Hanging by a thread

Myself and The Power came to the ground full of trepidation, having both witnessed the first 2 days. Little did we know what was in store.

 We needed to get 3 wickets in 14 overs, and to make sure they did not get to 300. Simple, really. 

Murts bowling.... deep breaths all round. A good first over. Then from the Statham end it's TRJ. Just one scoring stroke, but 4 runs.So we go on and on. The occasional boundary, the occasional play and miss - and the tension builds.Then, glory be, a wicket! Procter LBW bowled Murts, from the last ball of 99th over and it's 269 for 7. Then a wicket again, as Murts traps Kerrigan LBW for 0. It's 271 for 8. Chaos, as surrounded by Lankies we try to stay calm.... and fail miserably..

The young Tom Bailey comes in and proves to be very stubborn..289 for 8 and lots of playing and missing. Just one more wicket please!. The tension at this point is unbearable. One major criticism is that we keep giving Chapple singles. Why? He is not Lara. The score keeps creeping up and eventually they need seven runs from the 110th over to reach the magic 300.

At this point I am under my seat. Lots of debating. TRJ bowls the first ball and Chapple smashes it for 6 over square leg. Damn. Blast, and bad words!. Lankies going mad around us and myself and The Power cringe visibly. They get the extra runs, of course and immediately declare on 302 for 8. Leaving us 88 behind...... and now needing to at least draw the match to keep our First Division status alive!

I and The Power head to the bar during the innings break.Buck and Robbo come out in poor light, and safely get us through to lunch on 30 for 0.

Here we go again after lunch and the agony continues. Some playing and missing and it's 40 for 0. This is unbearable. Kerrigan bowling from Pavilion end and runs are coming. We get to 78 and are just 10 behind. Then disaster strikes as Buck plays-on for 21 and its 78 for 1.Malan comes in and we give him a cheer. At 88 for 1 another cheer as we reach parity. Then calamity, as from a long-hop, Robbo who has batted well and reached 75 smashes the ball to cover and is caught by the sub fielder, (replacing Croft, who had gone off earlier after receiving a nasty blow on the head fielding at short leg)Horribly, it is 118 for 2 and we only lead by 30.

 Denly marches in and we give him yells of encouragement.. Croft by now has returned and is bowling off spin from the Statham end. Then, more misery, as Denly edges to slip and is out for 7. It is 136 for 3 and we are deep in it. Enter Morgs. Mercifully, tea arrives at 141 for 3 and another visit to the bar ensues. We are just 53 ahead 

Shortly afterwards, The Power receives a warning from a jobsworth steward. His crime? He objected to a Sky camera being regularly shoved in his face and having to appear in close-up on TV. Four times in 2 days is enough for anybody being on telly, and both myself and The Power had had enough of this! The Power got up and walked away, but did so in the middle of an over. Naughty!Mr Jobsworth Steward said he had done this repeatedly (he hadn't) and said that any more of this and The Power risked "expulsion from the ground". Suitably chastened, The Power returned to his seat next to me......... and boiled inwardly. 

Back to the cricket. We creep to 180, and then Oh no!. Malan is out caught in the slips off Junaid for 39 and its 4 wickets down and a lead of only 92. This does not look good. We get to 188 and there are loud cheers fom the small Middlesex contigent as we are now 100 ahead.Then Dexter is dropped at slip by Horton, it is a real dolly and we are very lucky this time. Phew! 

At this point our nerves are completely shredded. Dexter has been on 0 for ages but is playing a vital role in keeping Morgan company. From his first scoring shot he hits a welcome boundary.Now the light became really bad and, with much booing from the Lankies the umpires decide enough is enough and play ends for the day.

We end on 202 for 4, which is a lead of 114. There are now urgent discussions between myself and The Power and we decide to stay over for the final day in the hope of witnessing a remarkable escape by the mighty Middle, will they do it? I believe we can but we shall see.  Where there's life, there's hope!