Bedfordshire fall to double defeat as they crash out of MCCA Trophy

This coupled with defeat by Hertfordshire at Harpenden the previous day means that Bedfordshire have been eliminated from the MCCA Trophy even though they still have one more game to play against Devon at Dunstable on Sunday.

Cornwall took full advantage when batting first of the near perfect conditions at Cople.

Skipper Jamie Hewitt, on his debut for the county, switched his bowlers around but all suffered as the Cornwall batsmen took control.

Matt Robbins top-scored with 66, while four others scored in excess of 40 as Cornwall romped to 328-7 from their 50 overs.

This was a huge target to chase, but Bedfordshire gave it their best shot.

Alex Martin (47) got them off to a good start and, while George Thurstance and Andy Reynoldson were at the crease there was just a chance of an unlikely win.

But Thurstance was run out by a direct hit when he had made 67 and, although Reynoldson ended up unbeaten on 64, which included two sixes and seven fours, only last man David Foster, who struck 40 from 29 balls, kept him company for any length of time as Beds finished on 272-9.

Bedfordshire found themselves under pressure at Harpenden on Sunday even before the game against Hertfordshire got under way.

With the teams declared, opening bowler Colin Griggs suffered a broken thumb in the pre-game practice as Bedfordshire had to bat with only 10 men.

Steve Stubbings, in his last game for the county, got the innings off to a flying start but then holed out and, although Luke Thomas (43) and Thurstance (38) kept the scoreboard ticking over, wickets began to fall.

There was a major collapse after the drinks break and, although wicketkeeper Martin did his best to hold things together with some sensible batting, he was left stranded on 33 when the ninth and final wicket fell.

A total of 214 looked a long way short of par even when Afaq Babar produced a beauty to get rid of Hertfordshire opener Ramsden for a duck.

Blacktop and Toor put on 120 for the second wicket and, with another 50 runs added for the third wicket, Hertfordshire seemed to be coasting home.

However, a couple of run outs brought about a bit of a wobble during which Foster picked up three wickets with his left-arm spin, but Hertfordshire got home with three wickets and seven overs to spare. More than 600 runs were scored in a wonderful game of cricket at Cople on Monday, but Bedfordshire had to concede victory to Cornwall.

This coupled with defeat by Hertfordshire at Harpenden the previous day means that Bedfordshire have been eliminated from the MCCA Trophy even though they still have one more game to play against Devon at Dunstable on Sunday.

Cornwall took full advantage when batting first of the near perfect conditions at Cople.

Skipper Jamie Hewitt, on his debut for the county, switched his bowlers around but all suffered as the Cornwall batsmen took control.

Matt Robbins top-scored with 66, while four others scored in excess of 40 as Cornwall romped to 328-7 from their 50 overs.

This was a huge target to chase, but Bedfordshire gave it their best shot.

Alex Martin (47) got them off to a good start and, while George Thurstance and Andy Reynoldson were at the crease there was just a chance of an unlikely win.

But Thurstance was run out by a direct hit when he had made 67 and, although Reynoldson ended up unbeaten on 64, which included two sixes and seven fours, only last man David Foster, who struck 40 from 29 balls, kept him company for any length of time as Beds finished on 272-9.

Bedfordshire found themselves under pressure at Harpenden on Sunday even before the game against Hertfordshire got under way.

With the teams declared, opening bowler Colin Griggs suffered a broken thumb in the pre-game practice as Bedfordshire had to bat with only 10 men.

Steve Stubbings, in his last game for the county, got the innings off to a flying start but then holed out and, although Luke Thomas (43) and Thurstance (38) kept the scoreboard ticking over, wickets began to fall.

There was a major collapse after the drinks break and, although wicketkeeper Martin did his best to hold things together with some sensible batting, he was left stranded on 33 when the ninth and final wicket fell.

A total of 214 looked a long way short of par even when Afaq Babar produced a beauty to get rid of Hertfordshire opener Ramsden for a duck.

Blacktop and Toor put on 120 for the second wicket and, with another 50 runs added for the third wicket, Hertfordshire seemed to be coasting home.

However, a couple of run outs brought about a bit of a wobble during which Foster picked up three wickets with his left-arm spin, but Hertfordshire got home with three wickets and seven overs to spare.