Bradninch & Kentisbeare 2nd XI exited the Ivor Dewdney Corinthian Cup (T20) at the first time of asking when beaten by a single run in a thrilling contest at Sandford.
Defeat was particularly harsh on Sam Franks who opened the B&K reply to the Sandford 2nds offering of 145-6 in 18 overs by scoring a 47-ball 55, hitting three fours and a six.
Franks was the final wicket to fall, run out off the final delivery – a ball that had seen B&K need two runs to level the scores and three to force a dramatic last ball success. Franks, with Liam Reed at the non-strikers end, managed to scramble a single but was then run out looking for the second.
The home side had earlier lost the toss and were asked to bat first by B&K skipper Will Grieg who used five bowlers, beginning with South African Nic Bayly (0-20 from four) and Jon Triner (2-28 from three) and followed them with Charlie Sheen (2-37 from four), Josh Stewart (2-31 from four) and Sam Franks (0-25 from three).
Faced with a run rate of eight-runs-per-over, the B&K reply suffered an immediate blow with the loss of the skipper, bowled by the third legitimate delivery of the innings (the fifth ball sent down in all).
Sam Franks was joined by Jon Triner and the pair were together until the first ball of the seventh over when Triner was caught off the 16th ball he faced and trooped back with 22 runs to his name leaving the chase on 65-2.
Nic Bayly took over and he and Franks saw the chase into three figures, but, with the score on 115th, the young South African perished for a 31-ball 25.
Franks and Bayly added 50 for the third wicket, scoring those runs off 51 balls.
Charlie Sheen joined Franks but he fell for three in the very next over to leave the run chase on 123-4 and it was soon 137-5 after the loss of Josh Richards for five.
With half the side back in the pavilion, ten balls remained with B&K requiring nine runs to win.
Crucially though, Sam Franks was to face just four of those last ten deliveries. However, the final four balls of the penultimate over saw the B&K batters – Franks and new man in Sevie Hurrell, manage to add just two more runs.
It all left the final over starting with the ‘runs required’ total at seven.
The first ball became a dot ball, but the pendulum swung back the way of B&K as Franks took three runs off the second delivery.
It was now four balls to go and four runs required.
Hurrell fell to the third delivery, caught and sent back for a single and, when new bat James Mills was bowled by the fourth delivery it Liam Reed as the new bat facing the penultimate delivery with four runs needed for victory.
A single was run to leave the final ball seeing B&K needing three for victory – Franks was on strike and they ran one before the opener was run out to leave the home side winners by the narrowest of margins.