CRICKET: Easton exit after shocking collapse.

4:47pm Thursday 17th August 2006

EASTON & Martyr Worthy lost their last eight wickets for 24 runs in a horrific collapse which wrecked any hope of a Lord's final in the npower Village Cup.

They restricted Timsbury, once a vibrant North Somerset mining village, to 165 for 5. At 102 for 2 and requiring 65 runs from the last ten overs, Easton were optimistic. They had to score at six runs an over - a significant increase on the previous overall rate - in the final stages on a typically slow, low Cockets Mead surface.

But they collapsed against left-arm spinner Steve Clothier, who completely changed the game with his first (and Easton's 31st) over. He ripped out Ben Collins and Keith Brewster in successive deliveries and then celebrated with the rest of his Timsbury teammates as Steve Green ran himself out off the third.

Easton had nosedived from 102 for 2 to 103 for 5 and went into an uncontrollable freefall spin thereafter.

Backed up by athletic fielding and some top catches, Collier finished with figures of 6 for 28 as Easton slumped to 126 all out and a 39-run defeat two overs from the end.

Until then, Easton were making steady progress - Ashley Spencer (43) and Shaun Green (21) building on the earlier work of Kevin Neave (18) to give Easton a fighting chance.

But canny Timsbury set the field back, forcing Easton to try and hit uphill boundaries on their bowl-shaped ground. They managed to breach the rope only eight times in the entire innings - two less than former Bath opener Dave Pippett, whose 73 underpinned the Timsbury innings.

Pippett, who played for Bath in the Cockspur Cup final at Lord's five years ago, batted almost the entire duration of the Timsbury innings.

But his 38-over vigil at the crease effectively won the West of England Premier League club the game. Without utilising Shaun Green, Easton used seven bowlers and were left to reflect on the wisdom of omitting specialist batsman Dave Birch, who had made scores of 56 and 83 in two of his previous three knocks.

Timsbury will play Houghton Main (Barnsley) in the final at Lord's on September 3.

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