Spriegel and Smith Grab Final Day Victory

27 September 2009

The Brown Caps won their final game of the 2009 season as they chased down 226 set by the Foxes thanks to a brilliant sixth wicket stand of 126 between Matthew Spriegel (81 not out) and Tom Smith (65). The Brown Caps finished off the game with five balls remaining as Spriegel struck a four that sent them to a four wicket win in the NatWest Pro 40.

The match began with James Benning and Tom New getting Leicestershire off to a good start as they were given a ball an over to hit from and Benning cleanly struck a series of boundaries through the off-side. Tom Jewell came on at the Bennett End and should have had his first wicket for the Brown Caps, but Benning’s miss timed drive to cover was dropped by Tom Smith. Tim Linley was bowling first change from the pavilion End and a consistent spell was greeted with New trying to force the issue and was caught at mid-off by Tom Lancefield for 17. Benning was on 24 at the time he was dropped and went on to 47 before he played across the line and was bowled by Matthew Spriegel, the Foxes 80 for two.

Smith then quickly accounted for Matthew Boyce when he tamely drove to Stewart Walters at cover for two as the Brown Caps' spinners were introduced. Smith and Spriegel bowled well, but the new pairing of James Taylor and Paul Nixon played the spin masterfully. Both players improvised and worked the ball around with deft touches and reverse-sweeps. Nixon then struck one huge six of Richard Logan as the pair built a partnership approaching 100. Jewell then had a second drop of his bowling when Taylor launched him down the ground to long-on and Chris Schofield parried the ball over the line for four. As Taylor went past 50 off 49 balls he was then dropped again on the boundary edge, this time a leaping Jason Roy could not hang on from a shot off Schofield and Taylor had a six to his name.

Nixon and Taylor were set to attack in the last 10 overs but Nixon then retired hurt after he was hit on the calf from a shy at the stumps by Roy. Nixon’s leg swelled instantly and he left the field with 44 to his name. With the seam bowlers then returning Taylor put them to the sword as they did not get their yorkers right and he took the Foxes over the 200 mark. Jacques du Toit struck Tim Linley into the pavilion for six but Jade Dernbach bowled him with a full-toss in the penultimate over as the Foxes posted 225 for four and Taylor finished 83 not out.

The Brown Caps' reply started with a new opening pairing of Jason Roy and Tom Lancefield, on debut for the Brown Caps. They both looked confident at the crease and Roy cut a ball from Harry Gurney to the boundary in the first over to get off the mark. Lancefield then followed suit in the second over with a boundary himself, the first of four sweetly struck boundaries on his way to 20. The opening pair though would go one after the other, Roy caught behind for six to the last ball of the fifth over and then Lancefield doing the same to Nathan Buck to the first ball of the sixth. The Brown Caps were then 28 for two and then the middle order would struggle to rebuild as the captain Stewart Walters departed for 18, and then Gary Wilson went for 13 as Wayne White made some inroads. Then after Schofield was run out for 11, attempting a single into the covers, the Brown Caps were 98 for five and in desperate trouble.

Spriegel and Smith though came together and were very patient against some tight Foxes bowling. The pair ran very well to pick up a number of twos into the outfield and Smith then found the boundary whenever the rate was increasing. As the light was fading the pair managed to stay above the Duckworth-Lewis rate as both men went to fifties. Spriegel not panicking despite only hitting two fours on his way to 50. Just when it seemed the Foxes put the pressure on they let it slip and the Brown Caps took advantage as they kept in the game by knocking off the score in singles. Smith played two reverse-sweeps to the fence in a row off Jigar Naik in 34th over that really helped matters as they took their partnership past 100.

Spriegel kept hitting the gaps to pick up ones and twos as they played the perfect chase. They took they equation down to just four off the last two overs. However, Benning held up the celebrations as he only went for one run and bowled Smith for a career best 65. Spriegel though finished the match of in style as he launched the first ball of the last over over mid-wicket for four to finish on 81 not out and take the Brown Caps to a four wicket win. The win was not enough to take them off the bottom of the NatWest Pro40 Division 2 table, but a nice way to finish off the season of 2009.

To watch highlights and hear from Matthew Spriegel click the 'Play Video' button in the photo above.