PCA Masters v Warwickshire Legends
In excess of three and a half thousand spectators turned up at Edgbaston to celebrate 125 years of Warwickshire cricket, with a keen anticipation of seeing the team that brought them a famous treble winning season during the 90's outplay a PCA Masters team that included a number of players who were on the receiving end during that era.
Dermot Reeve and Matthew Maynard tossed the coin which resulted in the Masters asking Warwickshire to bat first on what appeared a sluggish pitch.
The Warwick Legends got off to a bright start with Nick Knight and Dominic Ostler soon getting into boundary mode and putting on a quick fifty partnership before Nick Knight was well caught in the deep by a former Bear Joey Benjamin. Soon after Ostler was caught trying one big hit too many off Ian Harvey's bowling.
The ground then burst into a rousing ovation for one of the games legends as the great Brian Lara strode to the crease. Lara soon showed that none of his timing and effortless power had deserted him making an elegant 28 before holing out off the bowling of Martin Bicknell.
Useful contributions from Asif Din, Dougie brown, Paul Smith, Dermot Reeve and Allan Donald ensured that the Legends set the Masters a fairly stiff target of 153 to win in their 20 overs. But for a very tidy and accurate second half performance by all of the Masters bowlers, especially Peter Such and Chris Lewis who both bagged 3 Bears wickets each, the score would have been well into the 200's.
The Masters innings, as so often happened in 2007, started disastrously with Sherwin Campbell cutting Allan Donald to third man, then Captain Maynard losing his off stump to the very next fast delivery from Donald, leaving the Masters reeling at 13-2
Kim Barnett was then joined by Aussie one-day legend Ian Harvey. Both batsmen then set about the Legends bowling showing great timing and power against a very useful and competitive seam attack including Donald, Brown, Munton, Small and Paul Smith with Neil Smith providing the spin.
An impressive partnership of 105 for the third wicket was eventually broken when Ian Harvey was dismissed for a very entertaining 69. Barnett was then joined by Paul Prichard and took the scores level with three overs remaining before he was defeated in the flight by a Dermot Reeve off break and skied to mid on for a well made 43.
Former Bear Jason Ratcliffe perished, after gamely trying to hit the winning runs through the committee room window, which gave Prichard the opportunity to wrap the game up in the 18th over.
The pick of the Legends bowlers was once again Allan Donald with 2-20 off his allotted 4 overs.
The game was followed with a fantastic Black Tie Dinner at the ground where a host of Warwickshire Legends were present and quite rightly honoured.
Let's hope the PCA Masters are invited back to Edgbaston before another 125 years is completed.
PCA Masters XI v Warwickshire Legends
Sherwin Campbell
Kim Barnett
Matthew Maynard (C)
Ian Harvey
Paul Prichard
Jason Ratcliffe
Steve Marsh
Chris Lewis
Joey Benjamin
Martin Bicknell
Peter Such
Ismail Dawood
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