So it was the last game of the season and we'd done the maths. We had to beat Alcester and Ragley by at least 50 for 0, 75 for 1, 85 for 2 or 100 for 3 to knock Harvington off the top and win the league.

 

Sam won the toss and and stuck to the normal routine of bowling first. The atmosphere was so tense you could cut it with a knife. Many of us actually held our breath throughout the entire match. Strangely, taking wickets was not a priority, so a couple of dropped catches weren't important. Neither did we need to keep the run rate particularly low as the more runs we were chasing the more wickets we could afford to lose. (Hope you're keeping up.) A & R had a couple of big hitters, Simon Rouse hitting a huge six over the road into a neighbouring garden which Bobby enjoyed fishing out of a holly bush. But after he retired on 30 they seemed more intent on running themselves out to get him back in again. They came close, but Rowington had the upper hand, leaving themselves chasing a very reachable 112 for 9.

 

After the break the tension grew even more but Ollie and Sam started very calmly and after four overs were hitting a steady 9 an over. Some deceptive bowling took our first wicket when Sam skyed one to a waiting fielder and went for 9. Ben went for 2 before Dale came in to bat with Ollie who finished with a 6 to retire on 30. Ollie King replaced him, and Dale retired on 27. By now we needed 8 to win but could only afford to lose one more wicket. So near and yet so far, and when Callum decided he would get bowled just to make it more exciting, with Rowington still needing 3 to win, we looked to Sam Turrell to finish the game off. Sam's legs were visibly shaking with the pressure on his young shoulders, but he didn't buckle and he gratefully accepted a couple of wides before finishing with a flourish and hitting a four. Finally we were able to breath again, and let it sink in - after the ups and down and ups again - we won the league by eight tenths of a run!!! Celebrations continued well into the night.

 

After four fantastic seasons Rowington have got what they deserved. They are a great bunch of lads and we're not the only ones who think so as they were voted the most sporting team for the second year running. The presentation will take place at Evesham Cricket Club on Sunday at 11.45 am.