Beds through to Trophy semi-finals
County celebrate three wicket win against Bucks
Only Staffordshire stand in the way of Bedfordshire and a place in the MCCA Trophy final after Jon Walford's side squeezed past neighbours Buckinghamshire in their quarter-final tie by three wickets at Dunstable on Sunday.
They will travel to Knypersley on Sunday, June 28 with a trip to Durham's Chester-le-Street awaiting the winners.
On a slow low Lancot Park surface, the hosts were marginally in the ascendancy for the majority of the encounter and despite a late scare when three wickets fell, they scraped home with just three balls remaining.
Speaking about the win, all rounder Andy Roberts said: "The older the ball got and the slower the wicket got, the harder it became.
"Anything around 200 you're in the game and a good start – it helped having Alex Wakely – did us good. We fielded well, bowled well and it was a pretty good performance."
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Bucks made a promising start, Paul Sawyer and Russell Lane making 57 and 41 respectively, but they were pegged back as the Beds attack gave little away.
Spinners Roberts, 2-39, and Tom Brett, 1-36, combined to bowl 20 tight overs and they were assisted by Chris Goode who took 1-22 from eight overs as the visitors made a competitive 200-6.
Openers Wakely, back in the side after missing the final two group games, and Walford put on 77 for the first wicket before the former fell one shy of his half-century.
Walford made 45 and Dan Bendon 17 before Roberts and James Knott steered Beds to a commanding 188-3.
Roberts' dismissal and the fall of Marcus Steed in the penultimate over gave Bucks a glimmer of hope and the subsequent fall of Cameron Wake and Knott threatened to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but Goode and Marc Jackson held their nerve to steer Beds across the line.
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Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
