This year's fixture will go down in history as not only the greatest BECC fixture but possibly one of the best sporting fixtures the Baltic Exchange has ever seen. The game could have gone either way, right to the very last ball and the final remaining wicket.

This match had it all, from ferocious fast bowling to extraordinary hitting to umpiring drama. The neutrals in the crowd were not disappointed with more than 60 spectators from our hosts Shenfield Cricket Club (SCC) lining the clubhouse benches, basking in the sunshine and enjoying a match that ended in a way that can only be described as reminiscent of the 2019 Headingley test.

The BECC were led on the day by William Bowden (Trafalgar), in the absence of our usual captain Nathan Roberts (Hartland), who won the toss and elected to bat. The BECC were led out by our hosts SCC’s Chris Bridle and Jack Matthews (Seafort). A difficult pitch made it challenging for our openers who put on a stand of 32 before Chris Bridle was knocked over for 12. Jack Matthews followed him back to the clubhouse shortly after, his high backswing pictured below leaving him unable to get down to a perfect Yorker from the Lloyds bowler, leaving the Baltic on
49-2.

Andy Roberts (Gibsons) and William Bowden (Trafalgar) were the next in for the Baltic. The former scored a very good 28 from 32 while the latter scored 15 at his usual snails pace. Further runs came from, most notably, Dave Griffiths who scored a fine 39 from just 29 balls. Unfortunately none of the good starts for the BECC led to any significant scores with nine batsmen reaching double figures but none over 40.

The final wicket of Will Marks (MTI Network) left the Baltic with 199 runs, batting for just 32 overs of our allotted 35. The BECC side were left frustrated with their score, feeling there was probably an extra 50 runs left out on the pitch. LCC’s Charles Porton bowled particularly well with some accurate deliveries (7-0-26-4) that restricted the BECC’s scoring in the middle overs. Following a fantastic tea from our hosts, the Baltic side was filled with nervous excitement, but a strong Baltic bowling lineup gave us confidence in defending what was a subpar score. 

The bowling was opened up by Harry Bee and Will Marks (MTI Network), a difficult ask for the two fast bowlers on a pitch that favoured spin. Bee managed to find more luck than his bowling partner to put the LCC players on the back foot. Bee eventually removing the two openers for a combined 30. He was unlucky not to take a third after the umpire raised his finger to give the LCC No.3 out LBW first ball despite the batsman half-volleying the ball into his pads. BECC Captain on the day Bowden recalled the batsman to the crease in an effort to uphold the spirit of the event.

Frustratingly for the bowler and the BECC the batsman went on to make 27 from 21 balls and the LCC raced to 80 within the first 10 overs. James Harris (Gibsons), and vice-captain on the day, finally got the LCC No.3 with his signature accurate bowling. The middle overs were tough for the BECC, with Lloyds Matt Mayhook scoring a very fast 44 from just 30 deliveries and the match slipping from the Baltic's grasp. The LCC found themselves on 150 with the loss of just 4 wickets after 20 overs, needing just 50 runs from 15 overs.

The arrival of Bowden (Trafalgar), usually found bowling off cutters on the Shenfield Park Pitch for the SCC 4th’s, gave the BECC hope. He took the wickets of both the Lloyds captain and Mayhook, both bowled in consecutive overs, leaving him with figures of (4-1-21-2). Lloyds, now 153-6, were rocked and the new batsmen in looked nervous, left with the task of guiding their team over the finishing line from a position that 10 minutes earlier had looked simple. Lloyds looked like they might capitulate until the eighth wicket partnership of 26 between Newton and Paxton put them back to within reaching distance of the BECC total.

Newton was scoring steadily from his end but was running out of partners with number 10 falling for a duck, leaving Lloyds on 197-9 needing just three runs to win. Number 11 Sudhanna playing an innings reminicent of Jack Leach at Headingly, keeping the ball out a total of eight times. The final partnership facing a grand total of 14 balls to get the required three runs to win, each ball fueled with anticipation of both the players and the crowd. Andy Roberts (Gibsons) bowled extremely economically down the hill while openers Marks and Bee, back for their second spell, ran up the hill trying to take those final wickets, both with a wicket each in their final spell.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be with SCC’s & LCC’s Jack Newton eventually carving the winning runs through cover much to the jubilation of the Shenfield crowd. Giving Lloyds the one wicket victory “by the barest of margins”, overturning last year's result where the Baltic were victorious in the final over.

Although not the result the BECC wanted, the game itself was a perfect advertisement for the sporting talent at the Baltic. We look forward to welcoming back LCC to Shenfield next year in hopes of redeeming this year's loss.