Abergavenny 2nds completed a quite astonishing victory for the second consecutive week after overcoming Newbridge by 2 wickets.

Having travelled to Newbridge through a number of heavy showers, it was no surprise to the Beavers players to see the wicket covered as they arrived.

Another heavy downpour shortly after arrival meant that the start time was delayed and the match reduced to 40 overs per side.

With a slight wet patch on the track, the toss was all-important and Beavers skipper Steve Brown managed to call correctly and asked the Newbridge side to bat first.

Ben Morris and Dylan Beaumont-Welsh opened up for Aber and were soon amongst the wickets as Morris (1-29) bowled Wellington for a duck.

However, the procession of wickets that Aber had hoped for did not materialise as a combination of dropped chances and good batting meant that Newbridge passed 120 with no further alarms.

Brown juggled his attack in search of a wicket and was finally rewarded when young Tom Pipe had Chris James stumped by Nathan Holley for 54.

This wicket brought Cael Jones to the crease and he set about elevating the Newbridge total towards the 200 mark. Despite the rain, the Newbridge track played extremely well, which allowed Jones to hit confidently through the line of the ball and he was rewarded with 5 sixes in a quick fire 62.

Euan Tippings had anchored the Newbridge innings throughout and ended with an excellent 85* leaving the home side with an imposing 233-3 from their 40 overs.

At the tea interval, the Beavers players were ruing their missed chances but felt a strong start could give them a platform to chase the formidable total.

Gareth Powell (15) once again looking in excellent touch striking 2 fluent boundaries before being strangled down the leg side.

Lee Fury, Tom Griffiths and Nathan Holley looked to be in little trouble but were all out when looking to accelerate the scoring.

At 59-4 the Newbridge target looked extremely distant. Chai Sanapala and Brown to the Aber innings past the half way mark, at which stage the Beavers needed 144 to win with 5 wickets in hand.

After Sanapala and Pipe had departed, Brown started to farm the strike in a last ditch attempt the exploit the short boundary and give Aber a chance coming in to the last 10 overs.

With 8 overs remaining, Aber needed 88 to win with 3 wickets left. By this point Brown had moved past his 50 and was looking to hit a couple of boundaries an over to keep the Beavers in touch.

The plan was working, and with 6 overs to go the equation was down to less than 70 required for victory with Brown managing to pass 3 figures along the way.

Brown and Beaumont-Welsh had enjoyed an 8th wicket partnership of 51 in less than 5 overs before Beaumont-Welsh was caught on the boundary for 8 with exactly 50 still needed for victory.

Brown was then joined by youngster Ben Morris and combining some further lusty blows from Brown and some scrambled running from both, the equation was down to 27 off the final 3 overs.

Brown hit the 1st ball of the 38th over for 6 to reduce the target to 21 off 17 balls, a further 2 and a single off the final ball meant the Beavers needed 18 off the final 2.

Again Brown hit the first ball of the over for 6, leaving 12 to win off 11 balls. Brown managed to secure the strike for the final over with 5 runs need for victory.

A no-ball from the first ball was followed by 2 dots, however, a legside half volley from the 3rd legitimate ball of the over was tickled down to fine leg for the winning boundary and Aber had managed to win in the most dramatic of fashions.

Brown and Morris had managed a stand of 50 runs during which Morris had faced 1 ball which he sensibly placed for a single to get Brown back on strike.

Beavers skipper Brown ended the game unbeaten on 154 which included 18 fours and 9 sixes.

This victory was every bit as dramatic as the previous week and means the Beavers keep much needed momentum and confidence going into this Saturday’s home fixture against Whitchurch Heath.