The 3rd XI travelled to Oaklands in Division 10 for what would turn out to be an extraordinary match. Batting first, the hosts saw off Galleywood’s opening bowling pair before taking advantage of both a very short boundary and some second string bowling that struggled for accuracy. One such delivery from Nick Jacobs will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons as it was dispatched high into the par cark for 6 before landing straight through the tinted rear window of an unfortunately positioned BMW.
With the run rate slightly pegged back in the final third of their innings, the home team finished on 233-6 with the pick of our bowlers Steve Dickson (3-40) and Craig Singleton (2-34).
The loss of two early wickets immediately added pressure to Galleywood’s reply as Oaklands adopted the tactic of giving an extended spell to both their opening bowlers. Both Gray and Singleton showed some resilience before both departing for 20 with a flurry of subsequent wickets leaving the visitors with what seemed an insurmountable task. As Paul Blowers purposefully strode to the crease to partner young Matthew Brace with Galleywood at 109-8 nobody could have envisaged the drama on the horizon. Youth and experience blended to perfection as Blowers rolled back the years with a catalogue of attacking strokes and Brace showed a maturity beyond his years with a controlled yet high tempo innings. As the partnership progressed with an athleticism and excitement that Tom Cruise himself would have been proud of, our very own ‘Mission Impossible’ was rapidly becoming a ‘Mission I Think There Might Be Half A Chance We Could Pull This Off.’
The magical 112 run 9th wicket partnership was finally halted when Blowers was cruelly given out LBW one short of what would have been a more than deserved half century for 49. With 13 runs still required for victory it was left to club youth team coach Steve Dickson to join Brace in the centre in an attempt to make the dream a reality. After teasing the crowd as a few flew past the outside edge, he was soon proving that he practices what he teaches with an array of rock solid defensive and attacking shots.The last of these was a sublime cut through the field for two runs that secured victory and saw jubilant scenes from the visiting team players who could hardly believe what they had just witnessed.
Everyone (in honesty some far more than others) had played their part in this miraculous victory but none more so than Matthew Brace. If his magnificent 66* wasn’t enough, he had come straight to the match after having only returned from South Africa at 10am the same morning and had also kept wicket for 40 overs.
Overall an afternoon that will more than deservedly take its place in 3rd XI folklore.
Photos courtesy of Jimmy Brace.