A dramatic afternoon's cricket amazingly
ended in a tie for the second year
running as Poulton took on local rivals
Cirencester at Englands in this GCL
Division 1 game. Batting first,
Cirencester set a challenging total of
213 from their 45 overs and, in front of
their biggest crowd of the season,
Poulton appeared to be wilting under the
weight of expectation as they slumped to
68-6. However, this brought Mark
Gardiner and Ian Musty to the crease and
they took advantage of the fast
outfield, hitting several boundaries
until Musty fell after completing his
half-century. Poulton were 8
wickets down when they equalled
Cirencester's total. But in one
last amazing twist, Tonkin came on to
take the last two Poulton wickets for no
runs in three balls, leaving a bemused
Mark Gardiner, who had been stranded at
the non-striker's end, to walk off the
pitch at the end wondering what might
have been.
