Poynton miss taking points in late drama

POYNTON ................ 198-6 LINDOW ................... 198-9

TWO weeks after being involved in a tied match, Poynton experienced a draw here – although this was not strictly a tie as the team batting second were not bowled out.

Lindow scored one off the final ball when they needed two to win, and Poynton needed one wicket for victory.

Both sides will be regretting not making better starts.

When Damian Stringer joined Nathan Baxter at the crease, some intelligent cricket saw the pair rotate the strike well and put away the bad ball with aplomb.

But from 124-2 with 18 overs left, firstly the runs dried up, then the partnership was broken as Baxter fell for 68 – his best score for Poynton to date.

Stringer ended unbeaten on 82 from 101 delivieres with 10 fours and a six, but further wickets fell.

Ben Tyler and Brady Yates did a good job for the Wilmslow side in pegging back Poynton.

Chris Taylor and Richard Robinson opened up with aggressive knocks of 31 and 44 respectively. Lindow then really looked to have the game in the bag as an anchor role from Arpan Desai and some more big hitting from Yates took them to 137-2. Yet when both fell in quick succession for 28 and 35 respectively, Lindow started to wobble.

More batsmen would come in and sacrifice their wicket attempting big shots to get their side over the line, and two wickets for Stringer and four for Jon Hadley ensured Poynton were able to avoid defeat, if not quite secure the win.