Egerton Park win cup thriller over Leicester Ivanhoe
Egerton Park pulled off one of their most dramatic victories in recent memory on Sunday, edging out Premier League high-flyers Leicester Ivanhoe in the County Cup by virtue of having more wickets remaining after both sides finished with 138 runs from their allotted 30 overs.
Batting first after losing the toss, opener Alex Barber fell in the opening over and by the sixth, Park had slumped to 17 for 2. Vijal Vinay and Rahul Tandel steadied the ship briefly, but it was skipper Tom Glover who truly held the innings together. His 57 off 64 balls was calm, composed and perfectly paced.
He found brief support from Charlie Madden (18) and Will Creed (22 off 17), but wickets fell steadily and Egerton Park were eventually restricted to 138 for 9 from their 30 overs.
In reply, Ivanhoe looked steady at 24 for 1, but Park’s bowling attack began to apply the squeeze. Rahul Tandel struck first - finding the edge of former Leicestershire CCC opener - Sam Evans, but it was Michael Roberts who turned the tide.
His five overs yielded three crucial wickets for just 25 runs. Abhishek Machhi and Mahir Manilal took two wickets each.
But the real difference came in the field and in particular from Charlie Haffenden behind the stumps.
The young keeper had a day to remember, claiming four catches, a stumping and a sharp run out in the final over with the scores tied.
With Ivanhoe needing nine off the final over and one wicket in hand, a six off the third ball levelled the scores, but two dot balls followed before Haffenden’s brilliance sealed the win as Park’s 138 for 9 beat Ivanhoe’s 138 all out by virtue of wickets remaining.