Devon Cricket Board - Koopman collects second successive ton

Koopman collects second successive ton

GIONNE Koopman hammered a second successive century as Plymouth trounced Sandford by 110 runs to go second in the Premier Division.
Koopman took a ton off Torquay seven days earlier to get Plymouth back on form after a patchy run – and himself back in the groove after a two-match ban.
The South African left-hander went in at 47 for one after opener James Toms (26) was run-out in a mix-up with James Hagan-Burt.
Koopman didn’t hang about as he went from 0-50 in 36 balls with nine fours and a six, then raced to a hundred in another 42 deliveries, finishing with 12 fours and three sixes.
Smashing the bowling around became a habit for Plymouth as Jake Luffman tucked in too.
After Hagan Burt and Ben Stein both went to Russ Discombe (3-68), Koopman and Luffman took the score from 120 for three to 263 for four
Luffman was eventually caught and bowled by Jamie Palmer for 77 , which included six fours and five sixes.
Koopman fell for 103 as Plymouth proceeded to 293 for eight in a hurry.
Sandford’s target was reduced to 252 to win in 43 overs following a couple of rain breaks – and they got nowhere near it.
A promising start took Sandford to 61 for one, but a mini-collapse to 67 for four sparked by Rob Bennett (4-32), Dan Goody (2-32) and Koopman (2-28) put Plymouth on top.
Tom Mitchum ground out 27 off 71 balls and Gary Abdoll made a good-looking 41 off 48 balls.
Apart from Steve Morish (33) there wasn’t much from the rest as Bennett and Jack Hughes on a rare 1st XI outing dismissed Sandford for 183 in their final over.
Leaders Sidmouth, who crushed Cornwood by 10 wickets, are 60 points clear of Plymouth in second and are unlikely to be caught in what’s left of the season.
Plymouth skipper Matt Hooper said that won’t stop Koopman trying to score as many runs as he can.
“We were led by another brilliant hundred by Gionne Koopman, who is a great player to watch,” said Hooper.
“I am really glad for him as he more than anyone wants runs for Plymouth.
“Jake Luffman also batted superbly, I have said a few times that runs were just around the corner for him so hopefully he takes this forward and finishes the season off with a flourish.
“Jake struck the ball beautifully. He and Gionne put the game to bed in the power-play overs, taking 70 off them.”
Had Plymouth declared early they could have gone for two extra bonus points for a bowl-out win, but Hooper was more concerned with winning the match.
“We were wary of the weather as all the time they had wickets in hand they were dangerous as the target was diminishing with every stoppage,” said Hooper.
He added: “We caught and fielded really well in difficult conditions.
“All in all a good performance after losing the toss and having the worst of the conditions.

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