Cricket: Denham leads Dorset back from the brink (From Bournemouth Echo)

Cricket: Denham leads Dorset back from the brink

7:00am Wednesday 8th September 2010 in

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UNLIKELY batting heroes Ed Denham and Matt Metcalfe boosted Dorset’s dreams of lifting the Minor Counties Championship title with a stubborn 82-run eighth-wicket stand at Dean Park yesterday.

Bournemouth’s seamers are more renowned for the classy bowling that saw them help the south coast outfit sweep to the Western Division pennant this year.

But they were forced to turn to the bat to get Dorset’s battle for glory back on track on the third day of an evenly-matched final against Lincolnshire.

Dorset were teetering on the edge of disaster when Denham joined Metcalfe with their second innings, which resumed on 10 without loss overnight, on 159 for seven, a lead of 150.

If they’d been skittled, along with tail-enders Jack Leach and Mitch Wilson, Lincolnshire would have really fancied their chances of reeling off victory during today’s final day.

As it was, Denham, whose previous championship best was 37, cracked a superb 71 to give his side genuine hope of emulating Dorset’s 2000 national title-winning team.

The 20-year-old kept cool to hammer one six and 11 fours in a stunning 76-ball innings that belied his 2009 average of just nine.

Metcalfe, who’d spent most of Herefordshire’s first innings of 254 resting off the field with a side strain, shrugged off the injury to amass a precious 36.

It meant Dorset’s total crept up to 262 following a mid-innings collapse that saw them slump from 130 for three to 159 for seven.

With the south coast outfit having struck 245 in their first innings, it meant Lincolnshire were set 254 to win, and they closed on six without loss when bad light stopped play last night.

Denham said: “It was perfect timing to hit my maiden championship half-century.

“We really needed someone to get stuck in, and Matty and I built up a partnership and went from there. He and I decided straight away we needed to go in 10s, that every 10 runs was a bonus, and if the runs came we would keep it going, and, fortunately, we did keep it going.

“It was nice to get some runs at the end of the season, and my first 50 for Dorset, which has been a long time coming.

“I’ve got quite a few 30s, so it’s good to get over that line and give ourselves a really good chance of winning.”

Denham added: “Matt said he was struggling when he was out in the middle, and I think he’ll be limited to how much he can bowl in Lincolnshire’s second innings.

“So it’s down to the rest of us to get those 10 wickets to win, and I think the spinners will play quite a key role in that.

“We’ve definitely giving ourselves a reasonable chance of grabbing the title.”

Lincolnshire bowlers Aaron Onyon (3-59), Alex Osmond (3-59), Mat Dowman (2-35) and Brett Houston (2-46) bagged their wickets.

Scoreboard (overnight): Dorset 245 (Treagus 80, Morgan 49) and 262 (Denham 71, Metcalfe 36, Nick Park 33), Lincolnshire 254 and 6-0.