Wokingham forced to settle for tie after last ball drama

Pete Phillips • Published 12 Aug 2009 09:00 0 Comments

WOKINGHAM'S Dan Reddyhough remains confident his side can beat the Home Counties League drop despite being forced to settle for a tie in a nail-biting clash against Falkland last weekend.

Chasing Falkland's earlier total of 266-8, solid knocks from Pete Browitt (38), Simon Myles (60), Stuart Parsons (32) and Sunny Grover (63no) left Wokingham needing 15 to win off the last over.

Number 11 Sanjay Jain took a single off the opening ball to give Grover the strike and two huge sixes off the next three balls put Wokingham on the brink of a much-needed win.

However, Grover could only punch the penultimate ball down to long on for a single, leaving Jain needing one off the final delivery. With the fielders all saving one, he was just unable to pick a gap and was run out by mid on as he dived full length in a desperate attempt to claim the winning run.

Earlier on, Falkland's innings had been built around a fine 109 from opener John Chandler, although Wokingham felt they had him caught behind when he'd made just 15.

Tom Heath chipped in with 53 but Grover (3-77) and Myles (3-83) helped restrict Falkland to 266-7, with Wokingham coming agonisingly close to passing their target in a thrilling photo finish.

And Reddyhough was keen to stress the positives despite just missing out on what would have been a crucial victory in their relegation battle.

He said: "The reaction at the end said it all as they celebrated liked they'd won the game.

"It was frustrating as we felt a couple of key decisions went against us at crucial times, but that seems to be what happens when you're fighting for your lives down the bottom.

"But there were some really strong performances and we managed to make up some points on the teams above us. Sunny Grover and Simon Myles enjoyed good games with bat and ball, while Stuart Parsons deserves a huge amount of praise for the way he played. For a 15-year-old he played fantastically well.

"We're in a tough spot right now but we need to maintain the pressure on the sides above us and keep them looking over their shoulders.

"We've got a team of fighters that's used to winning and I'm confident we can still chase the sides above us down."

Wokingham entertain a Beaconsfield side this weekend who will be desperate to bounce back after being skittled out for just 102 in their game against Basingstoke & North Hants last weekend - a defeat which saw them slip to fifth after they had led the division earlier in the summer.

"They're a surprise package this season but they obviously had some momentum after coming up last season and have managed to carry that through," Reddyhough said.

"They haven't really got any superstars but are a strong unit and they'll be expecting to roll us over as we didn't play very well at their place earlier in the season."

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