Irfan Ul Haq opened the bowling at the Nursery End bowling off a fully thirty yard run-up. Bath openers Willie Murrie and Andy Owen (pictured below) must have wondered what hit them as 'Cyril' charged in down the hill. Jordision opened at the Pavilion End and soon attracted the umpire's attention by running down the track.

The first wicket went down as early as the third over when the timber was scattered for the first time on the day when Ul Haq uprooted Owen's middle peg. 8 for 1 and the Derbyshire contingent start to believe they can win.

Number three Ben Staunton hit JJ for two boundaries in his second over and soon made clear his intentions. He was not going to hang around and watch the game slip away. A huge appeal for caught behind in the fifth over was turned down, much to the Sandiacre lads disbelief.

Honours were even over the first ten overs and an intriguing contest was starting to grip the crowd.

Sheldon Guerra was introduced into the attack, replacing Jordison at the Pavilion End, and the West Indian saw his first ball disappear over the boundary for four. A six into the Mound Stand by Murrie saw Guerra removed from the attack after just two overs which conceded 18 runs.

Paul Standring (left), meanwhile, was bowling his usual line and length and was proving a difficult customer for the Bath batsmen. Standring had the dangerous Staunton caught behind for 33 when the score was on 62 for 2, and this knife-edge contest had swung back Sandiacre's way.

Gordon Swinney took over from Staunton and the run rate was creeping steadily over five. Three runs had come from the last five overs and Sandiacre were tightening the screw. Trueman had replaced Guerra at the Pavilion End, and the introduction of spin slowed the Bath flow markedly.

A lengthy delay was caused by the sun reflecting on a groundsman's tractor. This is the headquarters of cricket you guys, how dare you complain? You should be privileged to be here.

Swinney was chancing his luck. A lofted shot split Guerra and Imtiaz, followed in the same over by another lob which just cleared the field to race away for four. Swiney and Murrie were beginning to build a useful partnership.

The 100 came up from 142 balls and nails were being bitten furiously in both camps. The banter was reaching fever pitch in the Mound, with the Bath Boater Boys giving the Sandiacre lot a hard time. The Derbyshire boys were well up to it though and responded admirably. It was all good natured fun.

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Murrie was trapped lbw by Jordison for a patient 38, to be replaced by wicketkeeper Tom Hankins. Standring bowled through his nine for a very respectable 1 for 28 and Jordison finally pushed the umpire too far and he was officially warned for running down the track.

At 128, the fourth Bath wicket fell when Immy Ahmed took a blinding one-handed catch at backward point to dismiss Swinney for 43. Another dangerous Bath batsman was facing the long walk back. Guerra (pictured right) replaced JJ, and with two new batsmen at the crease, nerves began to creep into the Bath game.

Kinselle missed an easy stumping chance off Trueman when Hawkins was on 10, and Bath capitalised on this to build yet another semmingly match winning partnership. The run rate continued to hover just above five, so Irfan was brought back into the attack to break up the partnership.

The fifth wicket fell at 173, when Bath skipper Gregg Brown was caught by Sandiacre skipper Trueman off Guerra for 15. The tension was by now becoming almost unbearable as Bath were looking at 36 from the last 40 balls. Real nail-biting stuff this was. The lines between Lord's and Derbyshire were hot as Higgy and Danny were furiously posting updates on the message board.

Guerra was replaced at the Pavilion End by Jordison who bowled a tight over for just three runs. 27 needed now off 30 balls. Hankins fell clean bowled to Irfan (pictured left) for 37 in a spectacular over which saw only one run yielded. 26 needed from 24.

JJ then bowled a loose over at the Pavilion End which went for 11 and Bath were looking home and dry with 15 wanted from the last 18. The 200 came up off 254 balls in 181 minutes.

Three overs were left, two to be bowled by Guerra and one by Irfan. Guerra came on at the Nursery End and conceded one off his first ball when a Trueman shy at the stumps missed the target. 14 off 17.

Barnes then had a moment of madness when he attempted a silly single with the ball almost at Trueman's feet. The Sandiacre skipper doesn't miss opportunities like that. 201 for 7 and 14 still required off 16. Four more runs came from the remainder of the over to leave Bath wanting 10 off the last two overs. Surely this was a West Country victory - or was it?

Off the first ball of Irfan's final over, McComish was caught behind for 0. 205 for 8 and we were now doing a live commentary between Lord's and Higginbottom Villas. Stayt faced Ul Haq and edged a single then Sandiacre hearts sank as Potter edged a four to leave Bath on 210 for 8. Five for victory with 9 balls left.

Irfan struck again next ball, clean bowling Potter for 13. The Bath last pair, Stayt and Gwilliam, were now in the middle. Ul Haq had the Derbyshire supporters gasping as his next ball was a wide, but he redeemed himself with a dot ball and a single off his final two balls.

Sandiacre Town - ECB National Club Cricket Champions 2003

With Sheldon Guerra ready to bowl the final over, Bath needed three to win with the last pair at the crease. Guerra bowled a dot and then a single was scampered off the second ball to leave Bath wanting two to win.

At this point, this spectacular game took one final twist. Guerra bowled to Gwillian and the ball hit him full on the pads. All the Sandiacre lads appealed, but before the umpire made a decision, Gwilliam inexplicably set off down the wicket. All that remained was for Sandiacre to whip off the bails and the game was over. Tom Stayt at the other end sank to the floor in disbelief and this remarkable game had gone Sandiacre's way with only one run seperating the two teams.

One for the family photo album

A delighted John Trueman told us after the presentation that he was 'ecstatic'. When asked where he was to go from here, his response was "to the nearest bar".

It had been an incredible day, but everyone felt for the Bath guys who had thrown away the game in spectacular fashion. It must have been a long, long drive back to the West Country.

Match report 1 | Scorecard | Images (later)