8/05 Ibiza C.C. vs Mallorca C.C. 40 overs per side.
Mallorca 156 all out beat Ibiza 125 all out by 31 runs.
Ibiza Captain Graham Boe won the toss and asked Mallorca to bat first.The visitors lost their first wicket early but then their Captain Gareth Davis (20) and all rounder Ben Vickers (52) consolidated a 57 run partnership before several wickets fell in quick succession. South African Wes Walker (16) and Dave Papalexion (20) then batted steadily and led Mallorca to a run a ball 123/5 after 20 overs. After the break, Ibiza struck back with more wickets to restrict Mallorca to 156 all out in the 30th over. Ibiza bowlers Mike Amos (4/28), Johnno Gordon (2/47) and Graeme Cooper (2/32) had the most success, with Paul Cruttwell and Justin Manville contributing a wicket each.
Ibiza felt confident that they could score the 157 needed to win at 4 runs per over, but unfortunately found it harder than expected. Thus, thanks to a combination of Mallorca’s enthusiastic fielding, intelligent bowling, a couple of optimistic shots, and a harsh umpiring decision, Ibiza were unable to build a solid partnership and continued to lose wickets regularly. Johnno Gordon (30)fell when looking set to score more runs and only Pete Essex (13), Brad Van Byleveldt (12), Sam Gooda(13) and Mike Amos(10) reached double figures. At 94/7, there was some lower order resistance to bring the score to 119/8, but unfortunately it was not enough to reach the target and Ibiza were all out for 125 in the 30th over.
Ibiza were understandably deflated for losing after perhaps being too confident of victory, while Mallorca ran out deserved winners.Mallorca bowlers N.Boxla (3/27), Wes Walker (3/16) and Ben Vickers (2/28) did the most damage.
9/05 Ibiza C.C. vs Menorca C.C. 40 overs per side.
Ibiza 168 all out beat Menorca 71 all out by 97 runs.
Ibiza batted first and were determined to make amends for their loss of the previous day. However, they soon found themselves on a perilous 35/3, before some determined batting from Martin Cooper (23) and Pete Essex (26) saw them to 73/3 after 20 overs. Then Brad Van Byleveldt (33) and Graeme Cooper (37) combined to keep the score moving at over 4 runs per over, and by the time that skipper Graham Boe (13) was out going for a quick run near the end, Ibiza had managed to reach a competitive 168 all out off 40 overs. The Menorca fielding was alert and their bowling accurate, none more so than Dave Catterall with an excellent 5/12, including 3 wickets in the last over. Tom Hayden, James Davies and Robert Day added a wicket each.
Ibiza felt that they could defend their total, but needed quick wickets, and so applied immediate pressure on the Menorca top order. Opening bowlers Paul Cruttwell (3/37) and particularly all rounder Johnno Gordon with a hostile 5/14, extracted some impressive bounce from the pitch, surprising the Menorca batsmen and causing wickets to tumble.
Catches were taken, especially by wicket keeper Brad Van Byleveldt with four behind the stumps, while Pete Essex took two more, and soon Menorca found themselves on the unexpected score of 27/7, which became 49/8 and finally 71 all out in the 21st over. Only T. Hayden (19) and skipper Simon Cotton (14) reached double figures, while Ibiza bowler Graeme Cooper took the last 2 wickets.
10/05 Menorca C.C. vs Mallorca C.C. 40 overs per side.
Menorca 211/3 beat Mallorca 134 all out by 77 runs.
In the same way that Ibiza had been affected by over confidence in their first match, and reacted strongly in their second one, Menorca responded positively against Mallorca, surprising the latter by their strong batting performance, scoring the highest total over the 3 days of this tournament. Opening Menorca batsman Andy Tysoe set the tone with a determined 53 not out, and was well supported by Adam Cockroft (53),Roy Sturgeon (15) and promising youngster James Davies with 25 not out.
They then followed this up with a fine bowling and fielding performance, dismissing Mallorca for 134 all out in 31 overs, only batsman Dave Papalexion(31), N.Boxla (18) and G.Gibson (16 not out) showing some resistance. Menorca bowlers T. Hayden (3/31), Dave Catterall (2/34 and especially Dave Sugden (4/10) did the damage, while Robert Day contributed one wicket.
Overall, therefore the result for the first time in many years was a shared Cup between the 3 islands as each had played 2 matches, winning one and losing one, considered by all to be the fairest way of ending this traditional annual weekend of cricket.
As ever, thanks to all supporters, umpires,scorers, groundsmen/players, Captains, Club Chairmen and the caterers for making this such an enjoyable weekend and roll on the 2016 Balearic Cup!
R P Hood.
