Hayle v Redruth

Saturday 27th May 2023

Cornwall Cricket League Premier Division

Hayle 131 All Out 39.5 Overs

Redruth 212-8 (Batted First) 50 Overs

Start Time: 1pm

Made good time down to Hayle, especially as this was the Bank Holiday weekend and start of another weeks UK school holiday period. I've travelled about a bit in my time but never have I seen the mammoth scale of excavations, digging and road building going on widening the A30 in mid Cornwall, incredible scale. My early start paid dividends, I seemed to have got ahead of the holiday convoys before the traffic jams began.

Weather: The Forecaster said it would be hot and sunny. They certainly got the sunshine bit correct, shame their predictions failed to extend to comfortable warmth. There was a very chill breeze plaguing The Towans Ground for this particular encounter. I did the full perimeter of the pitch and no matter where I stood the same nagging breeze was very much in evidence. I always bring extra clothing in the car, it definitely came in handy for this game.

Attendance: Around the 40 mark at the start, rising to 50 by the drinks break then 60 as the Tea Interval loomed.

Match Rating: 6/10 

I was there until the Tea Break and witnessed the entire Redruth innings. Very forthright strong batting opened the game, Redruth provided promise of a mighty total. The Hayle bowling attack dug deep and gradually slapped the breaks on. 

Some loose batting mid division cut the stroke play extravaganza we'd enjoyed earlier. At one stage it looked unlikely the 200 would arrive but a gallant late surge saw Redruth post an accomplished 212 for the loss of 8 wickets.

Provisions: I'm led to believe this is quite a popular section of these Visit Reports. Todays small rucksack menu included Corned Beef Salad Rolls, Scotch Eggs, Crisps & those Cheesy flavoured delicately salted biscuits. There was of course the trusty flask of Coffee and a couple of Water containers. I was earlier tempted by the hot pasties in the Pavilion but felt rather full after scoffing everything in the bag, I decided against it (at least for this particular visit).

Bring Your Own Chair Necessity? Definitely yes! Beside a few scattered seats on the Pavilion patio there are only 3 benches around the ground. Two are in front of the Scoreboard and another is directly in front of the Pavilion fence. Needless to say there were quite a few multi coloured chairs coming out of various car boots in the parking area.

General Facilities & Viewing:

Partly as a result of me having an argument with that daft lady who does the Google Maps commentary on your phone I had some difficulty finding The Towans Cricket Ground. I eventually found it after 'chancing-it' up the Construction Site dirt road where all the new build stuff is appearing. If you've been once its easy to locate the ground but I struggled on this introductory jaunt to be perfectly honest. The ground is up a hill with some impressive views of the local estuary. It has grass banking on two sides, one directly adjacent to the parking area and a (more challenging to get to) section behind one of the sight screens. 

Both the banks offer great views of the action. The field of play has a fresh, crisp open aspect feel to it with a nice little scoreboard charismatically highlighted against the glorious vista. However, without doubt, the jewel in the crown is the majestic yet modern style pavilion. 

The team changing rooms take up the upper tier with a jolly nice bar area below opening out to the patio pitchside. Its a picture on a nice sunny day like the one which I enjoyed (despite that cool breeze). As seems to be the case on most of my ground visits so far this season, there are perfectly clean toilet facilities with all the associated essentials. The toilets can be accessed at the rear of the Pavilion (middle door).