An inspired all-round performance from Nathan Bailey just failed to earn Prestwich victory by a whisker in a game of unbelievable high drama.
A see-saw on a haribo binge would not have had more ups-and-downs.
Scores were level – 185 – at the end of this fluctuating 40-over ECB Knockout Cup clash but Bowdon won due to losing one less wicket.
But had it not been for a superb 41 not out from Bailey, together with an unbeaten 17 from 17-year-old Aaryaman Roy sharing in an unbroken ninth wicket partnership of 63, Bowdon would have already been in their cars and halfway back to their Cheshire base.
The youthful duo came together at 122 for 9, but that total in itself was a facesaver, as it had been rescued from a red-faced 66 for 7.
Skipper Sam Holden played a sparkling innings of 47 off 32 balls and looked unlucky to find himself striding back into pavilion after a direct hit ran him out.
Bailey is no number 11 – his position merely being a barometer of Prestwich’s potential batting artillery – and as if to prove the point, the 20-year-old struck 3 fours and 3 sixes in his feisty 26-ball occupation.
Bailey followed this up with 2 early wickets to help reduce Bowdon to 57 for 4, leaving them well behind the required run rate. But Olivier (67) and Bean (43) hit back in aggressive style, and appeared to be coasting to the winning line, before Bailey intervened again. He took the 2 key catches (including a superb overhead running catch) to dismiss both major protagonists and thus almost wrestled back the game.
Two overs remained, Bowdon needed 4 runs, with five wickets in hand.
Danny Pawson (4 for 39) grabbed 2 wickets in the penultimate over for the concession of just one run.
With 3 runs required off Ryan Stanbury’s final over for outright victory, the first four deliveries reaped a single and three dot balls. Stanbury then yorked Matthew Tulley to leave Bowdon requiring 1 run for the match to be decided by the number of wickets lost.
Simons played it simple – bat on ball and scamper as fast as you can. This he did successfully, as Ali Amzat’s throw from barely a couple of yards away missed the stumps.
Good luck to Bowdon in the next round, for whom Greenwood caught the eye in the field, headlined by a wonder catch to trigger Prestwich pro Amzat’s departure for 22.
