Old rivals in KGV thriller but both into the semis

GUERNSEY are guaranteed a finalist and may yet have two in the NatWest CI Club Championship final next month. Three Sarnian sides are through to the semi-finals after a thrilling climax to the two four-team pools on Saturday.

The upshot is that Cobo and Mavericks will clash in an all-Sarnian semi-final next Saturday, while Optimists, who thought they were probably out after losing a thriller to Cobo at the KGV, will travel to Jersey to play Old Victorians.

While Mavericks were easing home at the College Field against a hopelessly weakened Rovers, Cobo and Optimists were fighting out a minor classic.

Chasing 210 to win on a dustbowl of a pitch, Optimists' fourth-wicket pair of Andy Biggins and Ami Banerjee seemed to be steering their side to a victory, which they believed to be necessary after they took just five Cobo wickets earlier.

Cobo, who knew they were definitely through between innings and for a long a while in the field played with a casual air of a team knowingly safe, characteristically dug deep into their reserves to pull a fine match out of the hat.

It was their spinners who won it for them, but at the death it was an under-rated seamer who made sure.

With the main spin-twins Gary Rich and Jeremy Frith bowled out, TJ Ozanne stepped up with Optimists requiring nine and Andy Biggins having just passed 50 after taking the vast majority of the 15 off Stuart Le Prevost's penultimate over.

With skipper Mark Jefferies on strike, Optimists took two off the first, a single off the next and a leg bye off the third.

With five required from two, Jefferies was stumped charging Ozanne and although Mark Clapham took a single to give Biggins the strike, Optimists found themselves requiring a boundary off the last to win.

Biggins charged, missed and Matt Oliver claimed another straightforward stumping to secure the victory points.

Le Prevost was a relieved man afterwards having earlier bemoaned his decision to tell his team between innings that they had done enough to reach the semi-finals.

'It's so difficult after we knew we had definitely qualified to know whether we should tell them or not. But perhaps I shouldn't have told the boys,' he said, this an hour or so after he reflected deep in the outfield that his team were playing like zombies.

'It was good to bring it back. It was always going to be difficult to play the spinners on there and that's why I bowled.'

Ten overs out Optimists had looked to have it won with Biggins and Banerjee both settled.

While struggling to push it along against the spinning ball, nevertheless they were guiding their side into a winning position with 65 needed.

Two overs later Rich was bowled out and Le Prevost replaced him from the de Beauvoir end.

In the 38th over young James Mullen misjudged a catch at long on and Biggins escaped and when Blane Queripel put down a sitter, also off Le Prevost, Optimists were still looking good with just 42 needed off six.

In the next, Oliver missed a stumping off Frith but with the fourth-wicket pair struggling to get the left-armer away, the equation had suddenly changed in Cobo's favour: 35 off four and Cobo fielding like tigers, exemplified by one superb Mullen boundary stop which saved a couple.

Eight came off the next in which Banerjee holed out to young Jonny Warr at long on and with Frith leaking just three off his last it was 24 needed off two.

It was time to blaze away and that's what Biggins did in the 44th and penultimate over as the Cobo's part-time bowler started to frazzle under pressure.

A long hop was belted for four, a full-toss for six - all told, 15 came off the over and it was game on again.

Enter Ozanne for his second and decisive one-over spell.

Bowling a full length off just two strides, he outwitted the batsmen and Cobo were home.

Optimists skipper for the day, Jefferies, said it had been a great game.

'We thought they were 20 or 30 light with the bat, but we knew Grichy and Frithy could be the difference.'