2nd XI in thrilling win over leaders

Two weeks ago the 2nd XI, bottom of Division 4, travelled to leaders Port Sunlight and came away with a magnificent two-wicket victory. 11-year-old Ewan "Reggie" Farnell-Buckle hit the winning run off the penultimate ball of the final over in a thrilling match that see-sawed throughout the day.

Skipper Danny Thorburn lost the toss and Port Sunlight elected to bat first on what seemed a flat batting track. Roy Wild and Dave Parry opened the bowling for Audlem and were both extremely impressive as runs were difficult to come by. Wild snared the openers in no time and after 10 overs Port Sunlight were struggling on 20 for 2. Jonno Roberts (39) together with Ben Nuttall (19) staged a recovery taking the score to 70 for 2.

Enter Lyndon Woodcock! The Audlem spinner began a magnificent spell of bowling that decimated Port Sunlight. He took five wickets as the home side slumped to 87 for 7.
However, the plot changed once more when youngster Jack Warburton joined Adam Davis at the crease. The duo added a 97 runs for the eighth wicket until Woodcock snared the ebullient Warburton for 54. Soon after Davis was stumped by Leo North for 41 off Wild's bowling and Wild then took the last leaving Port Sunlight 191 all out. Crucially, the mini-collapse ensured Audlem would get an extra 4 overs to bat. Woodcock took 6 for 52 and Wild 4 for 57.

Zar Ahmed and John Wainwright opened the batting and looked in control as they added 65 for the first wicket before Wainwright departed to a stunning catch at cover for an excellent 32. Tom Kural and Ahmed (18) were out soon afterwards leaving Audlem at 77 for 3. However, Leo North joined Dave Parry and scored at around three runs per over. The pair then started to accelerate and had taken the score to 127 when North departed for a well-made 21.

At this stage, with 10 overs to go, 67 runs were required to win. Paul Thorburn hit a quick-fire 11 off only 9 balls. In the context of the game, this was a crucial contribution. Son, Danny, joined Parry and they kept the scoreboard ticking over until Parry was bowled for 28. Thanks to the large number of extras (ultimately 49), the score had risen to 162 for 6 with five overs remaining. Woodcock joined Thorburn and they took the score to 180 before Thorburn was bowled for 11.

"Reggie" Farnell-Buckle then joined Woodcock and with two overs to go, 11 more runs were needed. Woodcock then played a magnificent reverse glide for 4 and scampered a single. Home skipper, Roberts, who had already bagged four wickets, bowled the final over. With the first ball Woodcock was bowled for 11. Roy Wild arrived at the crease with clear instructions from the skipper- "Go for it – a draw is of no use". Second ball of the over – Wild went for a big swing and only managed to scamper a single. Following a "dot" ball there were three balls to go and 5 runs still needed. Next ball, "Reggie" attempted a mighty drive and the ball connected with the edge of the bat and went roaring through the third man area for four. Two balls remaining and "Reggie" hit the ball to mid-wicket and a run was scampered to secure a thrilling victory over the league leaders by two wickets.

Audlem gained 25 points and Port Sunlight 14. As a result, Audlem moved up two places to 10th.

Apologies for the late submission of this, but the report coordinator has been on holiday and unable to submit the report.

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