EDITOR'S CHOICE SECRET MILLIONAIRE Loaded questions VIEW FROM THE HILL Why don’t YOU walk to school? YOUR HEALTH Too risky to enjoy a hug GET OUR NEWS BY E-MAIL Just register

Most read Comments 1 Travel jinx strikes the Dolphins again 2 Middlo hails 'captain fantastic' 3 Quinn heaps praise on Anderton 4 Pearce's play pleases boss 5 SAVE LIVES, NOT POINTS 6 Slyfield goes close to beating 200mph 7 Pedersen is ‘hungry’ for silverware with Pirates 8 Sturrock set for MK clash 9 Horse-and-cart man who fell on bypass died from injuries 10 How to Lose Friends and Alienate People(15) ** Today | 7 Days 1 Bournemouth Council plans to turn around staff sickness 2 Economic downturn ‘is good’ for Ryanair 3 ‘I’m a passenger... get me out of here’ 4 Parking fine shock 5 SAVE LIVES, NOT POINTS 6 Quinn heaps praise on Anderton

SKIPPER: Tom Hicks

JUBILANT skipper Tom Hicks was keen to share the plaudits after spearheading Dorset's momentous Minor Counties Championship run chase.

Hicks finished undefeated on 78 as Dorset kept alive their Western Division title hopes with a memorable three-wicket win over Wiltshire at Corsham.

Set a formidable 350 for victory, Dorset eased home with more than three overs to spare, with brothers Chris and Nick Park also hitting half-centuries.

The winning target is the highest in the county's recent history and eclipsed the previous best of 328, achieved against Oxfordshire at Banbury in 2006.

But despite playing a starring role as Dorset narrowed the gap on leaders Cheshire to eight points, Hicks was quick to point to another potentially defining period in the clash.

He told the Daily Echo: "We were probably behind for the first two days of the match but came out on the final morning and took four quick wickets for not many runs.

"It helped swing the momentum our way. I think Wiltshire would have been looking to set us around 400 but we managed to give ourselves an outside chance by getting them out for 287.

"The bowlers deserve as much credit as the batters. It isn't always just about the chase, it's also about what you do to set it up. Taking those early wickets also gave us plenty of time to score the runs.

"We always felt that we would get the runs, providing we batted our overs. We didn't need to bat any quicker than normal and that helped take the pressure off."

Hicks, an English teacher at Lord Wandsworth College in Odiham, also hit 71 in the first innings as Dorset replied to Wiltshire's 333 with 271. And after polishing off the hosts for 287 in their second innings, Dorset prevailed from 80.2 overs with 22 balls to spare.

"We were all ecstatic about getting the victory," added Hicks as Dorset moved into third place in the Western Division ahead of their final two matches, against Cornwall and Oxfordshire, both at Dean Park next month.

"We went into the game thinking that if we could win, we would still be in with a shout of winning the championship so it was really important we got it, how ever it came about.

"The pitch was flat and it's quite a good ground for chasing down scores because you always get value for your shots there. I think we even said beforehand that we would willingly chase 350 in the last innings.

"We felt we had a good batting line-up even though the big guns didn't really fire.

"Jimmy Adams, Darren Cowley and Steve Selwood didn't get many runs but we've got a strong middle order and that came to the fore.

"We certainly won't underestimate Cornwall or Oxfordshire in our final two games. We enjoy playing at Dean Park, we know the pitch and it's a good place to play.

"We've played some good cricket this year, particularly in the three-day games. If we continue to do that then there is no reason why we can't get a couple of victories."

5:52pm Wednesday 23rd July 2008

Print

Email this