Scorecard.
Commentary.
Cricket Web A v England A
at CW Oval
Nath Patrick's second over of the series saw hope injected into the CWLand fanatics once again, as the rest and training seemed to have done him good. The over saw an outside edge flying past second slip, then the shattering of Rob Key's stumps, and a return catch to dismiss Ed Joyce - and England A were 12 for two. And even though Ali Cook and Owais Shah put on another show of dominance by scoring 143 for the third wicket, it didn't seem to deter a hosting side who were fixed on getting that victory. Part-timer Ian Markus got rid of Cook and Solanki in a special over, and though Shah managed to get his century up, the bowlers kept working and bundled out England A for 302.
A belligerent stand between Fitzsimmons and Smith then took Cricket Web A to stumps having cut 58 off the English lead, and it was the Webheads who wanted to assert their dominance on the second morning. Fitzsimmons departed rather early after an outside snick off Mahmood, but Smith was not deterred, dispatching his opening partner's conqueror for six to bring up his half-century shortly afterwards. A couple of wickets from star bowlers Mahmood and Anderson before the lunch break, however, ensured the game was still in the balance - with England A squandering a potential advantage when flooring Fuller on 0.
It was to prove costly. The A team captain, who definitely had a point to prove, shared a century stand with an imperious Alex Blackman - and brought up his half-century with a glorious cover drive shortly after Blackman had made his hundred. The new ball was little help; the A team players dispatched Anderson for twelve in his first over with it, with Blackman straight driving him for six with the last ball of the over. However, Anderson got his revenge when the ball was eleven overs old - a hint of swing caused an inside edge, and Blackman was gone for an exquisite 145. That didn't help; Fuller and Markus continued in the same vein, batting onwards seemingly unnoticed, and the two added 93 before the second day waned, with Fuller also reaching the hundred.
Markus continued with his typically aggressive style of batting on the third morning, and had reached 97 off as many balls when he outside edged a rare Mahmood line-and-length delivery to Read. However, the partnership of 153 had well and truly given the game to the Webheads, even though Fuller went in the next over for 143, and a minor collapse saw four wickets fall for 37. It didn't matter - Nath Patrick saw things out with a fine 64-ball innings, while Dylan Jellett hit runs all around the park, and Cricket Web A closed on a massive 621, quite possibly the highest first class total in CWLand.
As had been the case for so long on tour, however, England A's batsmen refused to give in. Rob Key and Ed Joyce both put in stunning innings, and it was up to Trav Demeza to get the wickets, which he did admirably by picking up one in each of his three spells. However, overnight England A were just 32 behind, with seven wickets in hand.
That turned to six when Hancock got rid of Shah early on, then nearly had Clarke lbw, then had him caught at third slip under the clouds with a reverse swinging ball. Vikram Solanki and Chris Read counter-attacked, as had been the England tactic for so long, but captain Fuller got a rare but crucial wicket by having his opposing number caught behind, and Demeza followed up with the last three wickets in his second spell to cement his place as a wicket-taking bowler. He ended with six for 105, with England A bowled out for 395, leaving just 77 to chase.
It didn't take long. Fitzsimmons took out his fury on the England A bowlers, smashing two sixes off Anderson, while Broad was too inaccurate with the new ball - allowing a ten-wicket win for the hosts, who thus took considerable confidence into the OD series.
England A 302 all out
Cricket Web A 621 all out
England A 395 all out
Cricket Web A 77 for 0
Cricket Web A won by ten wickets
Man of the Match: Travis Demeza