Barrow Gurney 2nd XI secured a third-place finish in the B&D Division 13, with an impeccable fielding display against Hanham 3rds at Hobbs Lane.
Having been put into bat, Ali Hood (39) and Paul Gard (26) put on 88 for the first wicket at a quick rate and a large score looked on the cards until they both fell LBW. Although Mark Gracey (29) carried on the good work, the Hanham spinners pegged back the scoring rate and wickets fell at regular intervals. Only a feisty 32 not out from Steve Owen managed to keep Barrow’s total ticking over and eventually they managed 197-8 off their 40 overs.
The total looked well short of a par score especially when Hanham’s Paul Brown eased into his innings with some stylish shots. Owen’s 3 for 40 meant Hanham did not have it their own way, but the key moment came when Mark Gracey took a brilliant catch diving forward to dismiss Brown off Paul Gard. Gard added two more thanks to excellent catches from Mike York (who took 3 in all) to finish with 3 for 31. York (2/9) then despatched the tail, with keeper Ali Hood taking a one-handed catch to finish the game, Barrow winning by 18 runs.
Although Barrow missed out on the automatic promotion places, a third-place finish may stand them in good stead if the divisions are revised next season.
Barrow firsts had little to play for in their visit to Bath 4ths after a season devastated by rain. Bath’s 210-6 proved too much for Barrow whose disappointing reply amounted to only 90. Mark Fisher’s 2/42 and Will Comley’s 2/34 were the best bowling figures for Barrow, whilst Mark Brown (26) offered the only resistance with the bat. Still the team had an overall winning record for the season with weather being the main reason for a 6th place finish in Division 5.
