WATCH: Indies beat Griffins to close in on first title

This was not just a big win in terms of the Odey Wealth Evening League One title race, it was an extraordinary back-from-the-brink fightback that showed true character from a side who are now within a point of their club lifting the Rozel Shield for the first time, having loosened the defending champions’ grip on the historic trophy.

The clash of the top two did not follow the intended script of boundaries galore and a mountain of runs on Tuesday night at the KGV. Instead, ball ruled over bat.

And yet it made for a dramatic, tension-filled encounter that befitted the occasion, which attracted a good-sized crowd for the clash of the previously-unbeaten sides.

Indies had actually been the last team to defeat Griffins in the top flight back in late August 2020 when they got the better of a 14-over thrash.

• Watch full highlights from the KGV

Over the subsequent two summers, Tom Kirk’s outfit have been on quite a roll and after they had been asked to bowl first this week by Le Tissier, they approached their task in the manner of champions.

From the off Griffins were right on the money with the ball as Luke Bichard conceded a miserly three runs off the bat in his opening over against the Indies skipper and the in-form Zak Damarell and Dane Mullen was well on the way to bettering that until the sixth ball of his opening set from the de Beauvoir end saw Le Tissier hit the first four of the night.

Only eight more plus one flat six from Tom Nightingale followed in the entire innings as Griffins kept a powerful batting line-up largely in check, backed up by some excellent fielding.

The rewards started to come in the third over as Bichard removed Le Tissier, whose leading edge gave Adam Wakeford a simple catch at mid-wicket, and Mullen joined the party in the next over when Damarell flicked one straight to boundary patroller Marcus Thomas deep on the leg-side.

At 17 for 2 in the fourth, things were not going to plan for Indies and in their understandable eagerness not to lose any more early wickets, Matt Stokes and Nightingale set about repairing the damage.

That both Island batters were restricted to three fours apiece, as well as the aforementioned maximum for Nightingale, would have satisfied Kirk no end, though the Griffins captain would have been even happier if his own big appeal for leg before against the No. 4 had been upheld.

On the face of it, the third-wicket stand of 76 looked no more than useful, coming as it did in more than 10 overs on an outfield that you would expect to yield well in excess of eight runs an over to such players.

As it turned out, though, it was pivotal.

Having made 37, Nightingale perished when trying to up the ante against the off-spin of Kirk, top-edging a slog sweep and giving the Griffins captain a return catch.

Two overs later the pressure of the lack of boundaries eventually told on Stokes, too, as he missed an attempted reverse sweep to a straight Kirk delivery.

Will Peatfield briefly managed to add a bit of impetus for Indies with back-to-back boundaries, but he fell to Bichard’s worst ball of the night – and possibly the season – as he pulled a dragged-down slower ball straight to Adam Martel at deep square leg in the penultimate over.

Bichard followed that up immediately by trapping Ant Stokes plumb in front and in the 20th Griffins came up with a couple of run outs thanks to good work from Jason Martin and Bichard to restrict Indies to 133 for 8.

Surely that was at least 30 short of a competitive score against another strong and long batting line-up?

It proved to be over 30 too many for Griffins.

Indies got off to the ideal start as captain Le Tissier took the catch at extra-cover to remove his cousin Luke off Kieran Le Gallez’s third ball and the halfway underdogs sensed they were still well in the game.

Damian Wallen then slapped a couple of boundaries in Peatfield’s first over but by the end of it he was back in the hutch as well thanks to a flying Nightingale grabbing a super catch diving at mid-on.

Two more batters came and went before the end of the powerplay as Matt Stokes struck twice in his first over.

Thomas was hit on the foot in front of middle from a terrific opening yorker from the all-rounder before Stokes gained revenge for being hit for four by Adam Martel by rearranging his stumps the next ball.

Martin and Kirk showed their experience in steadying the Griffins ship with a fifth-wicket partnership of 45 and while they were together, the game was still in the balance, though like the batters before them, they found boundaries hard to come by.

As the required rate increased, so did the necessity to take risks and against some probing bowling from Ant Stokes, wickets began to tumble once again and there was no halting this slide for Griffins as they lost their last six wickets for 21 runs.

Kirk departed when he sliced a drive to backward point and in the next over Glenn Le Tissier was run out by wicketkeeper Damarell after the batter lost sight of the ball having been hit on the pads by Matt Stokes.

The younger Stokes brother then removed Martin and Jordon Martel with successive deliveries in his fourth over to finish with fine figures of 3 for 19.

Jake Roussel replaced him from the Blanc Bois end to finish things off, having Bichard caught at long-off before captain Le Tissier took the chance off Wakeford that sparked the celebrations.