Hitting headlines with a hat-trick

Unedited extract from the Bournemouth Daily Echo
Monday May 19, 2008

Aussie Craig gives Hook a real Dishing
By Neil Perrett

AUSSIE import Craig O'Shannessy starred with bat and ball as Lymington kick-started their Division Two campaign with a tense two-wicket win over Hook and Newnham Basics.
The 24-year-old Sydneysider, who is nicknamed Dish, plundered five wickets in just nine balls - including an explosive hat-trick - to mop up the visitors' tail at the Sports Ground.
O'Shannessy's exploits (5-34), coupled with Christian Pain's three for 22, helped Lymington restrict Hook to 171 in a clash reduced to 44 overs per side due to a delayed start.
The same pair then contributed crucial middle order runs after Lymington had threatened to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Although Martin Hunt's intelligent 48 laid the foundations for a solid start to their reply, Keith Lovelock's nagging medium pacers began to cause a few anxious moments in the home camp.
But after the portly Hook man (4-21) had seen off Hunt, O'Shannessy (22) and Pain (30) temporarily steadied the ship before their respective demises ensured another uneasy period for the hosts.
However, a canny ninth-wicket partnership between Mark Newton and 15-year-old Tommy Barton eventually saw Lymington home in the gathering gloom.
Lymington captain Adie Hunt told the Daily Echo: "Craig always leads from the front with the ball and is very aggressive with it. He hits the deck hard and puts the opposition on the back foot.
"It makes such a difference to have somebody like him as the spearhead of the attack. He stopped them getting a bigger score and accounted for the two guys who had started to look dangerous."
The skipper also had words of praise for his elder brother Martin Hunt and hailed teenager Barton whose towering six over mid-wicket at the death proved vital.
Hunt added: "Martin batted very well. I put him at the top of the order to be aggressive and then we lost two early wickets so he had to curb his aggression and bat sensibly.
"For a 15-year-old, Tommy showed great judgement and maturity. He took his time and waited for the bad ball and, when he hit it, it stayed hit. It was a lusty blow at an important time.
"I was happy with the way we played; we just tend to make things more difficult than they need to be. But it was good to win and good to get off the mark."