ACOB Take Out Dramatic TPL Final
ACOB Take Out Dramatic TPL Final
ACOB have claimed their first TPL club cricket competition title in a very tight slug fest with Car Company Stoke Nayland in a scintillating encounter at Saxton Oval on Sunday. Stoke Nayland, who were looking for a three-peat, appeared to have the game under control at various times throughout the day, but it was Thomas Zohrab who backed up an extraordinary performance in the elimination final on Saturday, who was the final dominant personality. The denouement came with the final ball of the 50th over and Stoke Nayland requiring three runs to tie and as top qualifiers that would have been enough to give them the title. Zohrab had other ideas.
The drama begun when ACOB won the toss and at 159/4 after 38 overs they would have been looking towards a total in excess of 220. The Car Company Stoke Nayland bowlers and fielders though produced a solid all-round effort at the back end of the innings to restrict them to just 190. The fielding team started proceedings off well when, with the third ball of the day Thomas Zohrab displayed the true foibles of cricket at its best. Fresh off an outstanding double in the consolation final on Saturday he shouldered arms to a Dylan Eginton delivery and was bowled for a duck without offering a shot. This bought in Josh Simpson and with Nic Clark the itinerant pair produced some nice shot play and astute running between the wickets. Upon Simpsons dismissal Jake Milton assisted Clark in keeping the score ticking away nicely. Clark scored a well-deserved half century before he was bowled by Paddy Howes. When Stoke Nayland went bang, bang quite quickly things went slightly awry with the ACOB batting. Although Greg Chitty looked classy and also added a couple of really lusty sixes over long on, nobody really stuck with him for any real length of time. In the end ACOB probably left a few runs on the field as they were all out in the 47th over and Chitty stranded on 32.
Englishman Thomas Chambers came back well and claimed three wickets after a tough first spell. Fellow seamers Eginton, Billy Guyton, Darius Skeaping and Tim O’Connor all did a sound job though Stoke Nayland may have rued not having another slow bowler on the low track. Left arm spinner Paddy Howes was a constant danger as he picked up a couple of wickets and contained well. Stoke Nayland were good in the field, wicket keeper Ricky Edwards produced his normal tidy effort and maintained the standards. Kurt Pahl re-lived his youth with an athletic pick up and throw to hit the stumps and run out fellow veteran Rueben Smith.
The run chase begum swimmingly enough for the playing through champions as Pahl and Chris Dittmer both appeared unbothered by the seamers at the top of the innings. They added 86 for the first wicket and upon Pahls dismissal Darius Skeaping then showed his class with a tidy knock. Although Stoke Nayland lost Howes early, Edwards displayed real fortitude in overcoming a painful leg injury to apply the pressure back on the ACOB field. The spinners then applied the squeeze on the Stoke Nayland middle order. David Zohrab, Simpson and Jake Milton bowled 29 overs for a combined analysis of three for 105 to put the heat on all the batsmen batsmen.
Thomas Zohrab then took centre stage. He bowled in four spells to completely dominate proceedings. He dismissed Dittmer, then it what was probably the defining over of the innings, the 44th, , he got rid of both Edwards and Skeaping. At 162/5 ACOB begun to apply the pressure and Stoke Nayland begun to wilt. The run rate slowly slid up and wickets continued to tumble. Zohrab dismissed the dangerous Eginton and his twin brother, David, got rid of skipper Brendan Hodgson as he attempted to take charge. As Thomas Zohrab begun the final over, seven were required for victory. The pressure continued to amp up on the batsmen as Zohrab kept calm and carried on. He claimed another couple of victims and ACOB finally iced a victory over their old rivals as O’Connor was adjudged out caught behind off the last ball of the 50th over having required three runs to secure victory.
ACOB 190 Nic Clark 53, Josh Simpson 48, Greg Chitty 32*, Thomas Chambers 3/39, Paddy Howes 2/31
Car Company Stoke Nayland 187/9 Chris Dittmer 55, Kurt Pahl 34, Ricky Edwards 34, Darius Skeaping 30, Thomas Zohrab 5/19, Josh Simpson 2/35
ACOB won by 3 runs
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