PHC 173

Willow Cuts 174-8

Willow Cuts were duly crowned Western Counties champions at White Hill Field on Saturday as they dethroned PHC after one of the most dramatic climaxes in the competition?s 43-year history.

Needing 34 runs to win with only two wickets in hand, Cuts? tailenders Sheroy Fubler and man-of-the-match Trevor Corday declined the umpires? offer for bad light on three occasions and bravely carried their side to victory in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand that sent their club?s diehard supporters completely over the edge and PHC into a state of disbelief.

After Cuts? eighth wicket had fallen at 140, it seemed as though PHC?s month-long grip on the showpiece ? donated by the late Warren Simmons in 1962 ? would be extended for another 12 months, especially after third change bowler Shoron Hunt had stamped his authority on the proceedings, seaming off a bouncy but gradually deteriorating strip.

But Cuts? tail wagged furiously in the form of Fubler and Corday who batted both sensibly and courageously to keep their opponents? attack at bay and frustrated the PHC fielders with the odd boundary and excellent running between the stumps until victory was achieved at 7.50 p.m. in near darkness.

Belying his status as primarily a bowler, Fubler ? son of Cuts? coach Rodney ? scored 23 runs off 36 balls while at the opposite end Corday (nine) provided the perfect foil during a partnership lasting 7.4 nailbiting overs.

The smiles on the faces of Cuts players, team officials and fans and wild scenes of jubilation best described yet another round of riveting cricket which saw the ball once again dominate the bat and the match remain in the balance up until the time the West Enders crossed PHC?s total with just 22 balls to spare.

Cuts? victory also ensured that the cup changed hands for the third and final time this year.

Struggling to keep his emotions in check, Cuts skipper Dwight Basden exclaimed: ?This is just a joyous feeling! Words really cannot describe them. We were in a bit of trouble and things did not look good for us at all. But our team is full of fighters, we dug deep and in the end came out with the goods.?

With PHC?s Kyle Lightbourne on for a second spell, Corday lofted the former English League striker?s fourth delivery of his ninth over to the mid wicket region for the winning runs moments before the inevitable pitch invasion engulfed the ground.

Cuts also found match winners in stalwarts Dexter Basden, Reggie Tucker jr and Trevor Forth who each played integral roles at crucial junctures in their pursuit of PHC?s target.

In typical fashion, opening bat Basden anchored Cuts innings at the top, scoring 35 runs off 62 balls and adding 63 vital runs with Tucker for the third wicket before the latter departed in the 21st over. Tucker scored 33 off 44 balls and hit six fours.

Basden fell six overs later when he was caught behind by PHC guest wicketkeeper Jekon Edness who held three superb catches behind the stumps. The former Cuts skipper hit six fours and was chiefly responsible for keeping his team on course by consolidating his end while wickets fell at regular intervals as PHC began to move in for the kill.

Though not as flamboyant, Forth (15) played a vital role by rescuing Cuts from a middle order collapse which saw four wickets fall in the space of eight overs for 17 runs with Hunt claiming two wickets in the 29th over off three deliveries including the key scalp of Basden.

Little did he realise, though, Basden?s bat had already done the damage and set the stage for later dramatics.

?I must take my hat off to Dexter because he is the best opening batsmen in the world,? nephew Dwight added. ?He brings a lot of experience to our team and with him around we always have a chance of winning, no matter how many runs the opponents may score.

?Players like Gladwin Edness and Reggie Tucker also give me advice and it is just a joy to have them in the team. But this win is big for us as we are a small club and as you can see two of the youngsters that came up through our junior ranks brought us home today.?

Asked to score at 3.6 runs per over, Cuts, who lost opener Ryane Shepperd on the very first delivery of their innings, scored their first 50 in 15 overs, reached 100 in the 30th over and 150 in the 41st over after Fubler pierced the square leg boundary with a pull-shot off the back foot.

From here Cuts never looked back as PHC, lacking the final killer touch, saw their hopes gradually dissipate in fast-fading light.

Bergon Spencer, the last Cuts wicket to fall in the 35th over, added 11 on a pitch Basden later described as ?very unpredictable?.

?It wasn?t the kind of pitch you could play a lot of shots on because the bounce was a bit uneven,? he said.

Hunt was by far PHC?s best bowler, producing a five-wicket haul that might have landed him MVP honours.

Charging in from the southern end, he returned outstanding figures of five for 37 off ten overs and was backed up at the opposite end by the hostile, yet at times wayward Kevin Tucker who seized three for 32 off ten overs, including two maidens.

Far too often Tucker was guilty of tossing down wide balls and in his very first over sent down 11 deliveries.

A few difficult chances that went begging in the field and a costly 39 runs in extras didn?t help PHC?s cause. In fact, two spilled catches in the deep and at first slip by Hunt and player/coach Andre (Doc) Manders and then the former?s failed run-out attempt in the 21st over ultimately came back to haunt the men in black and grey.

PHC had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first on what proved to be a benign pitch in the first innings, but they also struggled to find runs against a disciplined Cuts attack.

Openers Gerald Simons (14) and Sheridan (Baldy) Ming (17) added 27 in nine overs and Western Stars? pair Hasan Durham and Edness made 35 for the fourth wicket in 11 overs.

Durham toped his team?s batting with 36 off 41 balls with two fours while Edness added 21 off 48 balls and Jeremy Fray 20 off 46 balls to place PHC in what appeared to be a comfortable position of 133 for five with 12 overs remaining.

Cuts? opening bowlers Charles (Buckjuice) Swan and guest player Jacobi Robinson did the initial damage with the ball before second change Fubler (two for 30) further chipped away at PHC?s order by dismissing both Fray and Edness with yorker-type deliveries.

Bowling unchanged, Swan Bowling unchanged, Swan finished with impressive figures of one for 21 with five maidens while Robinson claimed a wicket in each of his two spells to finish with two for 34.

With their opponents wobbling, a fired-up Corday then delivered the coup de grace, tearing apart PHC?s lower order in quick procession by claiming three wickets off 18 balls during a tumultuous second spell.

Though Cuts were also costly in the field, their bowlers made the PHC batsmen ? who only managed nine boundaries in the entire innings ? work hard for their runs with some tight bowling at both ends.

After limping along under four runs per over for the most part of their innings, PHC were finally dismissed on the final ball of the 48th over, Shepperd taking an excellent catch backward of square off the bat of an unsuspecting Lightbourne (11).