St Martin's victorious in final drama against Beechwood

THE 2006 Barclays Kwik Cricket final was one of the most memorable for many years. Castel, La Mare de Carteret, Beechwood and St Martin's were the four schools contesting for the coveted trophy on finals day at the KGV.

Played on the same day as the Lord's Taverners County Twenty20+ Challenge match, the semi-finals saw Castel playing St Martin's and La Mare de Carteret up against Beechwood.

Beechwood made it through to the final with a comfortable 42-run victory.

St Martin's also made light work of their semi-final with a 47-run victory over Castel.

In the third/fourth play-off, La Mare de Carteret played very well to see off Castel by 32 runs in a low scoring game.

The real drama, though, was yet to come in the final.

St Martin's batted first in front of a large crowd and made a formidable 206 runs.

Toby Belton was superb with the bat, hitting fours and sixes to all parts of the ground. Victory seemed certain with such a big total on the board.

Beechwood had different ideas, though, and batted well throughout their innings, keeping up with the run rate.

The final over saw them needing 11 to win.

The first ball went for four, but drama ensued when Belton dropped a straightforward catch off his own bowling.

The next three balls were all singles, which left four to win off the last delivery.

James Wilkes-Green swung and missed the ball, but Beechwood still managed two runs.

After the action had ended, St Martin's could finally celebrate their dramatic one-run win over the favourites.

St Martin's teacher Steve Hutchinson was thrilled with his team's performance.

'All the boys played extremely well, in both teams, and I am delighted to win in such dramatic fashion. We are looking forward to defending our title next year,' he said.

Karen Riddle, from the sponsors, enjoyed the spectacle.

'It was a terrific match to end the finals day and I can't remember a closer game. We are proud to support the Kwik Cricket Tournaments as they give hundreds of youngsters the chance to play competitive cricket for the first time.'

St. Martin's now have the opportunity to represent Guernsey in the English Schools Cricket Association regional finals to be held in 2007.