CHRIS Boroughs and Martin McCague both produced their best one-day bowling figures for the county, to help Herefordshire to a four-wicket win over Bedfordshire in the first round of the MCCA KO Trophy at Luctonians on Sunday.
McCague set the tone for the day by taking a wicket with the very first ball of the game and skipper Boroughs kept the pressure on to dismiss the visitors for 146 in the 42nd over. After a steady start to their reply, Peter Trego and McCague blasted the bowling to all parts of Mortimer Park, and in spite of both perishing, Herefordshire coasted home in the 27th over.
Herefordshire won the toss and, after they elected to field, McCague removed the dangerous James Knott first ball, caught by Boroughs. His opening bowling partner Trego trapped the other opener David Myers in the fourth with the score at 11.
Jonathan Walford (14) was joined by Oliver Clayson and the pair added 37 before the former became McCague's second victim. Boroughs introduced himself into the attack and destroyed the middle order with a spell of 4-29 off ten overs. First he bowled Clayson for 26 to make the score 51-4 and when Lee Pollard became his fourth victim the visitors' innings was in dire trouble at 74-8.
After Richard Parker took the ninth wicket at 105, Shaun Rashid (24 no) joined Stephen Watts and the pair added 41 for the last wicket, a record against Herefordshire. McCague (3-23) dismissed Watts for a top-score of 34.
Henry Langford (14) and Richard Hall shared an opening partnership of 27 before the former was caught behind off Watts in the 10th over. When Boroughs suffered the same fate four runs later it brought Trego to the wicket, and the whole complexion of the game was to change.
After a few sighters he laid into the Bedfordshire attack, being especially hard on the spinners. He struck three big sixes and six boundaries in an innings of 44 which lasted just 24 balls. His partnership with Hall yielded 62 runs in 8.2 overs.
If the visitors thought they were going to get some respite following his dismissal they were in for a rude awakening as McCague hammered 29 runs off 17 balls and then Dave Exall, 21 in 13, joined in to take the home side to the brink of victory.
In the meantime, Hall had also gone for a more sedate 29 and it was left to Matthew Rawnsley and Ed Rollings to steer Herefordshire home. Their reward for winning is a quarter-final tie away to Norfolk, who had a narrow home win over Berkshire in a high-scoring game, on July 10.
Herefordshire v Bedfordshire
at Luctonians, MCCA Trophy
Bedfordshire innings:
Knott c Boroughs b McCague 0
Myers lbw b Trego 1
Walford c Rawnsley b McCague 14
Clayson b Boroughs 26
Steed c Willetts b Boroughs 3
Roberts run out 15
Trott b Boroughs 7
Pollard c Hall b Boroughs 0
Watts c Boroughs b McCague 34
Patterson lbw b Parker 4
Rashid not out 24
Extras 18
Total 146
Bowling: McCague 7.3-1-23-3; Trego 10-0-42-1; Boroughs 10-1-29-4; Rawnsley 10-4-20-0; Parker 4-0-26-1.
Herefordshire innings:
Hall c Rashid b Roberts 29
Langford c Knott b Watts 14
Boroughs c Knott b Watts 0
Trego c Watts b Roberts 44
McCague c Patterson b Roberts 29
Exall b Roberts 21
Rawnsley not out 0
Rollings not out 1
Leetch
Willetts
Parker
Extras 9
Total 6 wkts 147
Bowling: Rashid 6-1-18-0; Pollard 2-0-9-0; Watts 9-3-52-2; Patterson 4-1-22-0; Roberts 4-0-21-4; Trott 2-0-25-0.
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