Buckingham Town Cricket Club - June 15th 2006

After being put in to bat first on a crumbling pitch, Norman's team looked in trouble after James Coxhill was out early on. The wicket brought Krishan Talsania to the crease with Robin Pritchard. Talsania looked in good nick, hitting a few boundaries, before finally giving his wicket away on 22. Wickets tumbled at the other end, as North Crawley's spinners took advantage of the turning track.

The middle order Chris Coxhill, Mike Heath and Andy Norman (7) all fell to spin, failing to give Pritchard major support. Picking up 1s and 2s, with the occasional boundary, Pritchard was eventually bowled on 40, taking on the medium pacers. Town's lower order battled on to pick up runs. Matt Coxhill looked good for a while, as did John Smith. Ryan-Pont was eventually out, leaving Rowlingson stranded at the other end as Town were eventually bowled out for 89, about 40 short of their original target.

Crawley's innings started poorly, as their star bat was caught by Rowlingson off the bowling of Smith early on. Talsania completed his four over spell at thee cost of not many, picking up a wicket in the process. Smith's four over spell was fantastic, bowling 3 maidens, and picking up the star batsman in the process. With a combination of tight bowling and brilliant fielding, Town were able to keep the run rate down.

Faulkner bowled well, picking up wickets, as did Chris Coxhill. Andy Norman picked up the key wicket of Crawley's devastating "slogger", and the game was poised for a tight finish.

After 19 overs, Town needed someone to step up and bowl the final over. Rowlingson took the job, and having not played for a year, had to restrict Crawley to 9 or less. A 2 off the first ball left 9 to win. Another single left 8 off 4. A dot ball made the job harder for Crawley. With one ball left, Rowlingson bowled a wide, letting Crawley back in with a chance, however he kept his nerve and yorked the batsman, bowling North Crawley out for 84.

A brilliant win for Town gives them a chance to take the title. They must now win all 5 games remaining this year. They finished up with 10 points for their victory and a useful 7 Bonus Points (3 batting and 4 bowling).

Shot Of The Night: Krishan Talsania.