Holmewood's heroic captain refuses to desert sinking ship

The dogged determination of captain Dan Moss salvaged a losing draw for Holmewood against fellow strugglers Ticknall 2nd in Division Three of the Derbyshire County League.
Captain Dan Moss on his way to an unbeaten half-century to save the day for Holmewood. (PHOTO BY: Carl Jarvis)Captain Dan Moss on his way to an unbeaten half-century to save the day for Holmewood. (PHOTO BY: Carl Jarvis)
Captain Dan Moss on his way to an unbeaten half-century to save the day for Holmewood. (PHOTO BY: Carl Jarvis)

After Ticknall had posted a decent total of 234-9 in their allotted 46 overs, Holmewood were staring defeat in the face at 80-7 in reply.

But Moss refused to desert his sinking ship and manfully battled on to save the game with an unbeaten 55 (six fours) off 87 balls. He found an able ally in number nine James Taylor, who added 26 (four fours), and the pair put on 58 for the eighth wicket.

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The dismissal of Taylor opened the door again for a Ticknall victory, as did that of Mark Brealey soon afterwards. But Moss remained and with the help of last man Mark Devine, he saw out the last seven overs for a final total of 162-9.

Earlier, the Holmewood skipper had won the toss and inserted the home side on an unusually green wicket. But despite an early scalp, his bowlers were soon playing second fiddle. They failed to take another wicket for 30 overs, by which time Callan Harvey and Ollie Roome had lifted the score to 169 in a mammoth second-wicket stand worth 166.

Harvey hit 90 (two sixes and 11 fours), while Roome rapped 78 (11 fours) before Gavin Horton (3-42 in 12 overs) removed them both. Paceman Taylor (3-84 in 14 overs) then struck three times in quick succession, and there were a couple of run-outs as the visitors fought back.