Another cold Saturday afternoon found the Methodists at Stanton Drew choosing to bat first. The Meths’ openers, Woolley and Robinson, withstood some early pressure from bowlers, Rob Bailey and Gary Smart and, all things considered, losing just two wickets to Smart (2–20) during this opening burst was a reasonable result.

At 29–2, Alex Nash joined Craig Eyles in the middle and, after a wary start, the pair began to find the boundary. 77 runs were added in good time before a run-out ended Nash’s knock on 27, leaving Eyles to carry on building a decent total, with Captain, Stuart Green, now partnering him.

Another 46 were put on in ten overs before a returning Rob Bailey eventually made the breakthrough – Green bowled in the 35th over, swiftly followed by Eyles, trapped lbw by Colin Penney for an excellent 89 in the 36th.

A second victim for Bailey (2–14) in the 37th saw the Methodists’ momentum subside rather, but they were pretty happy to reach tea with 163 runs on the board.

Stanton Drew’s reply began with the hard-hitting Rob Bailey and Matt Morris looking to punish the visiting bowlers, crashing several boundaries, but not able to dominate as they would have liked.

Good bowling from Daniel Shearn and Craig Eyles limited them to 44 runs in the first ten overs, and then came the prize wicket – Bailey (25) well caught in the deep by Nash, which put the Methodists right in the game.

Another stunning catch from Nash removed Morris (24) five overs later, causing the scoring rate to slow further, while accurate bowling from Josh Potter kept the home side from reaching the hundred mark until the thirtieth over.

More wickets for Stuart Green (3–21) was cause for further optimism in the visitors, but Stanton Drew batted deep and with the powerful Ashley Bailey now at the crease, the game was not over.

A series of crunching shots saw the score leaping forward in the last few overs and the home team, requiring just five runs from the final six balls, which Bailey (39*) duly delivered in three, handed a narrow victory to Stanton Drew in an epic finish to a very competitive game of cricket.

Daniel Shearn