Winsley stuns Taverners

Craig Ivey's second string finished the season with an excellent win at Noak Hill Taverners that confirmed Goresbrook 2 in 3rd place in Division 3 after a roller coaster campaign ended on a high.

Spinner Brad Winsley was the hero for the second week in succession as the off-spinner improved his career best figures to 6-17, just seven days after his previous best of 6-19 as Noak Hill were shot out for 143.

From the outset Goresbrook were on top on a murky afternoon, as Bobby Gaymer and Matt Friend bowled with good pace to take the early scalp of Birch and putting the brakes on the Noak Hill batsmen. As the openers tired, skipper Ivey needed little purr-suasion in bringing Winsley into the attack first change on a ground that is not typically that friendly for the twirlers.

Winsley had a couple of hedge problems to contend with, the hosts in-form Alfie and the garden variety not very far away on the square boundary, but from the outside, the Cat showed a paw-sitive attitude and was immediately in the wickets, much to the amews-ment of his fielders.

Winsley reeled off the next six wickets to fall, picking up 3 lbw's in an umpiring killing spree the likes of which hadn't been seen at the Noak Hill ground since Albert Grell used to emerge from Junior Khan's car intent on firing out as many batsmen as possible in order to get home with his £30 before Pop Idol started.

With the hosts engine room decimated, Phil Bellott decided, as ever, that attack was the best form of defence and his 47 took the hosts up towards 150 before two other spinners, Billy Smith and Lee Ramduth, finished proceedings at 143.

The Goresbrook reply saw Billy Chapman depart second ball, lbw to Hopper and when Lawrence Walsh fell for 4, cleaned up by Hedges, the Brook innings could have faltered. That it didn't owed much to the calm demeanour of Aaron Scott, who has made big strides this season, usually down the pitch to block the ball, but also to establish himself as a batsmen of considerable promise and infinite patience.

Scott batted through for a well made 56 and in tandem with the more buccaneering Lee Ramduth, the pair made short work of the target, seeing Goresbrook home in the 25th over.

The 2's therefore miss out on promotion, finishing third behind Champions Terling and 2nd placed Tillingham, whose deserved win over the 2's two weeks earlier capped a fine second half of the season. Ivey's men must therefore wait to see if the re-structuring gods shuffle a few 3rd placed teams up, the poor availability encountered for much of the second half of the season costing them at least the one additional win that would have sent them up.