Frieda  8-3-25-0  Riley-Smith 7-0-29-2

Logan 11-2-53-4  Barlow  10-0-81-3

Thomas 4-0-48-1  Davis  7-0-30-0

Wilson 2-1-1-1

Waters 3-0-23-0

35 overs

The third match of the 2006 tour was another gripper, although this time the Hearts were denied what would have been a large victory when the tenth-wicket Trengilly pair held out for the final three balls of the match. Thus the Clava Rectans returned East with a highly respectable Played 3, Won 1, Drawn 1, Lost 1 scorecard, obtained without the assistance of anyone who couldn’t remember rationing.

The selectors’ task was made easier by the Cornish desertion of J.Rice Esq., the Hon. S.Buxton and Sir C.Pryke. The eleven, common though it was forced to become, thus picked itself. Noel d’Abo was promoted from umpire to wicket-keeper, where it was felt he would cause marginally less damage, and Anthony Deal and convict 32661 a.k.a Horne, J. crept back into the frame. The low clouds that would have even caused Dave Glenn visibility problems (had he been on the tour) continued to hover over the county. Trengilly Wartha’s pugnacious captain, Nigel Logan, had retired from management of the Inn, but he was still able to boss locals around by retaining control of the cricket club.

The former landlord began well by winning the toss and inserting. All too soon Jonty was back in the cell after a second consecutive score that did not put too much pressure on the Hon. Scorer’s (P.Harding’s) calculator. The insanely confident leader didn’t do much better but at least that let Torquers in to spray it around in style a while. This was a little too good to last and he eventually sent one vertically upwards into (and unfortunately out of) the cumulus but his perky 28 (five fours) showed that the Trengilly attack, spearheaded of course by their Nigel, was not insuperable. Our Nigel and young Graveney then did their best to give the opposite impression, with the result that Rossmore strode out to join the Mullion Man of the Match Runner-Up with the scoreboard showing a shaky 53 for 5 (as long as you were close enough to see it).

Huge and Slightly Less Huge then added 134 for the 6th wicket. This was great news for all Hearts except for the previous holders of the 6th wicket record, which had stood at 122 (undefeated) since 1990. Who knows how many more T.Graveney and T.Rice might have added to that 122 had they not selflessly won the match v. Cornish Choughs en route? The two new holders had turned the entire game around. As Wilson began to unleash many of the wonderful shots he had previewed at Mullion, nothing seemed more certain than his second successive ton, most of it obtained above the clouds, while Clive Fanshaw, generally more visible, scuttled around to great purpose closer to sea level. Phle hit three towering sixes and a dozen fours, Dopers just as violent with four sixes and ten fours. It caught the crowd by surprise when they spotted Wilson emerging from the fog with his gloves off, but he informed them that he had been caught going for gold, just 8 short of a hundred.

This left A.J. Rossdale to fly the flag which he did manfully while most around him emulated 32661 Horne J. rather than Wilson, although Noel d’Abo did cut a brief stylish dash shortly before the leader declared at a very healthy 239 for 8. Jenny’s tea team lived up to their reputation.

It was at times hard to distinguish between rain and cloud during the Trengilly reply, but it takes a lot to stop keen amateurs nearing the end of the summer, and indeed the end of many other things. During 38 overs of pulsating cricket, the home side in turn looked to have the game slipping away, then home and hosed, and finally teetering on the brink. J. Concorde and TSMSRS opened the account and the latter soon blew away the opening pair, only for Henry Shaw, not for the first time, to block Hearts progress with his elegant placement and graceful drives. Mackay gave him good support and T.Rice was urged to rest his pacepersons, who had both done more than a tidy job. Furthermore he was urged to give himself a spell, which he agreed to do after a suitable, almost plausible, expression of reluctance.

As for the other end, it did not take too many great cricketing brains to consider Rossdale as the perfect foil for the leader’s flight and guile (and ones that don’t do anything at all, and some that don’t even get there). Soon the skipper knew what it must have been like to be Tony Lock while Jim Laker took his 19 wickets. Rossmore kept breaking through with fine assistance from a dynamic Hearts fielding display. PJ held one well at slip, Grav moved even further out on his own in the Fielding trophy stakes, Wilson got in the way of a third and Noel had a great day behind. No byes all innings and the snappy nabbing of opposite number Jamie Robertson, who sportingly walked almost before Rossdale had even released the ball. TR did at least prove he was as alert as he was in 1973 by being the final movement of a vital run out, but any false strokes he induced landed the ball in open spaces. Life is jolly unfair. Who set the field?

In the end, with Mr. Angry having got them down to 133 for 8, Rice nobly turned to Wilson to bowl two of the last three overs. He began with a maiden, close but no cigar. Even Rossdale couldn’t pull it off in his final over (5 for 30 for the second time on tour) so Hugh needed to winkle out two in six. With his third ball he sneaked around Davis’ groping blade, bringing in the ex-landlord to face three unbearably tense balls, with every Heartaches fielder breathing down some part of his anatomy. Their Nigel clearly had no intention of facing any more than he had to, and struck ball five firmly for a single. A less than grateful Barlow managed to survive the sixth.