BCC 2s vs Aldershot 2s

Starting the day 38 points clear at the top of Division 5B, BCC needed just 13 points from the remaining two fixtures to lift the title. Not wanting to leave it until the final week of the year, there was a lot to play for against an Aldershot side sat in 4th position in the league.

Losing the toss, BCC were asked to bowl, meaning that only a victory would enable us to get the required points to win the league. Derek Budd and Tony Roome started incredibly well with two fantastic spells of seam bowling. Roome picked up the first three wickets for a combined score of 2, with Budd taking the fourth having scored 12. At 44-4, it was difficult to see anything other than a very straightforward Bagshot victory...how wrong we would be!

Roomey 'took a blow' after his 9-4-12-3 spell, with DJ departing soon after (11-2-36-1) and with Bagshot taking our foot off the gas slightly, a partnership started to build between C Taylor and S Taylor at 5 and 6 respectively. S Taylor was caught behind off Farrant's bowling, but another partnership build with the new batsman Anslow at 7. Both partnerships enabled C Taylor to score well and quickly, reaching 95 before being caught in the deep by Stu Derry off the bowling of captain Sutton. A couple of other wickets from the skipper and a useful wicket for Josh Nakarja held Aldershot to 181-9 off 52 overs, a very respectable score given the early fall of wickets.

182 to win and be crowned Champions would have been a good prospect before play, but it would be fair to say there was an air of disappointment at the half way point in the BCC dressing room. Aldershot took the old ball against Young and Sutton which proved a reasonable decision given the bowling of Grover and Mumby, both who bowled with good control and restricted scoring opportunities. The new ball did damage early, removing Young for 10, bringing Stu Derry to the crease at 37-1. Derry and Sutton batted well for a partnership of 82 and took the score to 119-1 before Derry ran himself out for a well made 30. Tony Roome was promoted to number 4 to try and add a bit of impetus to the innings, which was needing 6.5 an over at one stage.

Roomey was caught for 4 soon followed by Sutton for 68; a mini-collapse taking BCC to 126-4. Dawson and Matt Alexander pushed the run rate and the innings closer to the required total, with Alexander scoring a quick-fire 19 before being caught. Funnell came and went without score and when Dawson was bowled for 21, BCC hung perilously at 169-7 needing 13 runs from the final 2 overs.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man...DJ Budd's most important innings in years took BCC over the line on the last ball of the game having hit two spectacular boundaries in very unlikely circumstances. Unbelievable scenes, Jeff (or Geoff).

25 points crowned BCC Champions of Div 5b, 37 points clear of Royal Ascot. A real team performance in tough circumstances which could've gone either way.

Well done guys - well deserved after a great season!