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Poor discipline costs victory
Saturday, 13 June, 2009

Clifton C.C 1st XI 208 for 9
Matlock C.C 1st XI 176 for 9

Matlock travelled to Clifton with three regular players missing from their line-up and came away with a draw which still keeps them in touching distance of the top 4 with a game in hand.

Clifton won the toss and decided to bat first on an excellent wicket and got off to a steady but slow start. The Clifton openers found runs off the bat a little hard to come by in the early stages of the innings as there was either a lot of playing and missing or shots hit straight to fielders.

Matlock did finally get the break through in unfortunate circumstances as the Clifton opener A. Chand (24) top edged the ball into his face and dropped his bat onto his wicket. The Clifton opener was helped to his feet with blood pouring from his face to find his innings had come to an end.

A couple of quick wickets brought together Clifton stalwarts C. Oglivie and S. Moore to the wicket as they set about posting a total to defend. The two batsmen soon got the run-rate rising but Oglivie (76) and Moore (36) fell to consecutive balls to George Moulds who bowled very well to finish with 4 for 49. Moulds received support from Christoff Visser (3 for 53) and debutant Caleb Mierkalns (2 for 53) as the Matlock bowlers put the brakes on the Clifton innings as they finished on 208 for 9.

Matlock started their innings in confident mood as they set about reaching what they thought was a reachable total. The openers got off to a good start, but two wickets in two balls soon turned the tables as George Moulds was first to fall for 19 quickly followed by Mierkalns.

From this point onwards Matlock continued to fall slowly behind the required run-rate and when Andy Rogers was out LBW for (20) the Matlock batsmen struggled as a flurry of wickets finally put paid to any chance of a victory. Christoff Visser (90) batted extremely well once again as he scored his highest score of the season and with Adam Burton (16) and Steve Pell (12) Matlock hung on for a losing draw. For Clifton W. Harvey (3 for 45) was the main wicket taker.

Matlock will reflect on this game and maybe think what might have been. Once again too many extras were given away when bowling and too many batsmen giving their wicket away cheaply. With a bit more discipline in both departments Matlock could well have been leaving Clifton with a victory and 22 points.

Any queries relating to senior teams we will endeavour to answer your queries quickly via e-mail seniorplayers@matlockcricketclub.com