Lancaster cup

Belstone v Whitchurch

WITHIN 24 hours the Buckley game was a distant memory as one of the most exciting Twenty 20 matches ever seen at Rew Meadow came to nail-biting climax.

In this second round cup clash between Belstone and Whitchurch, this thrilling encounter saw over 360 runs shared and it all came down to Belstone needing a boundary off the last ball to tie the game.

Such a close finish seemed highly unlikely during the Whitchurch innings which began at seven an over thanks to Hall (12), Meadows (18) and Churchill (32) and then really pressed the accelerator when Sherrell hit his stride.

Batting for a mere 25 minutes he smashed 79 not out in an awesome display of hitting including three successive sixes off Neil Rowlands and the small matter of 26 off the final over of the innings which boosted the score to 185 for six, the highest 20-over total ever seen at the ground.

On an evening dominated by the bat Chris Walsh returned the best Belstone figures of two for 27 from his four overs.

Belstone began their reply with a modest six runs from the first two overs, which immediately pushed the asking rate up to ten an over.

Suddenly openers Rowlands and John Coburn seized control, taking at least nine off the next eight overs so that at the half way stage Belstone (102 for none) were well ahead of Whitchurch at the same stage (71 for two).

The bowling wilted under a sustained display of aggressive strokes which saw the partnership reach 137 (the highest ever for any Belstone wicket in a 20-over game) in the 15th over before Rowlands was out for 55, which included nine fours and a six.

Coburn carried on in dominant style as 11 came from each of the 18th and 19th overs to leave the home side needing 15 off the final over, to be bowled by Kerswill.

A couple off the first ball took Coburn to his hundred - the first century ever scored in a 20-over game at Rew Meadow; the next ball went over the boundary for his eighth six and the third ball went for another two, leaving Belstone with five to win off three balls.

Kerswill held his nerve and bowled a dot ball for the fourth and the penultimate ball saw Coburn stumped by Hall for 108 going for one last big hit.

With all the fielders bar wicketkeeper and bowler around the boundary new batsman Dennis Edwards could only manage a single from the last ball to give Whitchurch a famous three run victory and a place in the semi-finals.

Needless to say this was a great game of cricket with Belstone recording their highest ever 20-over score in 16 seasons even though they ended up on the losing side.