Bowler Decland Redwood denied a batsmen his maiden century in a local cricket match
The bowler branded ‘pathetic’ for denying a batsmen his maiden century in a local cricket match has issued a public apology, saying he deeply regrets his behaviour.
Jay Darrell, who was batting for Minehead Second XI, was on 98 not out with his team needing five more runs to win against Purnell Cricket Club in Paulton, Bristol, on Saturday.
The game ended in controversy when Purnell’s bowler threw the ball over the boundary to concede five extras and end the game, leaving the batsman stranded two runs short of his hundred.
Yesterday bowler Decland Redwood revealed himself as the bowler in question and broke his silence, saying: ‘I take sole responsibility for the incident and emphasise that no other person was aware of my intentions in the build up to the delivery.
‘I acknowledge that I made an ill-judged and impulsive decision on approaching the wicket to bowl a no-ball, which resulted in a boundary and gave an unnatural ending to what was otherwise a competitive game of cricket.’
Decland Redwood (pictured) revealed himself as the bowler in question and broke his silence today to apologise
Jay Darrell, pictured bowling at a previous game, was denied his century in the match
The bowler deliberately threw the ball over the boundary so Mr Darrell’s (pictured bowling) team would lose the game
The fixture’s dramatic ending was condemned by former cricketers and celebrities, who described it as ‘appalling’ and ‘pathetic’.
Redwood says he had never played against Darrell and was unaware he was so close to his maiden century. He said the batsman played ‘brilliantly’ and graciously accepted his apology for behaviour that was not ‘in keeping with the spirit of cricket’.
‘I deeply regret the incident and the embarrassment that has been brought upon the two Clubs involved and also the Somerset Cricket League,’ he said. ‘I do not feel that this momentary lapse in judgement is a true reflection of my character, and it is certainly not representative of the culture of what is a very family orientated village cricket club in Purnell CC.
‘Finally, whilst I am disappointed with the severity of the ban imposed on me by the League, I will not be appealing their decision and I hope that this matter can now be considered closed. I wish both Minehead and Purnell the best of luck for the remainder of the season.’
A Purnell spokesman described the ending of the Somerset Cricket League match as ‘unsavoury’ and ‘outside the spirit of the game’.
The club said on Twitter: ‘Our 1st XI were well beaten today by @MineheadCricket.
Decland Redwood said in a statement: ‘I take sole responsibility for the incident and emphasise that no other person was aware of my intentions in the build up to the delivery’
In a tweet, Purnell Cricket Club said that the incident would be dealt with internally
‘The unsavoury scenes to end the game can’t be condoned & both the captain and the player made full & sincere apologies to those involved after the game.
‘The incident will be dealt with internally by the club.’
Jay, who had been batting for 30 overs, said: ‘I couldn’t really do much about it so I had to accept what happened.
‘I was so tired in the moment I found it hard to be annoyed – it was a very hot day.
‘It’s a shame because I’ve never had 100 for Minehead before – it was really weird and I wasn’t expecting it.
Minehead Cricket Club remained upbeat about the match despite its bowler missing out on a century
‘The captain and a few players apologised straight away after the match – and the bowler apologised later.
‘Players on my team were angry but we had a few drinks with the opposition afterwards.
‘A few of them said it was a shame to happen.’
Jay, a labourer who lives near Bridgwater, Somerset, said he doesn’t know the bowler’s name but said he was in his mid-20s.
He added: ‘I’ve been playing for Minehead for three years and have never seen anything like this.
‘It was surreal to have ex-England cricketers discussing it on TV and social media.
‘The bowler threw it wide and over my left shoulder – it was a legitimate ball but way wide and bounced just before the boundary.’
Former England cricketer Rob Key was made aware of the match while commentating on Sky Sports.
He said live on air: ‘How average is that? That is appalling.’
Piers Morgan described the controversy as ‘pathetic’ in a Twitter post.
He said: ‘SERIOUSLY? How utterly pathetic. Shame on you @purnellcc.’
Minehead player Angus Marsh described it as ‘the worst cricket moment of my life’.
Minehead, who won the Division Two match by four wickets, 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 :(‘
Neither cricket club has confirmed the name of the bowler although Ronnie Casling was part of the way through an over when the game finished.
The scorecard from the match which shows Darrell stranded on 98 not out and bowler Ronnie Casling part of the way through an over when the match finished
However in a separate statement, Purnell said a player named Ronnie Casling has been wrongly accused of being the bowler.
They said: ‘The club understands that one of its members acted outside the spirit of the game in our league fixture at Minehead yesterday.
‘The individual involved will be dealt with inline with the club’s constitution and disciplinary procedure.
‘Whilst the club do not wish to comment on the player’s identity during the process, we are aware of several rumours regarding one player in particular.
‘Therefore we can confirm the R Casling was not involved in the incident.
‘We would like to assure you that this incident is not typical of our club and that we take this matter very seriously.’
Many people took to Twitter to vent their anger about the controversial ending to the game