CHARLTON DOWN 200-4 (20pts) beat DORSET INDIAN TIGERS 192 (9pts) by eight runs

CHARLTON Down made it a “Baker's dozen” in victories with their closest game of the season and became the only unbeaten team in the Dorset Leagues this season.

The County Division Three champions earned a hard-fought eight-run victory over a very talented Dorset Indian Tigers team.

After losing the toss, Charlton Down were asked to bat on a damp wicket which was offering lots of encouragement to the Indian opening bowlers.

Nick Voss and Jae Miller batted cautiously seeing off the dangerous bowling of Saeed Khan who only conceded 17 runs from his nine overs.

With only 66 runs on the board after 22 overs,Miller and Voss cashed in on their hard work and accelerated the run rate against the change bowlers.

Miller brought up his 50 with a lovely straight driven boundary.

The 100 partnership came up in the 28th over but it was not until the 35th over when the returning Saeed Khan bowled Miller for 64 to end his two-hour stay at the crease with the score on 140-1.

The Charlton Down score started racing as Nick Voss took over from Miller and opened his shoulders and drove and pulled the ball to all parts of the ground.

He was eventually out after 2½-hour innings, for a fine 94 in the penultimate over with the score on 200-4. His innings included eight fours and four sixes.

The Dorset Indian Tigers decided they would attack from ball one, 17 runs coming from the first two overs but at a cost, James Pretty (2-43) bowled Zaheer Khan for 16 with the score on 17-1.

Matt Stevens then bowled Tahir Fafiq for four with a lovely ball nipping back off the seam to hit middle stump score on 31-2.

The impressive all-rounder Saeed Khan hit a swashbuckling 25 before being trapped leg before by Pretty score on 52-3.

A bowling change brought on 15-year-old Ollie Davies who bowled well on his Saturday team debut and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket and the evergreen Rich Fagence (2-23) to bowl nine straight overs and picked up two important wickets, Javed Gill caught a sharp catch at square leg and then he bowled Junaid Khan for nine.

The Indians' reply looked to be falling apart with the score on 84-5 but the big-hitting Shafiq Uria decided to smash a quickfire 52 and bring the Tigers back into the game but was bowled by the “golden arm” of Gill (1-14) with the score on 137-6.

Nick Voss (2-31) then turned the game back towards Charlton Down taking two quick wickets and leave the score on 145-8.

With 55 runs still required from 10 overs and a daunting task of winning was left to captain Ashish Sharma who crashed 28 runs and was on the edge of seeing his team to victory.

But the returning Matt Stevens had him caught by Nick Voss with the score on 184-9.

The Tigers remained favourites to win the match needing eight runs from five overs but it was Matt Stevens again who struck the winning ball bowling Tyson Luiz for 13 and snatch the victory for Charlton Down and keep their unbeaten run for the season alive with two matches remaining.