Last-ball agony for Grimston

Grimston began their Hunts Bats Challenge Cup push at Denver CC on Tuesday evening in a match which went down to the very last ball.Grimston went into the match as heavy underdogs, playing seven leagues below Denver’s first team, but went on to put in the performance of the season so far.Sam Adkin, standing in as captain for the first innings, won the toss and elected to bat first, sending Mark Pickering and Dave Persey as the opening duo.It was a partnership which proved crucial with the pair scoring 58 and 30 runs respectively, with Persey’s quick footwork helping him survive an early stumping attempt before going on to score with ease.Mark Tilbrook arrived in time to blast a swift 29 runs, before Grimston finished their innings with 140 runs for 7 wickets.The best bowling for Denver was from Dan Cornwell who took two wickets.Denver started their innings with big hitters James Harper and Dan Cornwell, however they were unable to make headway against the superb bowling of Jamie Frost and Ali Khalid, with both dismissed for a combined total of 21 runs. M. Merritt had more success with, amassing a total of 44 runs off 24 balls before being bowled by Mark Tilbrook.As the game went down to the final ball with four runs needed for a win. Joe Manning stepped up and delivered, breaking the hearts of the Grimston underdogs and triggering raucous scenes from the Denver bench.Oscar Prescott was the standout performer for Grimston taking two important wickets. Reflecting on the loss, Sam Adkin was disappointed but positive, saying: “We’ve given such a good account of ourselves, and no one likes to lose on the last ball.”We went to go toe-to-toe with one of the big clubs in the area and soaked up the pressure they tried to put on us is a testament to our strength of character.”