LECHLADE suffered just a second defeat of the WEPL season on Saturday as their run chase at home to Cheltenham came up agonisingly short.

The match saw the top two teams in the Premier Two Glos/Wilts go head to head at the Manor Ground, and victory for Freddie Martin’s men would have seen them climb to the summit.

However, it was Cheltenham who were instead able to extend their lead courtesy of a two-run success.

“It was a great game - it was close all the way through,” said Lechlade captain Martin.

“We probably didn’t start the day that well but we came back into it. It swung both ways all afternoon and both teams had spells where they felt they were on top.

“We got ourselves into a position with the bat where we could have won the game and it’s just a shame we weren’t able to do that.

“They are a good side. They are top the table and haven’t lost yet so to play so well against them and push them so close is disappointing, but it’s also encouraging for us moving forwards.”

Overnight rain meant the players arrived to a wet pitch but with the co-operation of the captains and umpires, as well as a reduced boundary, the match was able to start, reduced to 45 overs per side.

Having won the toss and asked league leaders Cheltenham to bat, Lechlade were faced with trying to chase down a target of 230 to win.

They found the going tough and the top three batsmen were all back in the pavilion with the score on 69 at drinks.

Captain Martin and Benny Ellis then steadied the innings but with only 13 overs remaining, they were facing a rate of nine an over to secure an unlikely win.

When Martin departed, Oli Thornley (30) joined Ellis at the crease and the duo launched a blistering counter-attack, scoring 55 in only three overs.

However, former Lechlade coach Luke Sellers (4-36) returned to haunt his old club, trapping Ellis LBW for 78.

The chase came down to the final ball, with Lechlade needing four to win, but Liam Smith could only manage a single and was run-out returning for a futile second, with the hosts agonisingly all out for 227.

Skipper Martin added: “Oli and Benny played brilliantly and brought us back into the game but we just couldn’t quite finish it off.

“Wickets tumbled at crucial times just when it looked like we had got control of the game. We gave it our best shot but we weren’t able to quite get over the line.”

Cheltenham made steady progress with the bat at the start of the day and although the Lechlade bowlers kept control, there was little penetration.

With wickets in hand late in the innings, Peter Woodland (75) was able to pick up the pace and help his team to 229-6, a total which proved just out of Lechlade’s reach.