WHITCHURCH held their nerve at the end of a tense encounter with Plymouth to pull off an unlikely tie.

Fifth wicket pairing Peter Freedman (20no) and Richard Hall (28no) needed 53 off the last 6 overs and with boundaries at a premium in the wet conditions at Plymouth a lot of running was required. Indeed, 13 was needed off the final over with the Whitchurch batsman miraculously reducing the target to 2 off the last ball.

Hall could not quite pierce the gap and only 1 run was possible. An earlier partnership of 70 between Tim Watson (36) and Jude Rotten (29) scored in similar fashion laid the foundations for the Whitchurch innings to build. But tight Plymouth bowling pegged Whitchurch back in mid-stream until Freedman and Hall came together.

Plymouth skipper Luke Minnett took heavy toll of the Whitchurch bowling making 79 off 56 balls finally falling to Rotten (4-17) who continued to stem the Plymouth flow, ably supported by Hall (0-18) and Freedman (0-26) not to mention some heroic fielding throughout.

Mark Thompson (Plymouth) and Jude Rotten (Whitchurch) were the awarded fielders.