Warwick 158

Willow Cuts 159/9

In a match that typified why cricket is the "game of glorious uncertainties", reigning champions Willow Cuts scraped to an agonising one-wicket victory over Warwick in Saturday's Western Counties final.

It was high drama at White Hill Field as young guns Warwick - led by an impressive all-round showing from Lamar Caines - mounted a stout defence of what seemed an inadequate 158 runs all out in 45.1 overs.

In the end it was almost enough for a team comprising mostly teenagers to wrest the championship from a more experienced line-up. Cuts got home by the narrowest of margins as Charles Swan and Trevor Corday - more known for their bowling exploits - shared a crucial, last-wicket stand of 16 to be heroes with the bat.

Relief and jubilation swept over their team-mates and fans as 21-year-old Corday, in his first year in the top flight, pushed a Dion Stovell delivery to point and scampered the winning single.

Phew! Cuts had done it: 159 for nine wickets in 45.4 overs.

"I'm not going to lie, I was nervous, but when you know you're the last guy, you just go out there and try to do what you got to do," said the No.11 batsman who survived some edgy moments.

The ecstatic fast bowler declared that hitting the winning run "felt wonderful".

Swan, a cricket veteran of 20 years, admitted having a touch of nerves also but said "I knew I had to pull it through". He had faith Corday would stay with him until the end because "we have a lot of heart and we have batted a lot together this season".

There was no shame in defeat for Warwick, however, as Kian Butterfield's team acquitted themselves remarkably well in the face of a tall task. Conceding 33 wides among 42 extras - incidentally the top `score' for Cuts - after failing to get enough runs, the youngsters had only themselves to blame for the outcome.

"That's one thing we've been trying to work on this year - cutting down our extras," said captain-for-the-day Butterfield.

Warwick player/coach Allan Douglas Sr, too, acknowledged the problem but added it's getting better.

"That's when you lose matches, giving up those additional runs and overs. It's too much. You can't give up that percentage of extras and expect to win with 158 runs.

"It's been a big problem with Warwick and if you saw what we were doing earlier in the season compared to today (Saturday), it's been a tremendous improvement."

Still, the challengers defended their total gallantly and no-one did more so than Man-of-the-Match Lamar Caines.

Cuts supporters were already celebrating what they felt would be an easy triumph as their batsmen went to the crease. However, fast bowler Caines had other ideas and in his third over he signalled what they were, having opener Dwight Basden and number three Cordell Gilbert both caught in the slips to leave Cuts on 27 runs for two wickets.

Minutes later, a leaping Butterfield plucked a Wendell White flick off the pads out of the air at square leg to give Caines his third scalp. Cuts were now 35 for three and that was soon 53 for four as colt Howard Darrell offered Douglas a return catch.

All of a sudden, 158 runs appeared a world away but with the Basden brothers batting - skipper Richard and opener Dexter - Cuts could not be discounted.

That all changed when Dexter brought Caines into the picture again. This time the latter returned the favour to his captain, catching Dexter at extra cover off Butterfield. At 74 for five, it was anybody's match but things swung decisively Warwick's way when Caines came back for his second spell and again snapped up two wickets in one over.

He earned a leg before verdict against Richard Basden (out for 14) with the third ball of his seventh over and, two balls later, dismantled Jacobi Robinson's stumps as the Cuts guest player fell for a duck. Caines almost had a third victim in that over as Bergon Spencer Jr's prod forward off the last ball fell just short of the fielder at silly point.

Amid the tumble of wickets, Trevor Forth batted sensibly for an invaluable 26, spearheading partnerships of 17 (with Spencer) and 25 (with Swan) runs for the eighth and ninth wickets respectively before lofting a drive to guest player Clarkie Trott, running from mid-off to extra cover. Forth's downfall - a wicket for colt Randy Bean with his first ball - sent Cuts' hearts plummeting and their pulses soaring.

A further 16 runs - or at least 15 to tie - were necessary but who would get them? Swan and Corday, with some help from wayward bowling, provided the answer. Two of the last three runs were wides.

Caines finished with five for 42 from ten overs while four other bowlers picked up a wicket each.

Earlier, opener Marvin Belboda and middle-order batsman Trott were joint top-scorers for Warwick with 29 runs each while Caines made 22 not out. The challengers lost wickets with regularity after their first one fell without a run on the board. The best partnership was 35 for the sixth wicket between Douglas and Trott before both succumbed to Swan.

Guest player White, later adjudged Man-of-the-Series, led Cuts bowling with five for 30 in 9.1 overs. Swan collected three for 36 from ten overs.

"We bowled and fielded well. It was a low score to get but it shows that you must still bat. They always say the lowest scores are the hardest and we saw why. We thought Warwick were going to give us the runs and it didn't happen.

"We fought to the end. Some players had an outstanding day - Wendell White with five wickets and our tail end: Trevor Forth, Trevor Corday and Charles Swan.

"Warwick fought hard and they made it tough, trust me. I am very proud of both sides, Warwick has a lot of youngsters in the team and look great for the future," said Cuts skipper Basden.

Despite the threat of relegation hanging over their heads, he noted his club has a chance of four trophies this season and will be going all out to get the other three: the Champion of Champions, the Combined Knockout and the Premier Knockout. The latter final against St. David's was postponed yesterday because the wicket at Wellington Oval was deemed "unplayable".

Butterfield (18) expressed pride in his team's performance, saying "we put up a good fight". A score of 200, he thought, "would have got us the game".

Both he and Douglas hailed Caines' bowling. The coach disclosed that, despite the absence of several of Warwick's usual players, the team had trained hard for the last two weeks.

"It was disappointing that so many players were unavailable. Even today one of our guest players didn't show up (Mark Ray). It's been really difficult.

"We went out there and did the best we could and I said `Guys enjoy it'. I knew that if we posted 180 we could have won it but 158 just wasn't enough. To come so close it's disappointing not to win but the guys played very, very well and I'm satisfied."