With a few days of sunshine it was hoped the clear conditions would last another day and allow both Tideford and Gulval to participate in an open Division Four play-off final. Unfortunately as the teams converged on Gorran it was evident that the weather would play its part.

Tideford captain Dave Lockett had great confidence in his batsmen to make the most of the new ball regardless of conditions but common sense dictated that on winning the toss it was more beneficial to put Gulval in.

The responsibility of sharing the new ball with his captain fell to Danny Copp. At 17 he is a rough diamond waiting to be cut and polished. The potential for this jewel to shine is in the hands of his peers at Tideford and any Cornwall coach who has the time to look at a talent not playing for a major club or a public school.

By the time Copp had completed the first over of the match the wicketkeeper and slip adjusted their normal distance by at least 5ft to give themselves any chance of seeing the ball. The first ball of his second over was jabbed at by M Eddy who got an edge to it. Chris Greatorex on the third man boundary was as surprised as anybody to see the ball travelling at great speed and at throat height. It was more in self-defence than skill which enabled Greatorex to put both hands in the path of the oncoming ball and hold onto it thus preventing any damage to himself, let alone allowing it to go for a six.

There followed a long period in which Gulval were unable to score at little more than one an over. This was not only down to the excellent bowling of Lockett, Copp and Greatorex but also the commitment and high standard of fielding of all the Tideford team. Jeff Griffin had at first thought his wrist had been broken to a ball from Copp which found an edge but dropped short at slip but still put his hand in the way to stop the single. Gerry Snowdon dislocated a finger in an attempt to stop the ball at square leg from the same bowler. It went straight back into place but he was left with a very sore finger.

It wasn't until the 24th over that the second wicket fell, but the more important detail in this match was that Gulval had only managed to put 47 runs on the board. Lockett decided to bowl his allotted 16 overs straight off as a slight side strain would probably have prevented him from corning back for a second spell at the end of the innings. A succession of batsmen tried to break free from the vice like grip Tideford had on the game without success. By the 32nd over Gulval had lost 5 wickets (all catches) with only 74 runs scored.

At this stage Lockett seemed to give Gulval a life-line as he replaced himself and Greatorex with Mark Swain and Dave Bradbeer. G Boyle and S Eddy made the most of anything loose and added 49 runs in nine overs. Swain was unfortunate to have Eddy dropped in his first over before reaching double figures, a rare mishap in the field. Bradbeer finally broke the partnership with one which left Eddy stranded outside his crease and Mark Lister made no mistake in taking off the bails before the batsman could recover.

The innings was finally ended in the 45th over when Greatorex picked up his 4th wicket of the day (his 2nd lbw decision of the season!) Gulval all out for 150. All the way through the Gulval innings the heavy cloud cover refused to break and in fact became worse as the game progressed. Although there was only a couple of times when a spot of rain was felt you knew it was going to get worse.

After an excellent tea it was Tideford's turn to see what they could do about overhauling the Gulval total. By the end of the 8th over Gulval must have thought they had one hand on the trophy as both openers went early and the dangerous Anton Luiten was unfortunate to face a first ball beauty by I Eddy which cut back, squeezed through bat and pad and hit the middle stump.

What Gulval did not take into account was the depth of batting Tideford have this season. All the top seven batsmen in their line-up have passed 50 at least once and every one of them has qualified for the league handbook. The three early wickets allowed Gerry Snowdon and Mark Lindfield to take centre stage and what star performers they turned out to be. A lot of people forget commitment when listing the attributes of a successful sportsman - Snowdon showed a bucket full of it today.

Unable to put his gloves on himself because of the injury sustained earlier in the day, he refused to drop down the order and took on the Gulval bowlers at his regular spot of No 3. Everytime the ball hit the top of the bat the crowd could see the hand being removed in pain. By now the weather was closing in and the showers were becoming more frequent and heavier. Eventually the umpires had no choice but to bring the players off the field and wait for the rain to stop.

It was a brave decision by the umpires to continue the game as they knew that further delay would seriously put in doubt the likelihood it would be completed at all. With the outfield soaking the bowlers were unable to keep the ball dry and it became easier for the batsmen to score. The major influence on the game was not the weather but Gulval's lack of a third bowler. The first 22 overs were bowled by N Eddy and I Eddy capturing the three wickets that had fallen and conceding only 44 runs. Once they were replaced the next ten overs saw 78 runs added to the Tideford score without the loss of a further wicket.

Both Lindfield and Snowdon had ground the Gulval bowlers into submission by doggedly keeping the good deliveries out and dispatching the loose ones to the boundary once they started to arrive. Even the return of Eddy could not stem the flow as Tideford raced towards the target of 151 to win. It was reached in the fading light with 10 overs and six wickets to spare. If a man of the match award had been given Lindfield would surely have been in the reckoning with his gutsy knock of 57. There is no doubt though that Gerry Snowdon would have won it, with his determination to ensure Tideford's name was going on the trophy this year.

Scores - Gulval 150 (N Cock 15, J Edwards 22, N Eddy 12, G Boyle 38, S Eddy 30; D Copp 9-3-15-2, D Lockett 16-7-30-1, C Greatorex 12.1-1-46-4, M Swain 4-0-24-1, D Bradbeer 3-0-26-1). Tideford 153-4 (G Snowdon 62 n.o., M Lindfield 57, M Lister 15 n.o., I Eddy 11-5-17-2, N Eddy 14.3-3-50-1, R Westren 3-0-23-1).

Tideford won by six wickets.