Visakh P. Visakh and Matt Tinsley were the heroes of White Coppice 1st XI’s dramatic one-wicket win against Vernon Carus 3rd XI on a sweltering Saturday.
The result made a mockery of the league table, with White Coppice currently in second place and the visitors languishing at the bottom of Division Five with just one win all season.
Vernon Carus 3rd XI were the better team for much of the game, but a dropped catch off Ant Dark on nought proved crucial as he went on to top-score with 67.
With temperatures nudging 30°C, it was a toss both teams wanted to win, but William Saul called correctly and had no hesitation in batting first in glorious conditions.
Vernon Carus were watched by experienced cricket coach Bobby Denning, who has been working with the club.
Matt Tinsley made the early breakthrough when he bowled Mahroz Gull for five with the score at 14-1.
Vernon Carus’s pair of Charles Forshaw-Brady (40) and James Rochester (27) shared a partnership of 54 to take the score to 68 before the latter was caught by Nathan Shepard off the bowling of Ryan Adderley. Shepard finished with four catches in the match.
Left-handed batsman Forshaw-Brady showed a good technique under the watchful eye of his dad, who was scoring for the visitors and seemed to live every one of the 89 balls his son faced.
He top-scored for his side, but their innings of 174-8 also saw four other players reach 20 as they posted a competitive total.
Matt Tinsley finished with figures of 4-53 and now has 28 wickets for the season – the third highest in the division.
Tom Sandells chipped in with 3-41 and now has 17 league and cup wickets this season.
White Coppice lost openers Jake Smalley for four and Chris Maguire (21) as they slipped to 29-2 before the crucial over of the match.
First, Ant Dark, who hit a 50 in the corresponding fixture in April, was dropped on nought. He then called Adderley through for a quick single, only for the latter to be run out.
Dark mixed attack with defence to take the score to 59 alongside Sandells before Sandells and Bobby Wood were dismissed in quick succession.
The crucial partnership came from Dark and Shepard (24), who put on 75 for the sixth wicket to take the score to 135 before they were separated.
Dark smashed 67 off 61 balls, with seven fours and four sixes, taking his tally of maximums this season to 17.
Dark was eventually caught on the boundary to trigger a flurry of wickets, which saw Coppice slip to 160-9 and to the brink of their third defeat of the season.
However, cometh the hour, cometh Visakh and Tinsley, who shared a match-winning partnership of 15.
Visakh was particularly watchful and had to wait until his 33rd ball to hit his first four – but it turned out to be the winning shot, sparking scenes of jubilation.
The result was a tribute to Coppice’s never-say-die attitude, although it was tough on the visitors, who might easily have won on another day.
· The second team were on the wrong side of a heavy defeat to Veron Carus 4th XI in what was potentially a key game in the promotion race, with both teams level on points heading into the match.
Given the weather, it looked a key toss to win. However, Coppice’s start could not have gone much worse, losing a wicket in each of the first four overs as the batters struggled to adjust to VC’s newly laid astro pitch.
Chris Walsh and Martin Cuerden attempted to steady the ship before both fell in the same over with the score on 22. This sparked another flurry of wickets, with Coppice losing four wickets in the space of just 14 balls.
Adam Mannan, supported by Joe Seager and James Field, hit a well-made 20 to take the score to 55.
That looked well under par. However, having bowled their opposition out for 52 in the reverse fixture, Coppice believed that a few early wickets could give them a chance.
The first part of that plan came to fruition as VC slumped to 9-3, including Ian Aldred’s 50th wicket for the club. However, Steve Lilley took the aggressive route to take the game away from Coppice, ably supported by young Ethan Royce, who displayed an excellent defensive technique and is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Credit to Vernon Carus, who bowled very tightly and fielded excellently on a rare off day for the 2s this season.