Thongsbridge edged out Delph & Dobcross at home to make it two wins out of two against them this season in a match that went the distance. Delph continued to be pegged back in the first innings after electing to bat first. Nathan Jones (73) made his biggest ever score for his club to help keep a robust first innings total in their crosshairs with Rehan Afridi (44) adding an important contribution. Zafar Iqbal (3-46) and Ben Balmforth (3-83) found enough purchase in the wicket to keep Thongsbridge in the hunt whilst captain Ben Raven-Hill (3-24) cashed in towards the end as Delph attempted to hit out for some late runs in their 252ao score. A century opening partnership between Raven-Hill (47) and Richard Marshall (73) was paramount to their successful chase. However with a progressively dying pitch runs became more difficult to score fluently and Delph reverted to try and suffocate their opponents. Haydn Slodecki (66no) and Jack Cassidy (34) then kept the scoreboard ticking just enough to stay in touch with their required run rate as Delph searched hard for the breakthrough. With 4 runs required in the final over, Tom Raven-Hill (8) showed remarkable composure to plonk a six off the third ball he faced to bag a win with Thongsbridge making 257-4 at the end of an absorbing contest.
