ONE brother dismissed the other to force a dramatic tie in a game of cricket which had a script fit for television.
Wangoom seamer Adam Ryan had his brother Paul caught at mid-off for 29 to secure the Roosters a share of the points against one-time flag favourite Grassmere.
The two sides finished on 143 all out after a day of high drama at Wangoom Recreation Reserve which left both believing they could have snatched victory.
The Meerkats resumed day two at 3-51 but soon found themselves immersed in a frustrating struggle.
They lost regular wickets and were 8-100 at one stage before Ben Small and Paul Ryan staged a desperate 10th-wicket rescue mission.
The pair edged Grassmere towards the modest target before Paul lost his wicket to his older sibling Adam in a bizarre end to a bizarre match.
Wangoom batted again and reached 1-126 with Shamus O’Beirne making 63.
Wangoom also tied its round one match against Purnim, with both sides finishing on 144 — one more than at the weekend. Captain Nick Kermond said he was in disbelief when the final Grassmere wicket fell.
“I’ve played cricket for 25 years and only ever played in three ties, and two have been this year,” he said.
“Interesting one, but I suppose two ties add up to one win as far as we’re concerned.
“And we got some handy bonus points in the second innings.”
Kermond said the tie was almost as good as a win after Wangoom was 4-12 early on day one.
But they had their chances to take full points on Saturday.
“I think it was a game we didn’t expect to win from there and they expected to win quite easily,” he said.
“We’ve come out of it with more positives than them.”
Grassmere captain Chris Lenehan said the Meerkats would have to seriously look at their batting efforts after slumping to a second consecutive defeat.
“A tie doesn’t help us all that much. A few of us got out on pretty ordinary shots and thought the next bloke will get it done,” he said.
“It doesn’t always work like that. I said to the boys, treat it like a loss.
“We were lucky to get out with a tie in the end. There was an empty feeling.”
In other Grassmere Cricket Association matches, Panmure Bulldogs cruised to outright points against a disappointing Panmure Pups side.
The Bulldogs made scores of 1-106 and 1-116 and routed the Pups twice, for 99 and 120 over the two days.
Nathan Shand took seven wickets for the match while Paul Rea, James McKinnon, Sean James and Paddy Mahony all made runs.
Steve Gleeson continued his fine form to lead Yambuk to victory against Hawkesdale.Gleeson made 48 as the Buks reached 7-121 in reply to the Cats’ 113. Hawkesdale was 4-54 in its second innings.
And Killarney cruised to an easy victory against Purnim. The Crabs dismissed the Bulls for 133 to successfully defend 9-261. They were 4-85 in their second innings.
Crab Brayden Buchanan snared 5-51 from 18 overs to lead the bowling effort.
afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au