Papplewick back from the dead to beat Cavaliers

In a crunch match for their title hopes, Papplewick were staring defeat in the face at 104 for eight, chasing Cavs' total of 190.

But a stupendous, unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 90 between tailenders Brad Matthews and Tim Clarke pulled the match out of the fire with four balls to spare.

The win kept Papplewick in second place in the NPL table, hot on the heels of leaders Clifton Village, whom they entertain at Papplewick Hall this coming Saturday (July 4).

Martin Bekker's boys also did well to fight back with the ball because, after being put into bat, the visitors sailed to 101 for two in the hands of opener Aaron Thomas (40).

But once Phil DeFreitas (two for 42 in 15 overs) had removed Thomas, Cavaliers went downhill fast.

As the Papplewick bowlers rallied, Taimoor Khan took four for 31 in 8.5 overs and Jim Rhodes three for 61 in 15.

In reply, the home side side could not have got off to a worse start, sliding to 25 for four with both DeFreitas and misfiring Aussie ace Stuart Law (11) back in the pavilion.

Bekker launched a mini-revival with 36 before he was dislodged by Notts CCC all-rounder Bilal Shafayat (two for 47 in 11.2 overs).

And with Mohammed Azeemi (three for 36) and Ricaldo Anderson (three for 49) in fine form, Cavaliers looked all set to boost their own championship chances.

However Matthews and Clarke had other ideas. The former finished on 39 not out (one six and four fours), while Clarke, a product of the club's youth policy, finished on 32 not out (three fours) to engineer a famous win.