Wadebridge v Penzance

Saturday 24th June 2023

Cornwall Cricket League Premier Division

Wadebridge (Batted First) 242-7 off 50 Overs

Penzance 212 All Out from 46.0 Overs

1pm Start

Gridlocked traffic on the A30 through Bodmin encroached into the town centre and my planned route to Wadebridge. Hold up circumstances unknown, unsure if it was a crash or just tourist traffic but it meant trying to remember a crafty detour through the Bodmin back roads. Fortunately I came out on the right side of the town for a clear run to Wadebridge.

Weather: Hot and sunny yet again. Some people are beginning to get a little tired of it, we all forget what a horrible cold incessantly wet winter we had. There was the benefit a light gentle breeze cascading through sections of North Cornwall today but it was random in placement. This was very much evident on todays field of play. In parts it was sweltering, across the pitch a cooling path of air brought players and spectators welcome relief.

Attendance: Around 60 at the start rising to the 100 mark mid afternoon.

Bring Your Own Chair Necessity? Not entirely necessary here. 

There are both benches and picnic tables around the Pavilion area extending towards the Scoreboard, even a few beside the Sight Screen at the town end of the ground.

The club also put a range of chairs in front of the Pavilion. On a nice dry day you can also get a great view casually sat amongst the trees on the grass banking for the Camel Estuary, which runs beside the Pavilion side of the ground. 

I left my chair in the hot sun by the boundary for this cooler shaded area a couple of times during the proceedings.

General Facilities: Looks very much like Pavilion Development work is in progress. A large area of freshly laid foundations reside behind partitioning directly adjacent to the existing section of the quaint charming building. There is a small bar area, a welcoming waft of warm pasties (unless my imagination was playing tricks on me again) and clean functional toilet facilities. 

Outside the Pavilion a bit of a beer garden area entices you, with those picnic tables I mentioned earlier nestling below shading umbrellas. Looks like there was the makings of a barbecue for later too. All very nice.

Also have to say, there is a nicely designed large digital scoreboard here. If you want the score in the comfort of the external Pavilion area they've even got a mini digital scoreboard panel on the wall beside the Union Jack flagpole.

Like a few Premier Division grounds these days there is a live stream of the match available, I believe todays clash was available on You Tube.

Last but not least its a first class playing surface here and certainly not as undulating as most pitches I've witnessed this season. You get the vibe this is a good ground as soon as you enter the gate. Speaking of which, car parking is available both sides of the track heading to the Pavilion. 

I got my vehicle in one of the last spaces. If it's full the hard standing Council car park directly in front of the ground entrance is available and it's free all day on a Saturday & Sunday.

Location: The ground is called Egloshayle Park, its the jewel in the crown of Egloshayle Playing Fields which dates back to the mid 1940's. 

Nowadays it's a great area for locals and tourists to chill out with both tennis and bowling facilities as well as playground activities for younger children. You can easily take the short walk from the ground along the footpath of the Camel Estuary to the charismatic little centre of Wadebridge with a whole host of interesting shops and hospitality establishments. The famous Cornwall Showground is on the edge of town.

The Match: Mid table Wadebridge gallantly got the better of a classy Penzance side who had taken a full maximum of points before todays encounter. An impressive result for the hosts. Personally, granted, it was a fine achievement but entertainment wise I struggled to get into the game at times. Obviously the hot weather plays a part in that, in turn, what looked a hard dead-track pitch didn't help, especially with long periods of seam bowling attaining limited periods of interest. Just my personal opinion. Some very good batting cameos though and some solid decent fielding. 

Be interesting to see how Wadebridge take this lift going forward, equally, eager to see how the Penzance machine shifts gear.

If you find yourself near Wadebridge on a match day, go along, you won't regret it.  

Boconnoc v Saltash St Stephens

Saturday 17th June 2023

Cornwall Cricket League Division 3 East

Boconnoc (Batted First) 239-9 off 45 Overs

Saltash St Stephens 124 All Out from 25.2 Overs

1pm Start

Script: Couple of sides in the bottom half of the table eager to avoid defeat.

Weather: Sultry sunshine interspersed with light cloud, faint breeze, warm.

Attendance: A players girlfriend the lone occupant of the Pavilion, plus 4 blokes sat in front of their cars adjacent to the sight screen. Come the tea interval the attendance extended to 12. This place is a hidden gem, worthy of far more.

Bring Your Own Chair Necessity? Yes. There are a few benches to the left of the Pavilion and a bit of seating under the canopy. 

Another small bench rests outside the scorers hut. One gets the impression this is primarily for players and guests. There are no benches or seats provided around the rest of the ground (it's Division 3 & I wouldn't expect it). It appeared that four soft comfy upholstered chairs had been plonked beside the Pavilion for club personnel, these seemed very popular with players padded up waiting to bat. 

Some good views of the action exist for Bring Your Own Chair enthusiasts at both ends of the pitch adjacent to the sight screens.

General Facilities: There is a nice rustic characterful Pavilion here. It has various framed photographs on the walls relating to club history. There are a small number of tables and chairs and I believe you can also get a drink. 

Decent toilet facilities are readily available in a small separate building the other side of the private house which is directly next to the Pavilion. The WC structure is painted white with signs on the green doors. A small but perfectly adequate digital scoreboard operates across the pitch from the Pavilion. 

There is ample car parking as you drive down the slope to the ground, well away from any six hitting sloggers.

Location: The Boconnoc Estate hosts the Cricket Ground. The estate is vast in size, glorious in scenic woodland, stunning rolling countryside and has a majestic famous stately house now ranked as a primary high end hotel, a venue for sumptuous weddings and also catering for various entertainment events. It appears to be off limits generally for the stroll up public but it does offer open days. If you are just there for the cricket you won't have a problem, the ground is free access. 

Just follow the directions off Google Maps, it looks tricky but actually it's pretty straight forward driving in. The location and setting is well worth the effort.

The Match: Lets be honest, this is Division 3 Club Cricket not the County Championship. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality on view. Yes there will be the odd dropped catch and dodgy misfield but (mostly) both sides provided a good standard. 

Boconnoc batted extremely well, despite some spirited fielding from St Stephens 240 was always going to be a stiff target. The initial response from the visitors inspired confidence that the run chase was do-able. 

Boconnoc were having none of it. A solid home victory that will ease a few concerns in the fancy comfy chairs regards league position. 

Werrington v Callington

Wednesday 14th June 2023

Hawkey Cup T20

Werrington (Batted First) 149-5 from 20 Overs

Callington 144-9 from 20 Overs

*Werrington won by 5 runs & meet St Austell in the Final

6pm Start

Script: Two local rivals battle it out in a super T20 encounter.

Weather: Warm sunshine long into the evening.

Attendance: Around 50 to 60.

Bring Your Own Chair Necessity? There are 7 or 8 benches dotted around but I'd still recommend taking your own chair. The benches are handy but not in the first choice locations.

General Facilities: Been here before earlier in the season for the Cornwall CCC v Herefordshire game. Excellent ranch style Pavilion with Bar & WC. Extra toilet on the far side of the pitch adjacent to the digital Scoreboard. 

Parking pitchside for early arrivals but plenty of adequate grass verge space for vehicles on the lane that runs beside the entrance. What I initially thought was a big beer tent unfortunately turned out to be a marquee for a Johnny Cowling event the following evening.

Location: It's a lovely spot, literally in the middle of nowhere in rolling North Cornwall countryside. The ground is around 3 or 4 miles northbound from Launceston & signposted off the main road heading for Bude. 

There are some tremendous views of Dartmoor in the distance, even got the bonus of a Virgin logo hot air balloon making its sedate journey across the skyline.

The Match: Perhaps it's just my imagination or maybe it's following me around but there does seem to be a significant trend of dropped catches and some howler misfields at the moment, mind you fielding wise, the Werrington pitch does have a good few uneven spots in its profile, can't be easy. Both sides leaked runs in the field without exactly dominating (T20 wise) with the bat. 

Werrington set Callington just over 7 runs an over, the visitors seemed to be confidently coasting it mid-innings until a significant loss of wickets took them promptly off course. The visitors 7 run an over speedo started to creep upwards. 

Callington still managed a few healthy whacks and eventually neared to needing 8 off the last 3 balls. However, there were only tail enders at the helm. So close but so far for Cally, there was no grand finale, Werrington are in the Final.

Lanhydrock: An unplanned late jaunt

Saturday 10th June 2023

Cornwall League County Division 1

Lanhydrock 135 All Out

Truro 355-7

Busy schedule out and about on Saturday but took the Route Planner opportunity to drop in at lovely Lanhydrock again. Was able to get a good couple of hours observing some impressive Truro batting. They racked up circa 200 before Lanhydrock took the first wicket. Hope to catch Truro in full at a later date. Hoping this gallant Lanhydrock side can get some reward for their concerted efforts going forward, it's been a tough start to the campaign so far.

No photos for this one, it was a last minute drop in rather than a set visit.

St Neot Taverners v Liskeard

Thursday 8th June 2023

Clive Rosevear T20 Cup First Round

Liskeard (Batted First) 226-0 off 20 Overs

St Neot Taverners 159-7 off 20 Overs

6.15pm Start

Script: East Cornwall derby, Division 3 hosts taking on Division 4 Liskeard.

Weather: Evening sunshine significantly tempered by a blustery breeze.

Attendance: Half a dozen early doors, this dropped to me and 1 other for the St Neot reply.

Bring Your Own Chair Necessity? 

A must. There is a lone picnic bench. Pavilion seating is predominantly used by players. 

The Ground: 

A countryside setting behind a farm about a mile from the lovely village of St Neot. Be cautious this is very much narrow lane territory so be prepared to back the car up if necessary. There are distant views of Bodmin Moor and Caradon Hill in the background. Also looks to be a big galvanised Cow Shed at one end. 

The small ranch-style players Pavilion rests the other side of the sight screen. Across the field, the opposite corners feature a digital scoreboard and car parking space. 

The perimeter around three quarters of the pitch are blessed with Cornish hedging adorned with wild flowers and long grass. Nice to look at but we must have lost 6 or 7 match balls in it. I personally liked the setting of the ground, even the Cow Shed End adds some welcoming character.

The Match:

Wow, Liskeard certainly took this game by the scruff of the neck. Some very impressive batting knocked up 226 without St Neot taking a single wicket! 

The perimeter of the pitch should have been designated a hard hat area. The increasing rate of missile strikes from the opening batsmen had me retreating to the car to safeguard the windscreen.

St Neot were set a rate of 11.3 runs an over. A mammoth task. They started steadily enough, a factor complimented by some rather dubious fielding in certain areas of the field, spilled catches very much in evidence. As could be expected, the run rate proved too demanding, wickets fell and the last third of the innings were very much a formality.

Great to see a side rack up such a total with all wickets intact, takes some doing. Keep an eye out for this Liskeard outfit.  

Callington v St Austell

Saturday 3rd June 2023

Cornwall League Premier Division

St Austell (Batted First) 294-6 off 50 Overs

Callington 271-9 off 50 Overs

Weather: 

Scorchio! Non stop sunshine, its nice, for a while, then it gets too much, especially at a ground with next to no shade. I'll soon be moaning when the Siberian front moves in (wind & rain, not Mr Putin).

Attendance: 

Most the day there were around 20 people watching the cricket yet the parking areas were rammed with cars and vans, unfortunately there were a lot of vehicles blocked in behind the pavilion as people simply drove up around 2.30pm and went in the bar. The reason was the FA Cup Final on TV in the Clubhouse. It was packed with people who simply wanted to watch the football. Can't blame Callington CC, the bar revenue would be welcomed, pity the vehicle owners didn't think about anyone who needed to exit the ground before the Final ended. When it did there was a mass exodus.

Bring Your Own Chair Necessity?

Definitely bring one. There are two benches towards the side of the Pavilion and a few picnic tables on the patio but that's pretty much it seating wise, unless you count a small length of well worn plank seating behind the trail of discarded plastic sheeting. The best spot to plonk your chair is at the foot of the slope down near the Scoreboard at the B&M Superstore End.

General Facilities:

You can enter the ground either from the B&M / Cornwall Council car park (yes there is a charge, 3 quid for 3 hours) in the town centre or down the lane from Liskeard Road near the Car Sales establishment. There is no vehicle entry at the lane option, walk up option only, however there is plenty of free side of the road parking just nearby. 

My first impression upon entering reflected upon the sheer size of the Moores Park field of play. Walking the perimeter you quickly detect the sloping factors of the pitch, the Pavilion end is certainly at the high end and will doubtless assist bowling down the hill towards the B&M end.

The ground is very much in the centre of Callington so you don't get the stunning vistas that some Cornwall Grounds offer, there is a nice view of Kit Hill though (which is a lovely place for a walk). 

Callington have a big Pavilion with a generous impressive bar area and good clean toilets. It was interesting to see the Players eating their sausage rolls and nibbles at the tea interval amidst the boisterous environment of the beer fueled TV football fans.

The Match:

St Austell bat well and bat deep. There wasn't any rush or hazardous stroke play within the context of their innings but when the bad ball came they certainly put it away. 

A critical factor in this run drenched encounter was the Callington fielding, no disrespect intended, there were far too many crucial dropped catches and the general extras total was way too high. Considering how close Callington came to getting the massive total St Austell set, those associated mistakes cost them dearly.

Callington CC is well worth a visit (even better if the Cup Final isn't on the TV). They also have the bonus of a fancy modern Spar shop & some top rated takeaways on their doorstep for that after the match treat. Enjoyed my day there.