EYMET v BORDEAUX 3rd June
What a game of ' ifs '. If only we had had 11 men. If only our batsmen had capitalised on their good starts......
An increasingly confident Eymet saw their chance to leap-frog Bordeaux to the top of the Barclay's league table. Capn. Horlock, sensing the Girondins to be a team that likes chasing, invited them to bat. Pinsett and Smallwood started well and soon had 40 on the board. Enter Simon Palmer after a month's lay-off and a wicket with his first ball. Soon after the veteran Kiwi outwitted the other opener too. On a slow wicket with an even slower outfield (no boundaries in the first hour), Bordeaux proceeded watchfully through Durrans and Ferriera. They took the total to over 80 before Marcus Swift struck with the first of three wickets. At the other end the 'Cumbrian Cobra', Alan Coomb, completed a tight, piercing spell of 1 for 20 off his 8 overs. With a little wag of the tail Bordeaux hauled themselves to a respectable 174 all out.
In reply, we lost Simon quickly before David Horlock and Nigel Jones confidently re-built the innings. They added a brisk 60 before both fell to risky shots. At 80 for 3 the result was in the balance but Marcus refused to be cowed and took the attack to Bordeaux. Ably supported by Martin Smith (23), they put on nearly 60. We were almost there but both fell in quick succession. The tail did what it could. Overs remained but we were rapidly running out of wickets, and with three remaining the curtain fell with Eymet agonisingly 20 short of their target. So near yet so far. However, compared to the start of the season, Eymet showed that, given the right circumstances, we are capable of beating the league leaders.

RESULT: LOST BORDEAUX 174 all out (Durrans 46, Ferreira 46, Swift 3-41)
EYMET 154 all out ( Swift 35, Jones 35, Ferreira 3-41)

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