Calmore Sports were bowled out for 108 by Old Tauntonians & Romsey – yet clung on to win by one run in a Southern Premier League Division One derby winning captain Mark Lavelle described as “unbelievable.”
There was little hint of the upcoming drama when Lavelle (17) and Matt Hardy (28) eased Calmore to 40 without loss.
“Then spin came into the equation. The Romsey pitch became near impossible to play on, turning square, some bounced, some rolled along the floor,” Lavelle left said.
Spin duo Peter Newman (4-23) and Rob Newman (3-15) did the damage as Calmore collapsed to 108 all out, Matt Taylor (15) the only other batsman to reach double figures.
“We thought 120 would be really tough to get, but were a few short,” Lavelle added.
OTs dropped to 16-2, but after Joe Vaughan (24) and Rob Newman (21) had been to the crease, the Romsey hosts were firmly in the driving seat.
“When they got to 74-3, a Calmore victory seemed a long way off – OTs needing 35 more runs to win with seven wickets left and stacks of time to spare,” he continued.
But then Lavelle himself took a decisive hand, taking 5-18 as OTs lost five wickets for 18 runs, collapsing to 88-8. New Forest legend Mike West produced a superb ten over spell with figures of 1-14 and the wicket of Pete Newman.
The ninth-wicket pair added a crucial 17 before a superb piece of Hardy fielding saw Jake Folkestone run out (105-9).
One run later, with two runs needed and OTs 107-9, Keith Trodd tried to hit Steve Wright over the top.
Trodd got a leading edge and left-arm seamer Wright snapped up a return catch to win the game for Calmore Sports.
There was little hint of the upcoming drama when Lavelle (17) and Matt Hardy (28) eased Calmore to 40 without loss.
“Then spin came into the equation. The Romsey pitch became near impossible to play on, turning square, some bounced, some rolled along the floor,” Lavelle left said.
Spin duo Peter Newman (4-23) and Rob Newman (3-15) did the damage as Calmore collapsed to 108 all out, Matt Taylor (15) the only other batsman to reach double figures.
“We thought 120 would be really tough to get, but were a few short,” Lavelle added.
OTs dropped to 16-2, but after Joe Vaughan (24) and Rob Newman (21) had been to the crease, the Romsey hosts were firmly in the driving seat.
“When they got to 74-3, a Calmore victory seemed a long way off – OTs needing 35 more runs to win with seven wickets left and stacks of time to spare,” he continued.
But then Lavelle himself took a decisive hand, taking 5-18 as OTs lost five wickets for 18 runs, collapsing to 88-8. New Forest legend Mike West produced a superb ten over spell with figures of 1-14 and the wicket of Pete Newman.
The ninth-wicket pair added a crucial 17 before a superb piece of Hardy fielding saw Jake Folkestone run out (105-9).
One run later, with two runs needed and OTs 107-9, Keith Trodd tried to hit Steve Wright over the top.
Trodd got a leading edge and left-arm seamer Wright snapped up a return catch to win the game for Calmore Sports.
