A brilliant century from Aussie Braden Grigg – superbly supported by the experienced Adrian Duthie’s 55 – gave Pacific the edge in a pulsating local derby against old foes Washington. The game swung as much as a Martin Cowling inswinger – going first one way then the other – before Pacific prevailed by a margin of 35 runs.

Pacific skipper Jim Davies broke with tradition and opted to bat first under a clear blue sky – but he was one of two early victims for Wash’s new Aussie bowler Bock that had Pacific rocking at 13 for 2. Duthie and Grigg survived the early onslaught – gradually upping the tempo as they added 114 for the third wicket.

When Duthie was lbw to Jones – Sammy Purcell joined Grigg to add 49 for the next wicket – increasing the pressure on the fielding side with some excellent running. Purcell was the first of two lbw victims in consecutive Paul Irons deliveries – with the luckless Kurt Rademaker adjudged to have been in front when he missed an attempted pull shot first ball. Having already been sent up the wrong tube line earlier, the day was not going too well for the burly Aussie all-rounder!

Grigg reached his century before hitting an Irons full toss to Steve Brown – but Washington must have been ruing two sharp chances they had earlier put down that had allowed Grigg to proceed. With Cowling adding some lusty blows – there was something of a collapse as Irons bowled straight to claim an impressive 5 for 26. With the wicket showing signs of uneven bounce, Pacific skipper Davies was happy enough with a total of 221 all out with all but 2 balls of the 40 overs used. Equally Wash skipper Justin Gurney was probably delighted with his side's late fight back to keep the score within reach. Even stevens at halfway.

Bock and Brown started the Wash innings like a train – aided by some loose bowling with a prodigiously swinging new ball in the hands of Rademaker and Cowling. 42 from only 6 overs looked like trouble – but once Cowling had bowled Bock with a beauty, Rademaker then claimed Brown thanks to a stupendous overhead catch from that man Grigg – running from square leg to mid-wicket to take the tumbling effort!

With Cowling bowling South African Hill, the stage was set for a Paul Irons onslaught. Just as the dangerman was getting into full flow and had reached 25, he miss-timed a drive in Cowling’s last over and Purcell took a smart catch at cover. Cowling finished with excellent figures of 3 for 34 from his 8 over spell.

Medium pacer Stuart Mullin and veteran swinger Nigel Wilkinson then turned to screw on the slow wicket – maintaining an excellent line and length and inviting the batsmen to take a chance if they wanted to score quickly. Kiwi Tony Harris tried to do just that and his thick outside edge looked to be heading down to third man – until Martin Cowling flew like a salmon at gully and took a spectacular catch – plucking the ball from the air when it seemed sure to have cleared him. Harris departed incredulously as a second amazing catch of the innings was taken by the Pacific fielders! That wicket heralded the 20 over drinks break – with Wash needing a further 100 runs with 5 wickets in hand – the game was again evenly poised.

"Mr Economy" Wilkinson (8 overs for only 18 runs) and Mullin kept it tight – and both Wash skipper Justin Gurney and old-pro Dave Gluckman found the going tough as skipper Davies adjusted his field to maintain the pressure. Both men fell trying to break the shackles – with Mullin taking both wickets to end with 3 for 32 from 8 overs – excellent bowling.

With the required run rate mounting all the time – there was a brief late flurry – but Grigg and Davies took wickets at vital times – and when Peter Kloss fell leg before to the skipper – Pacific had won by 35 runs.

Everyone agreed it had been an excellent match that could have gone either way as it ebbed and flowed throughout. Both teams enjoyed jugs of beer from the star performers Grigg and Irons as they socialised in the bar afterwards, whilst looking forward to the return all-day fixture to follow later in the season.

“The crucial feature was probably the failure of any Washington batsman to get above 25 – even though 8 men reached double figures. Our bowlers – backed by excellent fielding – ensured vital wickets fell at regular intervals.” said delighted skipper Jim Davies afterwards. “However none of that would have been possible without the excellent batting of Braden and Adrian earlier in the day – top stuff!”

“A great game played in a great spirit!” said Washington favourite Dave Gluckman in the bar afterwards “Shame about the result though…”

MOM – Braden Grigg – a ton, a superb running catch and a wicket for the Aussie youngster.

Packing the Kit – Kurt Rademaker – a golden duck after getting onto the wrong tube and arriving late!

XI: Adrian Duthie, Matt Holliday, Jim Davies*, Braden Grigg, Sammy Purcell, Jai, Kurt Rademaker, Stuart Mullin, Martin Cowling, Rob Bastin+, Nigel Wilkinson