By Tim Castle (who umpired and took photos)

This was the game we had to win to avoid the drop to Division 4 in the season's second half and reach the heights of Division 3. Every player knew the stakes. Every player knew what they had to do. Every player ... well, you'll have to read on..

Skipper AK Southey won the toss and put Chats Palace in to bat. AK Southey opened the bowling. A run out! On the first ball! A wicket! Bowled on the fourth ball!

This was going to be a match unlike any other the Fallopians had played this season. We played with confidence, with a spring in our stride.

A fast return was played to mid on where Aman Pattar barely reacted ... then shot up a hand and snatched the ball out of the air.

At the other end Rafe Smallman chased, dived and missed five or six chances - before taking two catches off his own bowling.

Peter Frisby launched tight, accurate, economical bowling, taking one wicket and conceding just 11 runs off three overs.

John Shaw joined in the fun, adding another wicket to take his average-topping league haul to four.

Angus Dawson debuted with some keen fielding and blew the cobwebs off his bowling arm, sending down some tricky balls despite the Palace grabbing what boundaries they could.

Paul Hosking sent down pacy deliveries from a high left hand and stood up well as the opposition put on a last minute show of resistance.

The last Chats man (or, rather, boy) dismissed on the last ball, the Fallopians were set a target of 102.

For eight overs time passed slowly as Chats showed they were not giving up without a fight, Ned Woodman and Nomaan Shah firing down faster and more dangerous balls than anything the Fallopians had offered.

But Smallman's eye was true, while Matt Wales replied with confident baseball strokes that inexplicably fell short of the boundary.

At the halfway point the Fallopians were just ahead of the required run rate, but then fell behind as Southey stepped in for Wales and Hosking came in for Smallman, nonchalantly caught one-handed by Saad Saeed.

For a few nervous minutes it looked as if the game might slip from the Fallopians' grasp. But then Southey found his eye, clobbered the ball and accelerated towards the target with successive boundaries.

Pattar replaced the bowled Hosking and won the honour of striking the final two runs needed to finish the game.

As an unfamiliar tang ran across the Fallopians' tongues -- the taste of victory -- they assembled for the winner's photo, the first of the season, and stretched the grins that said - We are Division Three!

Taste of victory: (Standing L-R) Paul Hosking, Peter Frisby, John Shaw, Matt Wales, Aman Pattar, Angus Dawson; (Front L-R) Rafe Smallman, AK Southey (captain)       (more pix here...)                                                              Photo: Tim Castle