Balliol (98-0) beat Pembroke (97 all out) by 10 wicketsBalliol regained their league title with a humiliating 10-wicket defeat of Pembroke, the newly crowned Cuppers Champions. Winning the toss and putting Pembroke into bat, Balliol started irresistibly. In tandem with captain Pete Dunbar (2-25), Australian opening bowler Phil Clark (4-20) extracted good movement off the pitch, tearing through the Pembroke top and middle order in a devastating spell of fast bowling. The removal of Pembroke’s star university batsman, Sudhir Krishnaswarmy, signalled a dramatic collapse that at one stage left Pembroke 4-18. With no batsman making it beyond 30, Pembroke struggled to a paltry total of 97 on a dry and playable pitch.Chasing the total, Balliol openers Peter and Tom Dunbar cruised past the target in a mere 75 balls. Punctuated by a series of cracking pull shots, Peter Dunbar smashed 66 with brother Tom, also enjoying a superb year with the bat, finished with 26.While Balliol celebrated another year of dominance, Queen’s, Hertford and St Hugh’s were relegated from the top flight. Meanwhile, in Division 2, Somerville clinched a nail-biting title race over St Anne’s.ARCHIVE: 0th week MT 2005
