Ring bells! Uncork the champers! Slicc finally fall to Cincers after Ali thinks he's in the IPL

This was a result to savour - all the more so, because a few overs out, we were still losing.
At last, a victory over Slicc.
The team that, in our brief series of encounters so far, always seem to better us.
The side that last year had us 2 for six (and the two were leg byes).
So when the Skip, umpiring, signalled the wide that gave us the win, it was a sweet moment.
The heroes? Quite a few of them, actually.
We started in the field with Big Dan making his debut and frightening the wits out of the oppo with his Harmison-like bounce and pace.
Shahbaz, newly restored to Cincers, had his hands full keeping.
We bowled very well at times with Dan restricting them to 18 off seven (1 wicket) and Ali swing-bowling like it was on the end of a string (2 for 33 off 8).
New signing Faisal also bowled as did Majid (2 for 31 off six) but the rest of us let the side down a bit.
Now, this being a Slicc game, there was more than a smidgen of edge to the proceedings - especially over the odd umpiring decision!
But Slicc finished on a formidable 246 for 4 off their allotted 40 with their captain notching 115 not out.
To blunt their renowned in-swing bowler Dan, Cincers opened with the Skip and Abid...in a bid to blunt the swerve.
It half-worked.
The Skip was skittled in the third over but Abid clung on (controversially, thought Slicc) before departing for seven.
Sadly, although he wasn't aware at the time, Tim M broke a finger (badly, as it happens) when he came to the crease before he was bowled (for 14) by a superb out-swinger from Slicc skip Will.
Despite new signing Tariq scoring 31 and Shahbaz 44, we were falling slowly behind the rate.
At 156 for eight and needing eight or so an over, surely it was all over.
Enter Ali and Faisal.
The two sharpshooters simply blasted their way out of trouble.
At first, Slicc probably thought it was just a futile flurry before the inevitable.
I know we did.
But the deadly duo just kept swinging - making fours out of good balls and the odd six out of bad ones.
When Faisal eventually fell for 36 and with 20-odd still needed with just one wicket to go, Slicc must have thought it was in the bag.
But Ali promptly smashed 12 in three balls.
Big Dan had to face with only an handful needed.
Was he fazed? Was he hell as like.
His long reach hit a single and then a couple.
One needed for victory.
And so to that final umpire's decision.
A wide to savour in the long cold winter's nights to come!
Extra of the season - it's in the bag.
News update: Abid wasn't very late. For once.