Leagues Panthers have retaken top spot on the GDCA first grade ladder after taking out a thrilling contest against Diggers by just a single wicket on Saturday afternoon.
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After winning the toss and electing to bat, Diggers were looking to make a strong start at the top of the order with Luke Peruzzi and Paresh Patil.
Dan Hillam had other ideas, however, as he picked up the wicket of Peruzzi (9) in the fourth after he was adjudged to have gotten a faint edge which was taken by Reece Matheson.
Patil and Mark Favell looked to get their side back on track and were able to put on 16 before Favell (17) was the next to fall when he was bowled by Daniel Bozic.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals for the Diggers side as Patil (10) was caught off the bowling of Liam Greenaway (1/17) to see Diggers sitting on 3/57 after 15 overs.
Matt Crack joined Diggers captain Trevor Richards out in the middle, and the pair were able to start to push their side towards a competitive total and see their side sitting at 3/69 at the drinks break.
The pair continued to put runs on the board after the break and lifted their side to 96 before Crack (25) was became Hillam's (2/44) second victim of the afternoon when he was out caught behind.
Kyle Bennett joined his skipper in the middle, and they were able to continue where the previous partnership left off in pushing their side past the hundred-mark with a 29-run partnership that was eventually broken when Jimmy Binks found a way past Bennett's (11) defence.
Ben Fattore (0) followed closely behind when Bozic (2/29) picked up his second of the afternoon before Richards was able to post his second fifty of the season and in a 23-run partnership with Rocky Perre got their side to 153 before Tom Greenaway struck to remove Perre (11).
Richards (78*) was able to hit some late boundaries to push his side to 7/177 when they reached the end of their 40 overs.
Leagues were able to make a strong start to their chase with Ben Leach and Michael Cudmore putting on 37 for the first wicket before Ryan Bulluus struck to remove Leach (21) while three balls later Cudmore (15) fell to the bowling of Daniel Dossiter.
The game was turned by the third wicket partnership between Andrew Madden and Binks as the pair were able to put in a mountain of work to get their side into a strong position after the strong start from their openers.
The pair were able to get their side to ahead at the drinks break with the score on 2/86, and the Panthers looked like they would be on track to chase down the total with little hassle.
That was until Peruzzi (1/30) struck to remove Madden (41) to end the 85-run partnership while Binks (46) followed 10 runs later when he was caught off the bowling of Bulluus (2/25).
The Panthers ran into more trouble with the score on 152 as Reece Matheson (16) was trapped in front by Trevor Richards while Dan Bozic (6) and Tarenjit Mankoo (2) were dismissed by Dossiter to see Leagues lose 3/5 and put themselves under pressure.
Liam Greenaway and Noah Gaske were able to get their side to within eight runs of victory before Dossiter (4/45) while after levelling the scores Tom Greenaway (5) was caught off the bowling of Richards (2/22).
With the Panthers requiring one run off the remaining seven balls and Panthers supporters sitting on the edge of their seats, Noah Gaske (7*) blocked the ball at his feet and a quick single was enough to secure his side the six points on offer.
The result sets up a compelling clash this weekend as Leagues will take on Coro in the fifty over clash at Exies Oval in a battle between the two top sides in the competition.
Meanwhile, Diggers will look to bounce back when they take on Hanwood at Hanwood Oval.
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