Muhammad Baig hit the winning runs in the final over to secure a nail-biting one-wicket win for Eastcombe at near neighbours Oakridge on Saturday.

Batting at seven, Baig hit a four through long-on from the third ball of the 40^th over to finish unbeaten on 24 as Eastcombe chased down Oakridge’s 212-3 in Division 6B of the Gloucestershire Cricket League.

Baig, a right-arm medium-fast bowler who has been with the club for about three years, has been pushed up the batting order in recent times and it’s paying dividends.

“He usually batted 10 or 11,” said captain James Maxwell. “He used to say to me, ‘Come on Maxi, let me bat higher up the order’.

“So I gave him a chance and it’s worked. He’s an unorthodox batsman, he doesn’t take a guard, he just stands up and hits it, he’s got good hand-eye coordination.”

The winning boundary was Baig’s third – he also hit a six – and he faced just 17 balls after coming to the wicket with the score on 170.

Oakridge’s bowlers continued to chip away at the other end, however, and they looked to have turned the game around when Charlie Robbins took two wickets in the penultimate over to leave the visitors 208-9.

“I thought we’d blown it,” admitted Maxwell.

That made victory all the sweeter, of course, and it was a real team effort that got them over the line.

Anth Perrins (23) and Sean Marsland (40) put on 56 for the opening partnership and there were also important contributions from Archie Powis (36) and Jason Hunt (26) in the middle order.

"Archie's innings was excellent and well-controlled," said Maxwell. "He was promoted up the order and it was his best innings for a while." 

Hunt’s innings was ended by a fine catch in the deep by Chris Evans, the second excellent catch of the innings with Maxwell describing Mark Robbins’ one-handed diving catch at point to dismiss Marsland as “a worldie”.

Earlier, Robbins had made 51 from 54 balls while his brother Steve hit 49 from 43 deliveries. Opening batsman and skipper Edward Bryant held the innings together with 76, but Maxwell said that at the halfway stage he felt the target was gettable.

He was right, of course, and the result leaves Eastcombe in sixth place in the 10-strong division with Maxwell hoping the club may be able to climb a couple of places over the final five games of the season.

They host Rockhampton on Saturday while ninth-placed Oakridge go to Oaklands who are one place and eight points above them.