Toby Fynn was the unlikely hero with the bat as Reed scrambled a one wicket win at Ampthill Park.
After another blistering spell of pinch-hitting by Ed Wharton (66 with 54 in boundaries) Reed were strolling to pass Ampthill’s total of 144 at 115-1. A stand of 73 with Rob Lankester (25) had put them in the driving seat after just 20 overs. However, the Australian, Jarryd Biviano, turned the match with a fine spell of spin bowling taking 6-24 from 7 overs. As a result, Reed lost 8 for 26 and it seemed that they had thrown the game away, but against the odds, last man Toby Fynn calmly flicked Biviano off his legs down to the fine leg boundary to snatch victory.
This followed a pattern set in the home side’s innings after Biviano had started them off at thundering rate, taking 26 from the first over as Ed Wharton had to pull out of the attack with a back problem. At 105-2 from 15 overs with Biviano on 60 a huge total looked to be on the cards, but Tom Greaves deceived him with a ball through the gate. Indeed, Greaves (10-2-39-3) and Sean Tidey (10-2-22-3) then spun out the middle order, leaving Marcus Martin (2-5) and Mitchell Cooper (1-0) to mop up the tail. Ampthill, themselves, thus lost 8 for 39.
It set up a nerve jangling ending to a topsy-turvy game.
Report submitted by Peter Wholley.
