville. Thomson’s well flighted bowling had the openers in great difficulty, and he soon removed opener Prout, who ran out of patience and was smartly caught at mid-wicket by Jake Rowe for 2. Thomson’s second over was more expensive, and Millatt was forced to remove him, to be replaced by the accurate spin of Tom Brooks. Pencarrow wicket-keeper Geoff Husband kindly remarked that Thomson was the worst bowler he has ever seen in his 60 years of playing cricket. Brooks soon made a break-through, clean bowling Grant Rowe for 11, but county under-16’s batsman Luke Johnson and the big-hitting P Shepley took the game away from Pencarrow with a well-timed and aggressive partnership of 55. Johnson finally fell to the nagging length of Chris Rippin (1-40) for a brilliant 38, but by then the game was already won. Part-time bowlers John Kelly, Caleb Rowe and Terry Marks all turned their arms over to hasten the finish, as the Choughs strolled to 132-4, comfortably winning by 6 wickets. Shepley finished on 39*, with C Williams 10*.

Pencarrow 131 (T Brooks 54; M Rowe 5-45, C Prout 2-5) Cornish Choughs 132-4 (P Shepley 39*, L Johnson 38). Cornish Choughs beat Pencarrow by 6 wickets.

Pencarrow v Cornwall Over-50’s – Saturday 20th September 2008

Pencarrow’s long and arduous season began to draw to a close with a traditional end of season friendly against the Cornwall Over-50’s side. After winning the toss and opting to bat, Stuart Ellis’ strong outfit of 12 men chose to bat on a hard track, which has been a rarity recently with heavy rain throughout the summer. Young openers Tom Eggins and Jake Rowe made a steady start, putting on 36 before Rowe was caught for 13 off his namesake, Dave Rowe. The innings then ground to a halt with tight bowling young Looe starlet Aidan Libby and the nagging length of Gerrans seamer Rowe, as young Caleb Rowe and Eggins struggled to keep the run rate up. Once Rowe fell to the promising leg-spin of young Nicole Richards and Eggins fell to M Hunn, the destructive middle order was unleashed on the visiting attack. With a short square boundary Sam Millatt and Tom Brooks went on the attack, Millatt smashing 3 sixes before being bowled by a Libby leg-cutter for 26, with Brooks soon following, stumped for 43 off the wily spin of Joshy. Lanhydrock captain Matt Yates continued the good work with a well-paced 41*, but once the tail became exposed and young James Gallagher (2), James Centini (0), Adam Emmerson (7) and Kim Rowe (6) all fell in the closing overs, Ellis declared the innings on 184-8.
The visitors’ surprisingly youthful outfit initially threatened to chase down the total, with Aidan Libby smashing 46 and Ben Pascoe hitting an agricultural 27, before the latter fell to young Jake Rowe, soon followed by Brooks clean bowling Libby with a well-flighted delivery. Premier League player Steve Richards also fell cheaply to Rowe for just 1, and when his sister Nicole followed for just 2, the Over-50’s appeared to retreat into their shell and settle for a draw. Despite a rare flurry of boundaries from the obdurate Geoff Husband (16) and the entertaining Joshy (25), the target of 185 was always a bridge too far for Cornwall, as Husband fell to young debutant Jonny Centini, and Joshy was then caught in the deep off the part-time spin of Stuart Ellis. Some late hitting and scampered singles from debutant Pete Middlehurst and the energetic John Kelly allowed the Over-50s to gain a few late runs but it was all in vain as the over-50’s scraped up to 148-7 from 44 overs, falling short of Pencarrow’s total, but clinging on a draw.

Pencarrow 184-8 Dec (T Brooks 43, M Yates 41*, S Millatt 26; Aidan Libby 2-30, Nicole Richards 2-42, M Hunn 2-29) Cornwall Over-50’s 148-7 (Aidan Libby 46, B Pascoe 27, P Joshy 25; J Rowe 2-32)
Match Drawn.

Pencarrow v Cornwall Over-50’s – 28th September 2008

Pencarrow’s late season friendly form improved further after they won this re-match from last week’s identical fixture. After Sam Millatt and his merry men arrived late to the game to find Pencarrow in the field, the Cornwall Over-50’s openers I Palmer and G Roberts batted with positive intent, putting on 37 in the face of accurate swing bowling from Caleb Rowe and Steve Richards. Caleb Rowe (1-23) eventually made the breakthrough, dismissing Roberts lbw with a superb inswinging yorker, and first change bowler Millatt (2-12) then removed the dangerous Barry Punter and John Kelly in successive balls with well-flighted off breaks to reduce the Duchy side to 70-3. Palmer continued to bat resolutely, but the middle order failed to offer much support, with Geoff Husband (5), Mike Hugo (9) and R Crabb (10) all struggling against the nagging home spinners. Young brothers Danny and Tom Brooks were most impressive, ably supported by Jake Rowe (1-20) and the ever-improving James Gallagher (1-21). Some lusty blows from the lower order boosted the visitors’ total, with Palmer eventually being dismissed for 49, Dave Dunnett smashing 27, and Dave Rowe 25* to allow Cornwall to reach 183-8 as Cornwall skipper Geoff Husband declared.

Pencarrow’s reply got off to a slow start as S Kelly and J Mason bowled a good line and length, strangling the run rate as just 16 runs came from the opening 9 overs, with Olly Sleeman (9) and Jake Rowe (16) becoming bogged down and eventually getting themselves out. Rowe was particularly unlucky after a controversial lbw decision from the visiting umpire cut his innings short. Once star players Danny Brooks (8) and debutant Steven Richards (11) from Paul 1st XI had also failed, at 56-4 Pencarrow’s chances of chasing down 183 with just 20 overs left looked unlikely. Durham University starlet Tom Brooks had other ideas, and supported by burly Pencarrow and Vale of Lanherne stalwart Sam Millatt the pair began going on the offensive as the pitch flattened out in the evening sun. Brooks began exploiting the short square boundary with some cleanly struck sixes, and coupled with Millatt’s powerful leg-side hitting and quick running between the wickets, the initiative was back with Pencarrow. Once Millatt fell to Dave Rowe (1-26) for another dodgy lbw decision for a quick-fire 40 featuring a 6 and five 4’s, Pencarrow needed just 53 more runs for victory. Club captain Stuart Ellis joined Brooks at the crease, and kept the momentum going with a useful knock of 26, but with victory in sight Ellis was cleaned up by Dave Dunnett (1-24). This brought Pete Cann to the middle, and in fading light Cann struggled to connect with some big hits, leaving a tense final over with 10 required for victory. Brooks duly obliged with some good running and then a sweetly struck six over long-on to seal a memorable victory and a remarkable run chase. Brooks ended on a club best 64 not out that included four 6’s. J Mason and M Chapman took two wickets apiece as Pencarrow won by the margin of 4 wickets.

Cornwall Over 50's 183-8 dec (I Palmer 49, D Dunnett 27, D Rowe 25*, G Roberts 21; S Millatt 2-12, D Brooks 2-43) Pencarrow 186-6 (T Brooks 64*, S Millatt 40, S Ellis 26; J Mason 2-17, M Chapman 2-35). Pencarrow beat Cornwall Over-50's by 4 wickets

PENCARROW – 2007 SEASON REVIEW

Tideford 2nd XI (Home) - Saturday 28th April

TIDEFORD 164 (L Marsh 41, S Osborne 39, P Ruse 22; C Ellis 3-19, D Mills 3-38, M Wallis 2-45)
PENCARROW 166-9 (C Ellis 41, O Sleeman 23, M Kempthorne 20; A Luiten 3-21, L Marsh 3-34, M Swain 2-25)
Pencarrow (19 points) beat Tideford 2nds (8 points) by 1 wicket.
Position in Division 4 East; = 2nd

Pencarrow got the2007 season off to a good start with an exhilarating 1 wicket win at home to a youthful Tideford side. Skipper Stuart Ellis won the toss and put Tideford in to bat first on a fine, humid day at the PCG. Charlie Ellis provided the start Pencarrow wanted as he clean bowled P Luiten, B Osborne and visiting captain Anton Luiten in a dangerous first spell. Spinner Jake Rowe, on debut, then took the prize wicket of opener Phil Ruse, LBW for 22, to leave Tideford struggling on 39 for 4 from 13 overs. After Mark Wallis bowled young N. Lister for 12, S Osborne joined Cornwall U16 player Lawrence Marsh for a stand of 63 (to take them to 131) before Stuart Ellis ended the youngster’s impressive 41 with a good catch at square gully off the bowling of debutant Danny Mills. After Mills then bowled Osborne for 39, Tideford stuttered to 164 all out from 44.1 overs as Mark Kempthorne, Mills and Wallis polished off the tail. Charlie Ellis finished with 3-19 off his 12 overs while Danny Mills did well for his 3-38 from 11. Olly Sleeman had a good day behind the stumps, taking a regulation catch and conceding only 2 byes on a pitch with variable bounce.
Pencarrow’s reply got off to a great start as Sleeman and Paul Francis found the boundary with regularity before Francis was bowled by Mark Swain for 18 after 9 overs, with the score on 49. Sleeman departed shortly afterwards for 23, adjudged LBW to Swain. Danny Mills managed 8 before clipping a low catch to cover, to bring together the Ellis’s. Charlie had a bright start but the pair soon got bogged down in a partnership of 52 from 18.4 overs when the bad ball wasn’t put away and the inconsistent bounce caused problems. Still the game looked won before Charlie Ellis, at 124-3 in the 35th over, inadvisably chased a wide half volley and only succeeded in slicing an Anton Luiten leg break to his son at point. Kempthorne added some impetus in a brisk 20 that included 4 great boundaries before he was needlessly stumped off Luiten. This precipitated a Pencarrow collapse from 149-4 to 153-9, with 5 wickets being lost for just 4 runs in 24 balls. Stuart Ellis was unlucky to given out LBW for 15 when well forward to Luiten but Marsh came on and his medium pace saw Wallis (1), Graham Francis (0) and Rowe (2) all bowled in 9 balls to leave Pencarrow in disarray with 9 down and 12 still required. New boys Matt Keverne and Adam Scott were extremely cool and realised that, with the field now up, boundaries were probably the best chance. Keverne survived N Lister’s over and drilled the third ball back past the bowler for 4, before Scott repeated the feat by blocking most of Swain’s balls before hammering the fourth through the covers for 4 off the back foot. Three were now required for the win and Keverne wasted no time in prolonging the agony on the faces of his team-mates as he swung through the line of Lister’s first ball to send it flying through the vacant wide mid-on area to give Pencarrow victory by one wicket with 17 balls to spare. The unlikely heroes were undoubtedly Keverne and Scott for their unbeaten 9 and 4 respectively.

St Austell 3rd XI (Away) - Saturday 5th May

ST AUSTELL 111 (S Barrett 32no, S Cocks 32; C Ellis 12-4-7-13 including hatrick, J Rowe 2-38)
PENCARROW 114-3 (C Ellis 46no, O Sleeman 28; I Trembath 2-35)
Pencarrow (20 points) beat St Austell (3 points) by 7 wickets.
Position in Division 4 East; = 1st

Pencarrow continued their extremely promising start to their Division 4 East campaign with a resounding 7 wicket win over St Austell 3rds at a sunny Wheal Eliza. On a pitch where Pencarrow have enjoyed some of their finest moments in recent times, Charlie Ellis provided a fantastic performance to help his side to maximum points. Having lost the toss and been asked to bowl on a pitch that looked great for batting, Charlie Ellis produced a stunning spell to almost bowl the opposition out single-handedly. After a quiet start Charlie produced a hatrick with the first 3 balls of his fourth over to suddenly have St Austell in trouble on a wicket that actually offered much to the bowlers. Bowling through in one spell and well supported by Danny Mills (0-14 off 7), Charlie continued to take 7-13 from his 12 overs, 6 bowled and one LBW, to leave St Austell reeling at 28-7 after 20 overs with numbers 8 and 9 in. Jake Rowe then took 2-38 from 10 overs with the help of good catches from Adam Phillips and Chris Partridge to have St Austell 67-9. Some lower resistance from Scott Barrett (32*) followed in a last wicket partnership with Steve Cox (32) worth 44 to help St Austell reach 111 before Mark Wallis finished the innings with a caught and bowled.
Pencarrow’s chase started brightly with Paul Francis (8 from 8 balls) hitting two boundaries before top-edging a Cox bouncer to be caught by Ian Trembath running back from slip. Charlie Ellis joined Olly Sleeman for a steady partnership of 47 off 15 overs before Sleeman (28 from 60 balls) and Danny Mills (0 from 2 balls) were both caught at cover off Ian Trembath’s left arm spin. Stuart Ellis joined Charlie and the pair patiently chipped away at the target until Charlie finished the game with a lofted boundary off Trembath (2-35). Pencarrow reached 114-3 with 14 overs unused, with Charlie finishing unbeaten on 46 from 83 balls and Stuart on 9 from 38. Pencarrow took their season’s tally to an impressive 39 points from a possible 40 so far and sit level at the top of the league.

St Minver (Away) – Monday 7th May

PENCARROW 189-9 (O Sleeman 76, S Ellis 54; R Keast 5-29, R Hawken 2-28)
ST MINVER 192-7 (R Hawken 66no, R Taylor 31, R Pooley 22; C Ellis 4-33, J Rowe 3-41)
ST Minver (19 points) beat Pencarrow (7 points) by 3 wickets
Position in Division 4 East; 3rd

Pencarrow’s winning run came to an end at St Minver, despite a brave performance from an inexperienced Pencarrow side. Put in to bat on an overcast and extremely windy day, Pencarrow lost Paul Francis early on for 6, bowled by R Keast. Olly Sleeman punished some wayward bowling from former PCC opener Chris Gill before Charlie Ellis, unable to get used to the excess pace and bounce in the pitch, chipped a short one straight back to bowler Shawn Hawkin. That brought in skipper Stuart Ellis, who found form with Sleeman in a sensible but aggressive 104 run partnership from 24 overs. Sleeman eventually fell in the 36th over as he failed to get over the top of an attempted pull to Luke Marshall’s bouncer for a well made 76 from 93 balls that included 10 fours and 2 sixes. Stuart Ellis continued on to his own fifty, and celebrated by hooking the pacey Keast to the backward square boundary with the best shot of the day. But he fell next ball attempting the same shot to one that was too far outside off and only succeeded in skying it to Rob Hawken at gully to depart for 54 from 88 balls in the 40th over. The returning Ryan Curtis fell for 10, bowled by Rob Hawken after a promising start. In pursuit of a total over 200, the wickets continued to fall in the last 8 overs as only PCC debutant Rob Foster (9) and Gerald Sleeman (7 not out) found scoring possible. Foster joined Jake Rowe (1) and Graham Francis (0) in being bowled by Keast (5-29), who was simply too lively for the tail before Rob Hawken (2-28) bowled Chris Partridge (0). However, Matt Dunkley survived the last 2 balls to deny St Minver maximum bowling points and send Pencarrow in with 189-9 from their 48 overs.
St Minver’s chase got off to a stuttering reply when Shawn Hawken (3) gloved a Charlie Ellis short ball to Olly Sleeman behind the timbers and a tidy start from Rob Foster left them 5-1 after 5 overs. R Taylor looked to force the issue from the off and made an aggressive 31 before being deceived in the flight to be bowled by Jake Rowe with the score on 54 in the 16th over. Rob Hawken joined Simon Patterson to put on 73 by drinks but Patterson was gone soon after, also bowled by Rowe for 19. Ben Hawken didn’t last long, fending a Charlie Ellis short ball straight up allowing Olly Sleeman to grab the catch that left St Minver 100 runs short with only 6 wickets left. But young R Pooley batted very well to put on 78 with the experienced Rob Hawken in just over 10 overs as St Minver eased to their target. Ellis’ final over gave Pencarrow a glimpse of hope when he forced Pooley (22) to glove behind to give Olly Sleeman his third victim and then clean bowled A Gill (0) with his penultimate ball. Ellis finished with a vicious bouncer that flew into the helmet of Luke Marshall and left him so shaken it was no surprise that Rowe bowled him for 1 a few overs later. But only 9 were required by then and skipper Neil Meneer hit the boundary that condemned Pencarrow to their first league defeat of the season. Rob Hawken finished with 66 not out as the hosts surpassed Pencarrow’s total with 3.5 overs and 3 wickets to spare. Charlie Ellis claimed 4-33 from his 12 overs, 5 of which were maidens. Jake Rowe bowled well to finish with 3-41 from 9.1 overs, while Ryan Curtis bowled 8 wicketless overs for 31 and Chris Partridge 3 overs for 8. Rob Foster was unlucky to have a bit of a torrid time, bowling up the hill all day into a fierce headwind that allowed St Minver to take him for 70 runs from his 12 overs.

Newquay 3rd XI (Away) - 7th June

NEWQUAY 192/4 (19 points) beat PENCARROW 190/8 (six) by six wickets.

With vice-captain, Chris Willett, called into the 2nd team, Mike Jelbert had to not only take over wicket-keeping duties but also became Newquay’s third captain of the season. The changes to the side on the morning of the match, initially left Newquay two short and having seven players whose primary role was normally as a bowler.
On winning Newquay asked Pencarrow to bat. Pencsarrow scored steadily with the run rate between 3 and 4 per over throughout their innings. Ollie Sleeman (20) and Cornwall Over 50s player Stuart Ellis had put on 49 when Mike Blackshaw had Sleeman caught behind in his first over. Charlie Ellis joined his father and they had added a further 66 runs in 18 overs when leg spinner, Jim Collard, tempted Charlie Ellis (21) into a big shot only for Graeme ‘Safe hands’ Booth to make the catch at long on look simple.
Stuart Ellis had accumulated runs carefully but in stepping back to Collard hit his own stumps to be dismissed for a well crafted 51. Sam Millatt, who had begun the season in Newquay’s 4th team, had gone down the wicket to Collard a number of times to hit him through cow corner. He had survived one leg side drop but was then comprehensively stumped for 16. Collard then took two wickets in successive balls for Pencarrow to have slumped from 144/2 to 153/6. Some big hitting at the end saw P.Francis score a quick 23* and leave Newquay chasing 191 to win, a total which should have n=been less had not Newquay conceded 38 extras. Collard on his return to league cricket has taken wickets and looked a threat in all games and his 6/52 kept Newquay in this game. 12 economical overs from Mike Blackshaw deserved better reward than 1/38 and Steve Hawkey took 1/26.
A new opening pair of Jim Collard (27) and Tom Eggins (23) gave Newquay a solid start and ensured the dangerous Charlie Ellis did not make an early breakthrough. Looking to change things Millatt was brought on to throw down a few overs and he took the first wicket. Initially erratic, Eggins had pulled him for six and cover drove him for four but then fell to a one handed catch at deep mid off by veteran Gerald Sleeman. Collard went soon afterwards to the only lbw of the day leqving Jelbert, struggling to get started, and Danny Brooks together.
Brooks batted with great maturity, choosing which balls to hit and playing very straight in defence. Jelbert never played with the freedom or timing he is capable of but looked to hit the bad ball and rotated the strike.
Together they added 119 in 24 overs. Brooks had scored his highest score for Newquay and had left the team needing just eight runs from 4 overs when he holed out. Though Newquay lost one more wicket, Newquay came home with 16 balls remaining and Jelbert on 41*. Ellis, Jake Rowe, Millatt and Sleeman each took a wicket.

Pencarrow vs South Petherwin at South Petherwin CC, Saturday 23rd June

South Petherwin 126-7 (D Clements 33, M Stephens 31)
Pencarrow 129-4 (S Millatt 77no, T Redman 19no; M Searle 2-15)
Pencarrow (18 points) beat South Petherwin (5 points) by 6 wickets

Pencarrow recovered some form with a vital win against South Petherwin on a day when few other sides managed a game. Despite torrential rain throughout much of the county, a full game was possible at South Pethwerwin and skipper Stuart Ellis didn't hesitate in putting the opposition in on a soft, green wicket. After tidy opening spells from Charlie Ellis and Mark Kempthorne, Olly Sleeman (10-2-1-32) grabbed the breakthrough in his first over, enticing the dangerous Ian Searle from his crease to be expertly stumped by Tim Redman for 9 in the 9th over. Fellow opener Roger Gerry was run out shortly afterwards, Jake Rowe calmly finding Redman at the stumps after a mix up between the wickets. Derek Clements and M Stephens produced a useful fifty partnership but, in attempting to increase the run rate after drinks, Stephens was deceived by Rowe's offspin (12-3-1-28) to be bowled for 31. Chris Partridge (4-0-1-22) was introduced into the attack and should have had the wicket of Clements in his first over, but Kempthorne and C Ellis both put down straightforward chances, although Charlie made amends next over by holding a dolly at mid-on off Will Richardson (2-0-1-10) to see Clements depart for 33. Kempthorne and C Ellis returned for the last 8 overs as South Petherwin struggled to find runs despite plenty of wickets in hand. Redman took his second stumping of the day to remove Wiltshire for 6 off Kempthorne and then gathered an inside edge off the games final ball to give C Ellis just reward for an accurate spell of 11-7-1-7, which also meant a wicket apiece for Pencarrow's 6 bowlers.
Pencarrow's pursuit of 127 to win began in ignominious fashion as Sleeman (3), looking for someway to score, didn't really connect with an attempted drive and was caught at mid-off off Ian Searle. Kempthorne joined C Ellis but failed to score before being bowled by a Mike Searle off-cutter. And when C Ellis (7) fell by getting a fine knick on a wide delivery from the same bowler, Pencarrow were in deep trouble at 15-3 in the 14th over. Sam Millatt survived several tentative early moments but soon realised that the pitch had dried to a "block or slog" surface. Stuart Ellis (5) helped him put on 40 for the fourth wicket but gloved a slow Clements ball that popped when inadvisably lunging forward. Millatt was dropped at long on the next over in a pivotal moment, but went on to dominate a fifth wicket with Redman that frustrated South Petherwin. The change bowlers lacked the accuracy of the South Petherwin openers and Millatt proceeded to overtake the required run rate with a series of wristy driven and pulled boundaries. Redman survived several shooters to pull 3 boundaries and stay unbeaten until Millatt fittingly hit the winning runs in the 42nd over. Their unbroken fifth wicket stand was worth 84 to which Redman contributed 19*. Man of the Match Millatt's innings was by far the best of the day and the outstanding knock of the season to date by a Pencarrow player, as he scored no fewer than 77* of the sides 112 runs off the bat in their 129-4. Pencarrow's 18 points lifted them to 131 at the mid point of the season (W5 L5 D1) and 6th position in the league table.

Launceston 2nd XI (H) – Saturday 07/07/07

LAUNCESTON 268-9 (S Scott 105no, M Kerby 52; C Ellis 4-29, O Sleeman 3-50, C Partridge 2-21)
PENCARROW 151-6 (S Ellis 38no, R White 29no, S Millatt 22, T Redman 22; D Cox 4-23)
Launceston (18 points) beat Pencarrow (7 points) by 117 runs

Having played only once in 4 weeks, taking on high flying Launceston was always going to be a challenge for an inexperienced Pencarrow side and so it proved with a disappointing performance leading to a very heavy defeat. After losing the toss on a good but soft track on a warm day, Stuart Ellis’ Pencarrow boys were soon under the cosh, despite Charlie Ellis’ third over removal of opener M Bolt, smartly taken by Jake Rowe at mid-off. 60 runs were plundered off the first 11 overs before Olly Sleeman trapped P Spry LBW. M Kerby swung away with abandon and was dropped twice at deep square leg before being bowled by Ellis in the 19th over for 52. Even more crucial, however, was Pencarrow’s failure to take chances offered by Sam Scott. The usually safe hands of skipper Stu, Olly Sleeman, and Graham Francis gave him lives, but not before Charlie Ellis had shelled two catchable chances in quick succession with the batsman on 0 and 4, all off the bowling of a distraught Sleeman! Scott really made the novice attack suffer by playing beautifully from there on in to score 105no and was well supported by D Chapman (32) and later S Pengelly (15no). 2 further wickets each for Charlie and Olly pegged the opposition back, while Chris Partridge bowled well to take 2-21 in 4 overs at the death, but Launceston were still able to post a formidable 268-9. Pencarrow used no fewer than 7 bowlers (C Ellis 12-3-29-4, R White 3-0-21-0, O Sleeman 12-1-50-3, J Rowe 10-0-68-0, G Francis 4-0-30, C Partridge 4-0-21-2, W Richardson 3-0-32-0).
Chasing such a large target placed pressure on the Pencarrow innings from the off, but Olly Sleeman (2) was guilty of being over-cautious in misjudging the line of S Pengelly’s left arm seam to be bowled behind his legs when shouldering arms in the third over. Paul Francis looked to get on with it but was undone playing across the line at a ball which pitched halfway down but never bounced, LBW for 6. Sam Millatt joined Charlie Ellis and all of a sudden were made to realise that the pitch wasn’t playing half as well as Launceston had made it look. Accurate bowling subdued the pair and Ellis (6) was caught at slip cutting at a ball too close to his body. Millatt added a few typically lusty blows before skying to mid-on for 22, and Jake Rowe (5) lofted to cover after a promising start to leave Pencarrow out of it at 65-5 at drinks, with D Cox grabbing 4-23 with his nagging medium pace. The experienced pair of Stuart Ellis and Tim Redman added 35 in 15 overs before Redman was run out for 22, with Pencarrow batting only for bonus points. Rob White joined his skipper on debut and batted with authority against some challengingly varied bowling as Launceston strove to gain the last 4 wicket. But Stuart and White had other ideas, and did very well to almost guide Pencarrow to a fourth batting point, eventually falling just short on 151-6 after 48 overs. Skippy Stu drew gasps from his players as he rolled back the years to deposit A Parsons’ first ball onto the adjoining football field for a straight 6 to cap his 38*, while White smashed 3 boundaries in the final over to be unbeaten on 29. However, a generally woeful performance and wins for struggling St Austell and Gorran should help remind all at the club that our Division 4 status is not quite assured yet…!

Grampound Road 3rd XI (A) – Saturday 14/07/07

PENCARROW 129 (C Ellis 40, S Ellis 33, S Millatt 22; M Blake 3-18, J Maycock 3-35)
GRAMPOUND ROAD 133-7 (A Barretto 39, D Wilkinson 23no; A Phillips 3-28, O Sleeman 2-43)
Grampound Road (18 points) beat Pencarrow (six) by 3 wickets

Pencarrow succumbed to a three wicket defeat away at Grampound Road 3rds after a tight fought game on a day of missed opportunities. Electing to bat first on a decent track, surrounded albeit with a near water-logged outfield, Pencarrow lost Adam Phillips to the enormous James Maycock, unlucky to be caught for 3 by second slip after a parry from first. Charlie Ellis joined captain Stuart Ellis and the pair patiently frustrated the Grampound bowlers, who remained testing throughout, to place Pencarrow into the excellent position of 76-1 at drinks. However, Stuart Ellis (33) was run out after Charlie turned down a quick single shortly afterwards with the partnership being broken after a stand of 70 in 19 overs. From this platform a big total looked on the cards, but Olly Sleeman was removed caught and bowled by Rob Thomas without scoring. Sam Millatt was typically positive in adding 35 in 8 overs with Ellis before failing to get over a bouncing short ball from Maycock and being caught for 22, with 13 overs (and 6 wickets) remaining and the score on 116. However, Pencarrow’s innings proceeded to slip into freefall as Redman (0) clipped Maycock to point looking to force the pace and Ellis’ 34 over knock (40) came to an abrupt end when he was bowled by Thomas with one that kept low. The tail looked stuck between playing shots and batting out the overs and in the end did neither, Rob White’s 3 and a Will Richardson single the only runs offered by the last 6 batsmen as the experienced Mark Blake took 3 wickets to see Pencarrow bundled out for 129 in the 44th over. It was a depressing collapse from promising positions of 81-1 after 25 overs and 116-3 from 35, as the last 7 wickets fell for just 13 runs.
Grampound’s reply began cautiously with just six scoring shots coming from the first 11 overs, but by the time Rob White clung on to an M Eastwood (15) drive at cover to give Adam Phillips the breakthrough wicket, their target was already down to double figures. At 68-1 at drinks the game looked over but Pencarrow came out with renewed vigour, encouraged perhaps by the similarity of their position at the time. A change of ends for Charlie Ellis (1-21) saw him rewarded for a dangerous spell with the wicket of Alex Barretto, who batted well for 39, and all of a sudden 72-1 had become 77-4 after Phillips (3-28) removed Matt South and B Matthews for ducks to catches in his final over. The apparently unflappable Rob Thomas was removed by a great reflex catch by Chris Partridge off Sleeman for 18 to make it 94-5 from 35 overs and Sleeman (2-43) then deceived Blake, the Grampound skipper, in the flight to have him bowled for 6 with 20 still required. PJ Lund (8) took the game back towards Grampound by lofting two boundaries before being caught by Charlie Ellis off Graham Francis (the ball after being comically dropped by Ryan Curtis, who looked to have the ball under control before launching into a premature celebration and spilling the ball), but a vital unbeaten 23 from D Wilkinson gave Grampound Road a 3 wicket win with 5 overs still remaining. Pencarrow took 6 points from the defeat and missed the chance to leapfrog Fowey in the Division 4 East table, remaining in 7th position with 8 games still to play.

LUCKETT 2nd XI (H) – Saturday 21/07/07

PENCARROW 125-6 (S Ellis 42no, C Ellis 35, J Rowe 19; I Piper 3-24, A Parker 3-47)
LUCKETT 92 (R Gold 42; J Rowe 3-23, O Sleeman 3-30)
Pencarrow (18 points) beat Luckett (5 points) by 33 runs

Pencarrow provided a shock to visiting Luckett with an outstanding win by 33 runs on a day when all feared that rain would claim another victim. However, all but the lightest showers stayed away and Luckett looked to take advantage of the murky overhead conditions by asserting Pencarrow on a firm but unpredictable pitch. Immeadiately Alan Parker provided a breakthrough when Olly Sleeman got a leading edge on a straight full-toss to be caught at mid-on for 0 in the second over. Fellow opener Adam Phillips faired little better as he edged Parker behind for 2 to leave Pencarrow at 9-2 from 8 overs. Jake Rowe joined Charlie Ellis and looked instantly at home in driving through the covers with economical splendour. However, the score became 30-3 after Rowe was bowled by Ian Piper (3-24) for 19 having dominated a 10 over stand of 21. Skipper Stuart Ellis joined Charlie, who at this stage had laboured 17 overs for 2, with the innings in crisis. But the latter finally found some fluency either side of drinks and began to dominate a stand worth 46 that took all of 18 overs. However, after lofting Piper for two boundaries in an over, Charlie perished attempting a similar stroke that he could only sky to mid on to fall for 35. Paul Francis added 5 before being bowled in Piper’s last over. Stuart Ellis, who had been given a reprieve on 4 when A Kirby spilled a caught and bowled chance, was joined by Tim Redman and the pair looked to rotate the strike with quick singles wherever possible. Redman fell, bowled by Parker for 11, but Gerald Sleeman (3no) joined the action as Ellis found several boundaries at the end of the innings to take his knock to 42no and the total to 125-6.
Although someway off a great score, Pencarrow emerged after tea in the knowledge that they had at least given themselves a chance of being competitive on a pitch where scoring was never likely to be easy. Energy in the field was always what was required but without chief sledgers Ryan Curtis (injured) and Sam Millatt (M.I.A.), Graham Francis led by example early on with a display of supreme commitment. Their cause was helped by Adam Phillips (1-21) who bowled the dangerous Roy Williams early on for 2 with the score on 9 after a tidy first 8 overs. Charlie Ellis inexplicably dropped D Piper off the bowling of Olly Sleeman having made good ground to get to the chance, but Jake Rowe ensured that the reprieve was short-lived by taking a similar catch at cover two balls later to give Sleeman his wicket and remove Piper for 7. R Gold had progressed swiftly to 42 when Charlie Ellis spectacularly made amends for his earlier error, running round to deep midwicket and hurling a throw to the bowlers end which struck the one visible stump direct to have the opener, causally jogging a second, run out by a yard. This left the visitors 3 down (effectively 4 as they were only 10 men) with half the runs still required at drinks. Opposing skipper S Gold decided attack was the best form of defence and hit Sleeman over the top from his first two balls, but his luck was taken no further as he misjudged the turn to edge a ripping leg-break to Adam Phillips at gully. Jake Rowe got a breakthrough that his probing spell had deserved when he bowled A Parker (5) with an off-break that beat the outside edge and clipped off stump. Olly Sleeman (3-30) continued to pile on the pressure and Chris Bowden (12) cracked looking for a way to force the score along, as his jammed sweep caught a leading edge and looped to square leg where Will Richardson made excellent ground to take a tricky catch at full stretch. Ian Piper joined B Billing knowing that the last 3 wickets needed to yield 45 runs in the last 15 overs if Pencarrow’s total was to be overhauled, but he soon lost his partner as Billing (8) top edged an attempted pull off a short Rowe delivery fortunately went straight back to Tim Redman behind the timbers. Rowe capped his great day by clean bowling A Kirby for a duck with genuine turn to finish with an impressive 3-23 from 10 overs. And the final nail in the Luckett coffin was hammered in by Charlie Ellis (9-5-11-1) as he bowled the opposing wicketkeeper for 2 with an unplayable leg-cutter to give Pencarrow a deserved victory by 33 runs.

Tideford 2nd XI (A) – Saturday 28th July

PENCARROW 114-5 (O Sleeman 37, C Ellis 25, A Phillips 23; K Horsborough 3-7)
R.S.P after 35 overs
Pencarrow (8 points) drew with Tideford (8 points)

Pencarrow drew with Tideford after a deluge of heavy rain prevented them from building on their promising position in their first innings. With rain forecast to arrive late-afternoon against bottom-of-the-table opposition, the Pencarrow players were distraught to see Stuart Ellis lose yet another important toss and Adam Phillips and Olly Sleeman were inserted onto a sticky wicket. Scorer Graham Francis grew increasingly frantic at the lack of early action as they had to wait until the 38th ball of the match before Phillips tucked behind square for Pencarrow’s first run. But it was Olly Sleeman who finally provided some impetus after rightly deciding that it was a bit of a block-or-smash wicket and that playing by line rather than length was the way. Unfortunately for Sleeman, who had compiled a valuable 37 with no fewer than 7 boundaries, this was to prove the case as he stepped back to free his arms for a K Williams long-hop and was bowled as the ball shot into middle stump barely a foot up. Having been cautious in adding 62 in 20 overs for the first wicket with Sleeman, Adam Phillips ran well and punished bad balls in a positive 10 over stand of 42 with Charlie Ellis, who was looking at his fluent best. But Phillips (23) clipped the slow-medium K Horsborough to Lawrence Marsh at square leg, who excellently took a diving one-handed catch to spark a collapse in the Pencarrow innings. K Horsborough’s next over began with Sam Millatt (4), attempting to be too positive too soon, swinging all round a straight one, then Charlie Ellis (25) needlessly ran himself out by calling a single after Stuart Ellis had found (not beaten) cover, before Jake Rowe failed to muster any footwork to be bowled for a golden duck. Pencarrow had slipped from a position of dominance at 105-1 in the 31st over to be in a bit of trouble at 114-5 by the 35th. Pencarrow were nevertheless disappointed when the heavy rain finally hit; with the reliable Redman/Ellis combo at the crease, runs already on the board and a full-strength bowling unit to employ on a difficult wicket, Pencarrow felt this was a missed opportunity for a victory.

Werrington 3rd XI (A) – Saturday 4th August

PENCARROW 131-9 (T Redman 53; M Brown 4-39, P Jenkin 2-16)
WERRINGTON 133-2 (N Dennis 50, M Wills 39no)
Werrington (19 points) beat Pencarrow (4 points) by 8 wickets

MATCH REPORT TO FOLLOW

Newquay 3rd XI (H) – Saturday 11th August

PENCARROW 161 (C Ellis 75no; D Brooks 4-38, S Hawkey 2-11)
NEWQUAY 163-7 (M Blackshaw 45, M Jelbert 24; S Ellis 3-29)
Newquay (20 points) beat Pencarrow (7 points) by 3 wickets

Pencarrow were beaten by Newquay 3rds for the third time in succession at a sunny PCG. Having been perilously close to conceding the game, Pencarrow took to the field with only 9 players, while Newquay themselves were strong but could only manage 10 men. Having been put in, Tim Redman and Stuart Ellis got Pencarrow off to a steady start on a nice hard, fast wicket before Steve Hawkey extracted some extravagant bounce from the notorious ridge to have Redman (9) caught at slip off the shoulder of the bat with the score on 28 in the 12 over. Charlie Ellis entered the action but any hope of a significant family partnership was dashed when the pair misjudged a tight second run and Stuart Ellis (11) was caught short by an accurate throw from deep cover. Sam Millatt was denied a return to form against his old club as he clipped Graham Booth to square leg to collect a second duck in two games and leave Pencarrow in danger of collapse at 41-3 (effectively 41-5) after 17 overs. Charlie Ellis looked in decent touch as he punched several boundaries through cover and Gerald Sleeman was refreshingly positive in trying to take on the bowlers as the pair added 41 for the 4th wicket, but the latter was bowled for 12 by Danny Brooks in the 30th over. Mark Kempthorne continued the good work as he attempted to dominate the dangerous leg spin of Brooks, and provided the highlight of the innings as he skipped down the wicket and launched straight for a maximum after a patient start. The pair added a further 33 in the next 10 overs before Kempthorne (16) top edged another aggressive shot against Brooks and keeper Mike Jelbert made good ground to take the catch. Charlie Ellis moved to a valuable half-century by sweeping and driving Brooks next two balls for boundaries and Chris Partridge showed great application in keeping the bowling out. Ellis looked to mounting a somewhat belated assault on the Newquay bowling as he mowed Brooks for 4 and 6 through the onside before Partridge (2) chipped Brooks to mid-wicket to end a 4 over partnership of 30 with just 24 balls left. Chris White got things moving between the wickets but became Brooks’ fourth victim after being stumped and Dom Tomkins was run out for 1 attempting a suicidal second that would have given Ellis the strike as the innings was wrapped up for 161 with 7 balls remaining and Charlie Ellis unbeaten on 75 with 10 fours and a 6.
Pencarrow knew they had given themselves a chance of defending the total on what nevertheless remained a good wicket for batting, and were encouraged by the pace and bounce of Charlie Ellis’ opening spell that had young opener Tom Eggins caught behind by Redman for 7. Several edges eluded the keeper and single slip as Kempthorne and Ellis continued to ask questions only to be frustrated by the lack of attacking options in the field. Newquay had raced to 50 for 1 from 13 overs before skipper Stuart Ellis surprised all by introducing himself into the bowling attack; no-one more so than Jelbert who played across the line and was trapped LBW for 24. Corey Woods and Danny Brooks added 20 more before the former attempted to heave Stu Ellis away but could only sky to Gerald Sleeman at mid off. And Pencarrow were undoubtedly on top when Chris White got down excellently to snatch a low chance at cover to dismiss Brooks for 16 off Chris Partridge and Ellis’ gentle off-spin garnered a third wicket when Chris Archer missed a sweep to be LBW for 5 to leave Newquay 77-5 and with only 4 wickets to get the remaining 85 runs required for victory. However, a positive partnership of 38 from Mike Blackshaw and Jonny Andrews swung the game back towards Newquay before Chris White had it back in the balance by bowling the dangerous Andrews for 15. 47 were still required for a Newquay win while Pencarrow needed only 3 more wickets but Charlie Ellis remained wicketless for the completion of his overs and Blackshaw began to dominate a partnership with the experienced Steve Hawkey. Mark Kempthorne did bowl Blackshaw for 45 but the partnership by then had added 44 of the 47 needed and any hint of a dramatic finish was dashed when 4 byes gave Newquay a hard fought victory. Pencarrow slipped below them into the bottom half of the table but could at least head home with pride in tact after a battling performance.

Gorran 2nd XI (Away) - Saturday 25th August

PENCARROW 165-7 (O Sleeman 73, S Ellis 24, S Millatt 18; M Liddicoat 5-27))
GORRAN 135 (M Shepherd 45, P Cann 34; A Phillips 3-17, O Sleeman 3-42)
Pencarrow (19 points) beat Gorran 2nds (6 points) by 30 runs.

On a gorgeous late summer’s afternoon Pencarrow pulled off another memorable last-gasp victory over Gorran for the second time this season. Stuart Ellis and half the squad arrived late, but Ellis won the toss and elected to bat on a flat, well prepared and rock hard wicket. After an incredible start to the innings, Pencarrow found themselves on 32 from 3 overs, after Olly Sleeman exploited the short boundary to crash the ball through cover on numerous occasions, to the dismay of the opening bowlers. The innings ground to a halt soon after, and the usually reliable opener Tim Redman departed cheaply for 4, the first of 5 victims for M Liddicoat (5-27), who bowled Redman and then number 3 Jake Rowe in quick succession with his innocuous leg-spin. The evergreen Stuart Ellis joined Sleeman at the crease, and the pair added 70 runs in a very controlled manner, taking up almost 30 overs in the process. As Elllis painstakingly reached 24 and the flow of people jumping from 10th story windows increased, he run out for 24 to the relief of the spectators. Olly Sleeman soon followed, marching down the pitch to be bowled by Liddicoat after showing so much restraint in a fine innings of 73. With a low score on the cards and wickets in hand, the injured Sam Millatt was promoted to number 6 to give the innings some impetus, and duly obliged with a quick-fire 18, including a cleanly struck six onto the pavilion roof. After Adam Phillips fell cheaply, a mini collapsed ensued as Millatt and Phil Baker (1) were both bowled going for big shots. Tail-enders Rob White (5*) and Gerald Sleeman (8*) added a late flurry of runs at the end, to get Pencarrow up to a competitive total of 165-7.

In pursuit of such a moderate total, Gorran opener C Churms played some fluent drives to get the home side off to a positive start, but was soon pegged back by a good spell from opener Chris Partridge (1-17), and an accurate and probing spell from Jake Rowe (1-37). After a flurry of wickets led by the accurate medium pace of Adam Phillips (3-17) and an expert display of leg spin from Olly Sleeman (3-42) Pencarrow held the initiative, but an agressive knock of 34 by Pete Cann and Mike Shepherd swung the game back in Gorran's favour, before the erratic Phil Baker forced Cann into a wild shot, as he skied to Olly Sleeman at point. The fielding throughout the innings remained execeptional, epitomosed by Gerald Sleeman, who held 3 sharp catches. As Gorran agonisingly approached their target and the notorious Gorran mist drifted in, the remaining wicket fell as a mix up between the wickets ensued and Jake Rowe ran out Shepherd for 45 with a direct hit to spark delerious celebrations amongst the Pencarrow players to seal their status in division 4 for another season.

St Minver (Home) - Monday 27th August

ST MINVER 298-5 (R Hawken 106no, R Pooley 96, R Shrewsbury 26, B Hawken 21; O Sleeman 2-26), PENCARROW 169-7 (R Curtis 51, S Ellis 31no, S Millatt 21no; R Keast 3-27). St Minver (18 points) beat Pencarrow (six) by 129 runs.

On another scorching August afternoon and with a belter of a wicket, Pencarrow skipper Stuart Ellis lost the toss and was inevitably asked to field. Despite a promising start with Chris Partridge nailing Carl Jeffrey lbw in the first over of the game, St Minver dominated the match from there onwards. The returning Ryan Curtis bowled an impressive opening spell of 1-46 from 10 overs, but Pencarrow could not peg back the St Minver top order, as 15-year old number 3 batter Ryan Pooley smashed the ball to all parts for a well-made 96, and shared a useful partnership with Richard Shrewsbury (26). The killer partnership for Pencarrow was between Pooley and Rob Hawken, who made a chanceless and superb 106 not out. Pooley finally fell to the expensive and temperamental Jake Rowe (1-72 from 11), and a late flurry from young Ben Hawken (21) added the gloss to a superb total of 298-5 for St Minver. Although Will Richardson and Olly Sleeman impressed with the ball at the death, Sleeman showing great accuracy and consistency to return 2-24 from 6, the rest of the bowlers had a day to forget, with Rob White taking 0-21 from 2 and Adam Phillips 0-67 from 10.

Pencarrow’s run chase got off to the worst possible start, with makeshift opener Jake Rowe being caught behind for 2 off Pencarrow reject Chris Gill. Although the solid Phil Baker (12) and Olly Sleeman (17) steadied the ship with a determined partnership, the target of 299 was becoming quickly out of reach, and once both batsmen fell in quick succession the game looked up for Pencarrow. Things soon got worse, as Ross Keast (3-27) cleaned up Rob White first ball, but the resolute Pete Foster edged the hat trick ball for 4, and stuck around for an entertaining 9. The effervescent Ryan Curtis then took the attack to the bowlers, smashing 51, including a straight six back over Craig Keat’s head. He was kept company briefly by Adam Phillips (5), and Stuart Ellis (31*) before his cameo came to end, trying to reverse sweep Ben Hawken but chipping tamely to point. Pencarrow number 9 Sam Millatt batted with maturity and showed solid defence to frustrate the St Minver bowlers and deny them a further 2 bonus points, as he hit a flurry of boundaries to end on 21* and add an unbroken 48 with Ellis for the 8th wicket. Pencarrow finally closed their innings on 169-7, but showed fighting spirit throughout the game and can take much encouragement from their bank holiday weekend performances.

Fowey 2nd XI (A) – Saturday 1st September

PENCARROW 223-6 (O Sleeman 53, G Sleeman 38, S Millatt 31, T Redman 24*, C Ellis 20; G Jones 4-26)
FOWEY 140 (I Lutton 47, S Mitchell 29, J Starkie 23; C Ellis 3-6, W Richardson 2-14, J Rowe 2-52) Pencarrow (20 points) beat Fowey (six) by 83 runs.

Pencarrow finished off their inconsistent Division 4 East campaign in style by recording a convincing win away to an under-strength Fowey 2nd team. After winning the toss, stand in Pencarrow skipper Charlie Ellis, in perhaps his last game for the club, decided to bat on a hard, fast wicket on the south coast ground. Father and son combo Olly and Gerald Sleeman got the visitors off to dream start as Olly smashed the first ball of the match for 6 and the pair went on to share an entertaining 97 in just 17 overs, before Gerald fell for 38 from just 53 balls with no fewer than 9 boundaries, caught off the bowling of home skipper Gary Jones. Olly Sleeman was joined by Charlie Ellis but fell shortly after completing his fifty, lofting Jones, the perennial thorn of a Pencarrow innings, to mid-off for 53 off 81 balls. Charlie fell in Jones’ next over for 20 from 31 deliveries, controversially given out caught hooking a head-high beamer, and when Stuart Ellis was bowled for 7 by Jones in the 35th over with the score at 142-4, the innings was in danger of collapse. But the evergreen Tim Redman was joined by Pencarrow lynchpin Sam Millatt and the pair added 49 before Millatt was caught at mid-wicket for an enterprising 31 off 28 balls with 4 boundaries and a six. Adam Phillips added a quickfire 9 before being bowled by Sam Mitchell while Redman and Phil Baker finished on 24 and 7 not out respectively as Pencarrow added 50 off the last 7 overs to finish on 223-6. While most of Fowey’s inexperienced attack understandably struggled for rhythm, skipper Jones’ wily offspin saw him claim 4-26 from an excellent 12 over spell.
Fowey came out knowing the score was not unattainable on such a true pitch, but got off to the worst possible start when dangerman Dave Sanchez and JJ Jones were bowled without scoring from Charlie Ellis’ first over. Local legends James Starkie and Gary Jones batted sensibly under intense pressure in adding 36 for the 3rd wicket before Fowey’s captain was pouched at mid-off off the bowling of Will Richardson, who completed a memorable early spell with the wicket of Luke Chapman, held brilliantly at short-cover by specialist fielder Graham Francis, to leave Fowey’s chase in disarray at 37-4 after 12 overs. Starkie battled on manfully to 23 before being taken by another super catch, this time Stuart Ellis showing extraordinary reflexes to dive forward at first slip. Luke Buckland tried to dig in but was undone by prolific turn from the leg spin of Olly Sleeman to be smartly taken at gully by Jake Rowe. With his side in danger of being dismissed before drinks, Iren Lutton came to Fowey’s rescue with a blistering assault on the Pencarrow bowlers that restored pride for the home side. Ably supported by Sam Mitchell, the pair added 52 for the 7th wicket before Mitchell skied an attempted pull to be caught for 29 off Adam Phillips with the score on 129-7. The game was then surely up for the hosts when the aggressive Lutton was bowled by the returning Charlie Ellis for 47, with 8 fours and 2 sixes, and this battle for mid-table league positions was finished when Jake Rowe bowled P Bulbeck to wrap the Fowey innings up for 140 in the 29th over. For Pencarrow, Charlie Ellis grabbed 3-6, Will Richardson finished with 2-14 and Rowe ended on 2-52. Pencarrow were delighted to gain a rare 20 point victory and their first in recent memory from trips to Fowey, whilst both sides will be keen for the winter to fly by before beginning another challenge in Division 4 East next season.

Vale of Lanherne 229-8 (C Rippin 89*, S Millatt 46, J Andrews 40*; R Hawken 3-28, Will Richardson 2-24) Pencarrow 228-7 (O Sleeman 52*, C Ellis 38, T Shrewsbury 31, C Rowe 26, B Hawken 20; Middlehurst 2-22)

With vice-captain Chris Willett in self-imposed exile, it was left to club stalwart and captain Sam Millatt to take a young and inexperienced Lanherne side to the fortress of Pencarrow CC. With the sun gleaming above and a rock hard deck Millatt didn’t think twice about putting Pencarrow into bat, despite the pitch and weather Pencarrow quickly found themselves in trouble at 69 for 4 with Jake Rowe getting out twice in 2 balls, however this brought together the pairing of Caleb “Satan” Rowe and Tom Shrewsbury who both batted with guile and promised despite their youth and inexperience and helped push the total to 150 for 6 when both perished quickly, Caleb Rowe being bowled round his legs by a ball of “unholy demise” however with 12 overs to go and only 4 wickets left Pencarrow’s regular openers of Charlie Ellis and Olly Sleeman came to the crease and played positively and with righteous fury to add 70 more runs off just 54 balls to post the Pencarrow total at an ominous looking 228 for 7.

In reply the Lanherne run chase got off to a terrible start with lynchpin Pete Middlehurst, Tom Eggins, Tom Brooks and debutants Dominic Thorn and Pete Cann all falling for a combined total of 20, the run chase wasn’t helped either when Jon Andrews retired batting for his average on 24. This left the Lanherne side effectively 50 for 6, with Will Richardson destroying the batting line up from one end and Jake Rowe and Stuart Ellis bowling tightly from the other the Lanherne boys looked all but crucified, however club run machine Chris Rippin was joined at the crease by his skipper Sam Millatt and together they took on the Pencarrow bowling with a mixture of big hitting and quick running that was reminiscent of Trengilley ’06, this helped push the Lanherne cause to 156 before Sam Millatt was bowled by a Robbie Hawken dart for an entertaining and aggressive 46, but with another 63 needed and only 4 wickets left the game was balanced on a knife edge, a useful 30 run partnership between Rob White and Chris Rippin accelerated the total past 190 but two quick wickets left the Lanherne boys under serious pressure needing another 30 to win, after threats from his team-mates club ginger Jon Andrews went out to bat and together with Chris Rippin they both saw the side home with Andrews hooking a 6 over fine leg to win the match by 2 wickets with 10 balls to spare.

Piczo