Carrasco to the rescue for Shropshire CCC

With visiting fielders crowding around the bat, Carrasco, who ended 55 not out, held his nerve to steer Shropshire to 226-9 at the 6.30pm cut off point after facing 135 balls and spending nearly two-and-a-quarter hours in the middle at Whitchurch.

With last man Dan Bowen watching on from the other end, Carrasco played out the final over from four-wicket Peter Burgoyne to ensure both teams emerged with 12 points.

Herefordshire started the third and final day in a strong position, well placed at 226-2, a lead of 251 runs.

There was some early joy for Shropshire when Burgoyne departed for 117, edging a catch to Omar Ali off Alex Wyatt, after adding just 14 to his overnight score.

The hosts did not have to wait long to strike again with Warrick Fynn claiming his first Shropshire wicket, Ryan Lockley holding on to a catch to remove Benny Ellis-Dabrowski (26).

Then came a fifth-wicket stand of 97 between Ian Bullock and Taylor Pugh (48no), eventually broken when Fynn, a left-arm spinner, picked up his second wicket, bowling Bullock for 52.

Herefordshire had moved on to 381-5 when they declared at lunch, leaving Shropshire an unlikely victory target of 407 from a minimum of 63 overs.

Ali was unable to repeat his first innings heroics when he had gloriously struck 141, his best score for Shropshire, when he fell early for 20, and 44-1 quickly became 53-2 when Shrewsbury’s Will Parton was trapped lbw by Barney Morgan without scoring.

Skipper Steve Leach had hit an unbeaten ton against Herefordshire in the Unicorns Knockout Trophy last month and he was well set again on 52, from 90 balls, when he was third man out, stumped by wicketkeeper Bullock off visiting captain Matt Pardoe.

Shropshire reached tea at 120-3 but it started to go wrong when play resumed as they soon found themselves in trouble at 146-6. Fynn, who has scored more Birmingham League runs than anyone this season, became the first of three quick Burgoyne victims for 31 while Jack McIver and David Wainwright contributed just four apiece before also falling to the former Derbyshire all-rounder.

Carrasco, at No 5, attempted to steady the ship, putting on 53 for the seventh wicket with Lockley before the wicketkeeper was bowled by Pugh for 28.

Jack Edwards quickly came and went without troubling the scorers as Burgoyne, who took 4-44 from 27 overs, had his man lbw.

And when Alex Wyatt went for eight, bowled by Jack Taylor, Shropshire were staring down the barrel at 222-9.

But Carrasco played with real determination to ensure Shropshire managed to secured a share of the spoils from a high-scoring encounter which produced more than 1,300 runs over three days.