“Those with a nervous disorder enter at their own risk” could soon be the sign that welcomes you to Himley Cricket Club’s Stourbridge Road ground after they claimed yet another nail-biting one-wicket triumph last Saturday.
Himley crawled over the line by the tightest of margins against second-placed Walsall in the Birmingham League Premier Division and in the process threw themselves a championship life line as they moved up to third in the table.
The Stourbridge Road side had already claimed thrilling triumphs over Barnt Green and Wolverhampton in recent weeks but the latest thriller over the reigning champions topped them both.
The visitors batted first on a glorious day for cricket and were restricted to 198-8 thanks to some excellent bowling from Tim Heap (3-81), Stuart Wedge (3-29) and TP Singh (2-75) plus some fabulous fielding.
In reply, overseas star Singh (61) again shone with the bat although he was finding it difficult to get any support from the other end.
The Indian A player did find a reliable partner in the form of skipper Greg Wright (43) but once they were both dismissed, the hosts looked in serious trouble.
A tactical move to push Heap up the order worked well as he smashed 28 off only a dozen deliveries but his dismissal had players and fans again biting their nails.
Victory was finally sealed in the last over with John Smith and Stuart Wedge holding their nerve.
A delighted Wright said: “This was a fantastic win and one we thoroughly deserved although it was a little bit closer than I would have liked.
“We knew we would have to play out of our skins to beat Walsall and so we did.
“It was a great game to play in and it lived up to the hype everyone was expecting from a local derby with a little bit of added needle to it.
“We’ve got ourselves into a good habit of winning these tight games because I’m sure we would not have won this sort of game at the start of the season.
“It is a bit nerve-wracking to watch but you don’t care if you are getting the right results.”
The top two of Walsall and Barnt Green go head to head this Saturday and Himley will be looking to close the gap on either one or both of their rivals when they welcome Leamington.
The reverse fixture back in May saw Himley slip to an embarrassing defeat and bottom of the table, However some stern words after the match had the desired effect, so much so that they haven’t lost since that day.
Wright added: “We owe Leamington a game after the way we performed at their place.
“I didn’t mince my words after the game and I think some of the lads have still got those words ringing around their head.
“We reminded everyone of that after the Walsall game because there is no point performing the way we have in the last two games to let it all go to waste this Saturday.”
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