IN a clash of the Upper Great Southern Cricket Association titans at Clayton Road Oval, Wagin took on Towns on Saturday, October 31 and moved to a 3-0 win-loss record for the season.
What turned out to be one of the all-time classic matches had plenty of twists and turns, and the result was decided from the final ball.
It was veteran Gerard Hegarty that proved to be the hero for Wagin when he hit the winning single off the last ball of the match, despite the men surrounding the bat, to hand his side a two wicket victory.
Wagin looked as though they were cruising towards the target when they were 2 for 191, but a monumental collapse of 6 for 7 saw Towns hang in with a chance to win the game.
Thanks to a hat-trick and a four wicket maiden over from Scott Davidson, and half centuries to Mark Haverkort and Brenden Hall, Wagin eventually prevailed in a tight finish.
Wagin won the toss and captain Brenden Hall elected to bowl first on a windy day with a pitch that favoured the bowlers.
Opening bowlers Scott Davidson and Shane Bliss got the team off to a solid start, but it was the fielding that stood out early, with Kim Davidson taking the first wicket with a sharp run-out to remove Fowler for 13.
Kevin Foale was then quick in the field to smartly run out the dangerous Falls for 23, but it didn’t prevent Towns from making a solid start, moving to 2 for 50 from 12 overs.
However, the 13th over proved to be a match-changing one, with Scott Davidson taking a tremendous hat-trick, firstly bowling Lock for nine, then having Armour trapped lbw without scoring, before sending down a searing yorker to dismiss the dangerous Corner and complete his first ever hat-trick.
But Davidson wasn’t finished there, grabbing the wicket of Timms just two balls later to take an incredible four wickets in one over and to have the home side reeling at 6 for 50.
Newbound and Broad began righting the ship for the home team and frustrating the Wagin bowlers in establishing a handy partnership, while the Wagin fielders weren’t helping the cause, dropping eight catches as Towns arrested back the momentum in the match.
Both batsmen passed 50 before the partnership was broken by Andrew Gath when Gerard Hegarty was finally able to hang on to a catch after the pair had added 147 for the seventh wicket.
The innings, however, ended in a precession of wickets, with Hegarty coming into the attack and removing Evans with his first ball and when Jordan Scardetta took a calm catch to remove Newbound for 92, Towns had lost 3 for 0 to crumble to 9 for 197.
The home side only added one more run to their score, with Gath taking the final wicket to have Towns all out for 198 after at one stage being 6 for 197.
Wagin entered their batting innings with all the momentum in the match and Jordan Scardetta, fresh from a last-start century, looked to keep the momentum going with a boundary from the fourth delivery of the innings.
Scardetta and Mark Haverkort again got the team off to a solid start, with Scardetta finding the boundary regularly and Haverkort batting well before Scardetta attempted a rash shot off the bowling of Fowler which saw his bails dislodged for 38 after another half-century opening partnership.
Brenden Hall then joined Haverkort at the crease and set about establishing a big partnership that would keep the momentum going for Wagin, and both were successful, with both batsmen playing aggressive strokes and keeping the scoreboard ticking.
The two both played a chanceless innings and both batsmen passed 50 within one over of each other and had Wagin cruising at 1 for 175.
But in the pursuit of quick runs for victory, Hall was out caught and bowled by Timms for a solid innings of 61 to end a 117 run partnership with Haverkort, who was the next to go with the score on 191 for an innings-high and well-deserved 66 runs.
What was to follow nearly derailed Wagin’s innings and hopes for victory, as each batsman tried and failed to score the eight runs required for victory.
Kevin Foale was caught for seven, soon followed by Gath without scoring, then Greg Stephens without scoring, while Dwight Kellow was caught for a duck and Scott Davidson was bowled in the final over without scoring.
The match was set for a grandstand finish, with Gerard Hegarty facing the final delivery needing one run to win after a match full of milestones and great batting and bowling performances.
The veteran Hegarty kept a cool head under pressure and with Blair Hutton running towards him from the non-strikers end like a man possessed, Hegarty calmly steered the ball between mid-off and the bowler to hand Wagin a thrilling two-wicket victory.
Scott Davidson was awarded the West Arthur Ice play of the day for his hat-trick in the Towns batting innings, while Mark Haverkort made his highest score for Wagin with 66 and Brenden Hall made a solid 61.
The win leaves Wagin sitting clear atop the UGSCA ladder.
Wagin take on Cuballing in Wagin next Saturday, November 7 as they attempt to continue their winning start to the season.
Training is from 5pm on Thursday afternoons.
Contact Brenden Hall for details.
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