Visitors Poynton won the toss at Upcast Lane as Lindow 1st XI hoped to maintain their push for promotion, and on a typically good pitch opted to bat first.
Poynton were off to a steady start but tight bowling ensured they never took the game away from the hosts. Finishing on 198, Lindow were confident of a successful run chase.
Lindow made a promising start to their innings, hitting a run rate of four per over, but as pressure built wickets fell. With five overs remaining, 30 runs were needed with three wickets in hand. Tight bowling and positive running kept Lindow in the chase right to the very end, and after a thrilling final over, the scores were tied and the spoils shared.
Lindow 2nd XI secured an incredible, and at one point impossible looking, win away at Poynton on Saturday.
Batting first on a green pitch that offered encouragement to the seamers, Lindow were soon in trouble as wickets fell with regularity. Only Liam Howarth (25), Andy Hume (19) and Rowan Day (19) showed any resistance as the promotion hopefuls posted an extremely sub-par 107 total.
At 90-2 and only 16 away from their target, Poynton were coasting to victory. All credit to Lindow for their never-say-die attitude, and although two further wickets fell, it still appeared that their poor batting performance would cost them dear.
Bringing back opening bowler Hassan Mahmood resulted in another Poynton wicket, and then when Day took another in the following over, the home team started to look just a little anxious. However, with four wickets still in hand and now needing only four to win, a home win looked inevitable.
What followed made for tremendously exciting cricket. Day bowled an inspired over, taking three wickets in four balls to finish with figures of 4-8, and Mahmood claimed the last Poynton victim in the very next over. From the jaws of defeat, Lindow had won by three runs.
Match report by Rowan Day.
