On Saturday, Purnell Cricket Club’s First XI were beaten by Minehead Second XI, but a late in the game bowl caused controversy, which reached as far as the BBC Sport homepage.
Minehead batsman, Jay Darrell, was on 98 runs, with only two needed to win the match. However, his century was denied by a Purnell bowler – who remains anonymous at the time of writing – after he sent it to the boundary, giving away four runs and one for a no-ball. Darrell took 3-22 as Purnell made 280-7 in their innings.
The controversy has largely taken place on Twitter, with some users calling for the mystery player to be banned for the season. Some even went as far as to demand the player be banned from the club for life.
A tweet from Minehead Cricket Club following the game said: “Not nice to see. But more to the point, a great innings and a great win. Respect to the @purnellcc Captain, who apologised to the batsman on behalf of his bowler. But some things just can’t be undone.”
Darrell himself was more passive, tweeting: “Hell of a game today, shame the way it ended – but oh well! Thanks for all the support today!”
In response, Purnell CC tweeted the following statement: “Our 1st XI were well beaten today by @MineheadCricket. The unsavoury scenes to end of the game can’t be condoned and both the Captain and the player made full and sincere apologies to those involved after the game. The incident will be dealt with internally by the Club.”