The Jokes edged out The Blokes in a thrilling, if not scrappy contest at Dummer Cricket Centre tonight.
Put into bat, George Lethaby and Nellie Warner got off to a flier, with Nellie in particularly, looking pretty much unstoppable.
Both retired on 25 and were followed back into the hutch by the in form Alex Brundle, who was full of running and ingenuity.
At 81 without loss after six overs, Jokes looked out of sight but the introduction of Michael Wood and in particular, Brad Compton -Bearne, slowed the run rate and Blokes clawed themselves back in the game.
15 from Dan Sumner and 22 from Darrell Dimond edged Jokes towards the maximum batting points target of 150 but a great last over by Brad kept the score to 145 as well as gaining further bonus points with 2 wickets.
The other wicket was taken by Tom Barnes, along with 3 run-outs.
In reply Woody and DJ got the scoreboard racing along with both Darrell, AB and Nellie struggling to find a good line under pressure with only Dan Sumner and George Lethaby bowling well enough.
However, just as the Blokes looked on top, a catastrophic five minutes changed the course of the game. In that short spell after Woody had comfortably retired, Brad went to a bad call on a run-out, Dan Jones exited 1 short of a vital retirement, and Jack Brundle went for golden duck.
Tom Barnes then got run out for 8, followed by an out of sorts Bob Lethaby for 1, leaving it to Woody to come back in and see the Blokes home, with Bob as the non-striking runner.
As the tension mounted, Bob and Woody took a run but Bob didn’t ground his bat in time to avoid being run-out by a direct hit with 3 required from 2 balls.
So, as the season draws to a close, The Hook Willbees are back in with a shout but they will need to beat the Jokes and hope the Blokes lose one of their last two games. If the Jokes beat Hook, then they (Hook) will be out of the race and the title will come down to bonus points between the Blokes and the Jokes.
How it Stands
1. Blokes Played 14, Points 213.
2. Jokes Played 13, Points 199.
3. Willbees Played 13 Points 190.
Up the Jokes and Blokes!
