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| Tom Cosford hit a whirlwind 55 off 30 balls. Picture: www.sportsshots.org.uk |
With Tring Park snatching a dramatic one-wicket win off the last ball at fellow strugglers Slough, Horspath are now 30 points adrift off safety at the foot of the table.
Having been put in to bat on a freshly-cut pitch following Friday's heavy rain, Horspath collapsed to 29-5. Tom Coleman was first to go, caught and bowled by Tom Hampton without scoring, with four on the board. Fellow opener Dominic O'Connor had made just four when he was caught by Conrad Louth off Cameron Parsons to make it 8-2.
Kyle Hopper was unable to get off the mark before being caught behind by George Russell off Parsons to leave Horspath 16-3, and they were in further disarray when Stephen Green was adjudged to have edged a Hampton delivery into the wicket-keeper's gloves to make it 25-4. Four runs later, Will Hawtin was bowled by Hampton.
Tom Cosford stood firm at the other end, though, while the wickets clattered around him, and the Oxfordshire batsman proceeded to play a remarkable innings in the circumstances. He made light of the difficult conditions with a combination of impressive strokeplay and powerful hitting. In Mark Skelton he finally found a willing ally to hold up Wycombe - together with a break of around 20 minutes for rain, which brought DLS into operation.
Cosford raced to a second half-century of the season off just 27 balls. He had moved on to 55 from a further three deliveries - putting on 61 for the sixth wicket with Skelton - when he fell to a catch by Wycombe captain Dan Marles off Xavier Owen. His brilliant knock included exactly 50 in boundaries with eight fours and three sixes.
Horspath then lost two wickets with the score on 101 as Will Robertson was bowled by Owen for four, before Skelton suffered the same fate against Jonathan Burden for 26. Skipper Will Eason and Lloyd Belcher added 25 for the ninth wicket before the latter was caught by Owen off off-spinner Adam Dobb for 17.
And two runs later, Horspath were 128 all out when Liam Manley edged a Hampton delivery into Russell's gloves without scoring, leaving Eason the not out batsman on nine. Hampton finished with 4-36, with the other wickets shared between Owen (2-21), Parsons (2-41), Dobb (1-1) and Burden (1-25).
With DLS coming into effect, Wycombe were bizarrely set a revised target of 127. Robertson and Manley produced accurate opening spells with the latter making the breakthrough when Marles fell to a sharp catch by Eason at slip for 11 with 37 on the board.
Eight runs later, Manley struck again to remove Wycombe's other opener when Teddie Casterton was caught behind by Hawtin for 29. But Lloyd Paternott then joined Conrad Louth to put on 66 for the third wicket, before Lloyd Belcher snapped up a good low catch off his own bowling to remove the latter for 34.
Paternott (37no) and Eliot Callis then saw Wycombe home at 127-3 from 25 overs. Manley finished with 2-32 from eight overs, while Belcher picked up 1-24.
Posted by: Russ