Fawley burgled a leg bye of the last ball to tie a Southern Premier Division 2 thriller with South Wilts seconds at Holbury, where both sides finished with 192-8.
After teenager Jayden Atkinson (pictured above by Roy Hollobone) had delivered a league best 5-32 to leave the hosts 112-6 (Andy Parratt 40), prospects didn’t appear too bright for Fawley.
But after skipper Callum Earl (27) had begun the revival, seventh-wicket pair Adam Freeman (49) and Bailey Parratt (24) took advantage of South Wilts’ limited bowling options – normal skipper Rob Pitman was on first team duty, and youngsters Ben Howgrave-Graham and James Brewer were injured – to turn the tide.
Joe Cranch (2-34), who last bowled in a competitive match in 2016, wheeled down seven overs and removed both Earl (with his first ball) and Freeman to set up an exciting finish.
Fawley needed 12 to win off left-arm spinner Tom Pearce’s 40th and final over and eventually levelled the scores with that last ball leg bye sundry.
Earlier, Cranch (48) had given South Wilts a bright start, with Howgrave-Graham banging three sixes in his lively 31 and fellow teen Matt Falconer scoring 27.
Welshman Sean Williams, thankfully fully recovered from a nasty illness, marked only his second Fawley appearance with a 5-29 return, one well deserved.
After teenager Jayden Atkinson (pictured above by Roy Hollobone) had delivered a league best 5-32 to leave the hosts 112-6 (Andy Parratt 40), prospects didn’t appear too bright for Fawley.
But after skipper Callum Earl (27) had begun the revival, seventh-wicket pair Adam Freeman (49) and Bailey Parratt (24) took advantage of South Wilts’ limited bowling options – normal skipper Rob Pitman was on first team duty, and youngsters Ben Howgrave-Graham and James Brewer were injured – to turn the tide.
Joe Cranch (2-34), who last bowled in a competitive match in 2016, wheeled down seven overs and removed both Earl (with his first ball) and Freeman to set up an exciting finish.
Fawley needed 12 to win off left-arm spinner Tom Pearce’s 40th and final over and eventually levelled the scores with that last ball leg bye sundry.
Earlier, Cranch (48) had given South Wilts a bright start, with Howgrave-Graham banging three sixes in his lively 31 and fellow teen Matt Falconer scoring 27.
Welshman Sean Williams, thankfully fully recovered from a nasty illness, marked only his second Fawley appearance with a 5-29 return, one well deserved.