Diss star Cooper scores 174 and takes six wickets - but he is almost upstaged!
- Credit: Ian Burt
A couple of quite remarkable innings from Diss, which saw two players make centuries at a rapid rate, helped them thrash Mattishall by 150 runs in Division One of the Norfolk Alliance.
With grey skies overhead, returning Diss skipper Mark Williamson lost the toss and his side were asked to bat first.
Openers Chris Cooper and Lewis Taylor got Diss off to a solid start and Cooper quickly brought up his half century with the score on 90. Cooper continued to hit the ball with force while Taylor provided important support, ensuring the pair put on 145 for the first wicket, before Taylor was bowled by Spalding for 46.
Mattishall then claimed the wickets of Chenery (0) and David Tooke (5) but Cooper fought on and brought up a well-deserved hundred off less than 100 balls. After a scratchy start, Robert Tooke showed his striking power and he and Cooper began to push the score on significantly. Cooper was eventually out for an outstanding 174, an innings which included 31 boundaries, nine of which were sixes.
Tooke the took centre stage and hit four sixes in a row, taking 30 off a single over. His century came off just 53 balls, and included 18 boundaries. Tooke finished with a scintillating 114 along with Dan Taylor (14) as his side registered a huge total of 372-4 off their 50 overs.
In reply Chenery (1-23) had Eastoe-Smith caught for 10 while fellow opener D. Taylor (1-54) kept it tight. Other good spells from Sam Hunt (0-8), Aidan Browne (0-18) and Mark Williamson (0-35) made sure Mattishall wouldn't get close to Diss' enormous total.
Mattishall ended up collapsing from 86-1 to 110-5 when centurion Cooper was brought on and he made a sumptuous one-handed catch off his own bowling to dismiss Hawkins (10), who scored 190 the previous week. He also claimed the wickets of Stokes (49), Chetwood (22), Fletcher (4), Cole (4) and Hudson (110), to round off his superb day with figures of 6-33.
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Good work from Mark Brawn helped run out Milne (44), who was the last resisting batsman. Mattishall were eventually bowled out for 222 in the final over, after R Tooke (1-45) and D Taylor each claimed a wicket.
It was a day that Cooper certainly won't forget in a hurry!
Diss won by 150 runs and claimed a maximum of 25 points. They host Dereham at Rectory Meadow on Saturday, 1pm.
