One of the great matches of recent years at Birch Vale Drive ended in heart breaking defeat against Stockport in the Meller Braggins Cheshire League 20/20 KO Cup. At the climax, Stockport needed two runs off the last ball from Alex Barber to win, but Porritt and Kidd could only scramble a leg bye. That left the scores level on 177.  And the sides could not be separated on wickets lost, number of boundaries(22) or even sixes(7). Only the last deciding option, number of extras conceded(23-17), allowed Stockport to go home winners of this Preliminary Round tie. Defeat hit us hard after coming so close to triumph, but it was a superlative effort by our lads against a side two divisions ahead of them and looking set for a third successive promotion. For much of Stockport’s innings, we had looked like winners.  Young paceman James Badrock, only playing because of Billy Flattley’s enforced absence, led the way with two wickets in his first two overs and Stockport were rocked back on their heels. Fellow paceman Stewart Ryan, back with us after some time away, shook off the rust with two more wickets and, by the half way mark, Stockport were still 100 runs short with five men back in the pavilion. It was a desperate situation and their response was striking. Facer(52no) and Kidd(40) launched a big counter attack in a 90-run stand for the seventh wicket to give them hope of overturning the odds. But, despite their brave big hitting efforts, Stockport still needed an unlikely 33 off the last two overs.  They kept swinging their bats and when Kidd finally left in the 20th over, wrecked by Rob Booker’s superlative throw from the deep as he went for a second run, they needed five runs from three balls…..We had set that tough target mainly because of Alex Barber’s mighty knock. The skipper went in when we were 69-5 with under 10 overs left. But he blasted the Stockport attack in a devastating assault which brought him an unbeaten 82. Sixty of those runs came in boundaries, with six maximums, as nearby gardens came under serious attack. But it wasn’t to be quite enough on a memorable night.

Scores: Romiley 177-7(20 overs; Barber 82no, J.Kelly 25; Green 3-25, Porritt 2-20). Stockport 177-7(20 overs: Facer 52no, Kidd 40; Badrock 2-31, Ryan 2-47, Barber 1-26, Kelly 1-53)