A PHENOMENAL unbeaten century from Patrick Foster wasn't enough to save Horspath from a four-wicket defeat at Ynystawe in their rearranged Voneus Village Cup fifth-round tie.
Having elected to bat, the Oxfordshire champions were in deep trouble at 50-5 when Foster came to the crease at the start of the 15th over.
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| Patrick Foster walks off. Picture: Gareth Hamilton |
The pair shared a thrilling sixth-wicket stand of 124 to set Horspath on the way to posting a challenging 225-7 off their 40 overs much to the delight of their large travelling support.
However, Ynystawe had their own batting star in Carl Roberts, who hammered a superb unbeaten 99 from 100 deliveries to steer the Glamorgan & Gwent champions home at 228-6 with nine balls to spare.
With the pitch towards one end of the square it was quickly clear that an unusually short boundary by the side of the impressive pavilion building would play a key role in the match.
Sulaiman Hussain was quick to take advantage as he drilled the fourth ball of Horspath's innings for four through extra cover and then hammered Rhys Palmer's next delivery into the sightscreen for another boundary.
He continued to go for his shots and pulled Lee Hicks for six over backward square leg before surviving a straightforward chance to backward point off the next delivery.
But at the end of the seventh over, with Horspath on 30-0, he was run out in unfortunate fashion for 25 when Phillips drove the ball back down the pitch and Palmer touched it on to the stumps with Hussain out of his ground.
That triggered a top-order collapse with five wickets going down for just 20 runs. Elliot Ruff was trapped lbw by Hicks without scoring. Stephen Green had just clipped a delivery from the Ynystawe seamer to the fine leg boundary when he chopped the next ball straight into Roberts's hands at backward point.
Robbie Eason hit a full toss from Palmer to mid-off where Morgan Hodges took a good low catch just inside the ring, before Jehan Mohammed nicked a wide one from Palmer to wicket-keeper Nathan Lee, who was to be replaced later after suffering a calf injury.
Things looked grim for the visitors, but then Phillips and Foster staged a stunning counter-attack. The Horspath opener, who had been unflappable as wickets fell at the other end, hit two sixes in the space of three balls off left-arm spinner Alex Fletcher into the pavilion and over long on.
Foster then started to show his full array of strokes with a reverse glance down to third man for four before he also cleared the long on boundary, and then dispatched a maximum into the car park.
He went to his half-century by driving a single down to long off, before planting the next delivery over long on for six. Phillips, meanwhile, was also increasing the tempo and completed a well-made fifty with a four down to fine leg.
Foster continued the charge with an audacious reverse pull through square leg for four off Tom Morgan, before crashing the next delivery to the long on boundary. Phillips added his third four, and had moved on to 56 when his 91-ball knock came to an end as he skied a full toss from Hicks to Morgan at point, making it 174-6.
Foster kept up the onslaught, though, accompanied by Asad Rafiq. He whipped Luke Garthwaite's first delivery of the 37th over mid-wicket for six, and then hit another maximum even further in the same direction.
The talented all-rounder was in full flow, and his next six over long off saw Robbie Eason stick up his right arm to catch it one-handed in front of the pavilion. Foster slammed Hicks's next delivery for four through the same spot, and he went to a magnificent century with a glance to the third man boundary off Garthwaite.
There was still time for Foster to hit another maximum over mid-wicket as he put on 51 for the seventh wicket with Asad Rafiq, who chipped in with two boundaries in his 11 before being run out off the last ball as he went for two - although the first run was chalked off as he had run one short.
It was a magnificent innings by Foster, who hit 11 fours and six sixes, and he deservedly took the plaudits as he left the pitch. Hicks (3-43) and Palmer (2-20) were the pick of the home attack.
Foster and Phillips had given Horspath a fighting chance, and they almost made a dream start with the ball. Ynystawe skipper Tom Blake turned Rafiq's first delivery down the legside and Robbie Eason got fingertips to it as he dived to his right before the ball raced to the fine leg boundary.
With Blake quickly into his stride, Ynystawe moved on to 41 before Rafiq made the breakthrough when the home captain on 27 skied an attempted pull shot and his Horspath counterpart Lloyd Belcher gratefully accepted the chance at cover.
However, Roberts then joined Hodges and they made serene progress with the former hitting a straight four off Foster before blasting the next delivery over mid-wicket for six.
Young Luke Heritage joined Belcher in an all-spin attack, but the runs kept flowing. Ynystawe were 117-1 at the halfway point, and Roberts completed a fine half-century with a single off the Horspath captain into the offside. Hodges then glanced a boundary from Belcher to reach his fifty.
The visitors desperately needed a break to end the second-wicket partnership, and it came in the 28th over when Hodges holed out to Mohammed at long on off Foster for 57 to make it 155-2. His runs had come off 75 balls and included seven fours as he shared a stand of 114 with Roberts.
However, his dismissal signalled a Horspath fightback as Mohammed gained a lbw decision to remove Matt Blake without scoring, before striking again as Morgan chipped a drive straight to Belcher at mid-wicket to make it 163-4.
Roberts kept Ynystawe on track with some more lusty blows, but when Andrew Beasley was caught by Will Eason at long on off Foster to leave the home side 184-5 in the 34th over, the visitors sensed they had a chance.
Controversy then flared when Will Eason, in attempting to catch Garthwaite's off drive on the boundary returned the ball infield as he went backwards, but the umpire adjudged it to be a six.
After Garthwaite hit the next ball for four there was a disturbance on the sidelines, and a delay followed. When play resumed, Garthwaite was run out by a sharp throw from Rafiq at fine leg off the last ball of the 36th over, making it 202-6.
But Roberts kept Ynystawe on track with another boundary and a six, and he sealed victory in style with a six over mid-wicket of the third ball of the penultimate over - his fourth maximum to go with ten boundaries. Mohammed (2-32) and Foster (2-43) returned Horspath's best figures.
It had been a cracking encounter, and while Roberts was Ynystawe's match-winner, Foster was undoubtedly Horspath's hero.
Posted by: Russ