Rufus Williams-Pritchard knew that this last ball of the match was not only the key to a precious 20 points but would keep the prospect of Taunton Deane’s relegation at bay until the final week of the season. His strike back past the bowler was enough and Deane had won their fourth game in a row and off the bottom of the table for the first time this season.

The tension had been mounting as the Deane had looked poised to take victory in the previous over. Ed Mellor’s assault had taken him to 53 in 33 balls and with two runs needed from 8 balls, the task looked manageable. Five dot balls and the wicket of Mellor left Jim Brehaut and Rufus Williams Pritchard with still those two runs required and just two balls remaining. 

If the end of the day was high with drama, bright sunshine and a cold wind that dislodged the bails on a regular basis, then the start was the absolute opposite as the Clevedon groundsman expressed little confidence that there would be any play at all as the rain continued to fall, the Mendips were shrouded in cloud and the club pennant hung limply on its flagpole.

The reward of a great deal of mopping up and a change in the weather was a 2.30 start with a 36 overs a side match. At the halfway point of 18 overs, the Deane had only taken two wickets but had limited Clevedon to 68 runs. If there was a sense of relief that Sean Dickson was one of the wickets to fall, there was dismay at the way Bayley Wiggins took control. His century was an enterprising mixture of power and style and his dismissal with one over to go saw the Clevedon total at 207. Another 10 runs in the final over gave the Deane a chase of more than 6 runs an over. 

Jim Brehaut took three wickets and backed that up with a stunning catch in the deep from the bowling of Sam Burgess. Rufus Williams-Pritchard and Scott Thomas went wicketless but were successful in keeping the run rate down. It was a good performance in the field outshone by the quality of Wiggins’ batting.

Tenny Harlow (26), Nick Pepper (22) and then Ben Chaffey (45) kept the score moving for the Deane but the asking rate had climbed to 10 an over when Ed Mellor came to the wicket. Not for the first time this season, Ed’s innings was a match changing performance. One particularly sweetly timed and effortless chip for 6 cleared the rope then the play area before secreting itself in a distant hedge.

All the Deane can do now is secure 20 points against Keynsham next Saturday at the Convent Field and then join the rest of Somerset cricket family and watch the results appear on Play Cricket.