Grown men leapt from benches, hugged each other and danced with glee, as Shepherds Bush Cricket Club secured an away victory against a strong Teddington side with just one ball to spare.
The 1st Xl triumphed by 175 runs to 172 as the score crawled towards a conclusion with the final batting pair hobbling up and down the crease, nursing injuries and stealing painful singles.
At the midpoint of the last over of the match, the task looked tantalisingly out of reach.
Then, on the second-to-last ball of their innings, Henry Blofield swept a magnificent knock to the boundary, salvaging a shock win for the boys from the Bush.
Winning the toss and fielding first, SBCC looked completely in charge after taking the wickets of Teddington opener Chris Wakefield and former England batsman Sam Robson (for a duck) in the first two overs.
But Teddington steadied the ship and reached 80 for 6 at the midpoint. Jack Grundy was the pick of TCC's scorers with 43 not out as the home side finished on 172 for 8 at tea under cold, leaden skies on the first day of meteorological summer at the Bushy Park ground, with deer contentedly grazing just yards from the boundary.
Bush opener Ikjot Thind was out in the first over as the visitors took to the crease to face the fast bowling of Andrew Brewster, despite being cheered on by loyal supporters who had made the trek to Teddington. "We're the Shepherds Bush ultras," confided one of the travelling mini army.
Scoring was slow to start with, as Bush reached 23 for 1 by the eighth over, with some turn in the pitch providing encouragement for the spinners. By the 30th over of the innings, Bush were 113 for 3, and apparently cruising to a comfortable win with batsmen Fin Trenouth and Marcus Howard (who scored an excellent 63) in control.
Then four wickets fell in a grim 11-ball run, and the tables were turned.
Teddington restricted Bush's scoring, and when Chinmay Mullapudi was caught for 10 with three overs to go, Bush were still an awkward 15 runs short.
Beers were being sipped, and nails bitten, as the remaining balls were bowled. Nine runs were needed from 12 balls, then six from 10 balls. Finally two were required from the last two balls… and hero of the hour Henry Blofield stepped forward, connected beautifully and sent the bright orange orb to the boundary to earn Bush 10 points and top position in the Middlesex county league Premier Division.
Next up, Shepherds Bush CC host North Middlesex on Saturday 8 June at noon.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
