WEEK eight of the John Pettit Grimsby and District Cricket League was packed to the rafters with epic performances – not least Wilkin Chapman BWT's shock win over Grimsby Town Pumas in division two.

Eddie Carlton was the star of show at Augusta Street, dominating from ball one, and was undefeated after 20 overs, having scored 111 of his team's 150 runs.

Only P. Taylor produced an economical spell of bowling with one for 15 from five overs as all the other bowlers took some punishment and conceded around nine per over.

The Pumas' run chase was characterised by a procession of batsmen getting in but not able to go on and make the big score required.

S. Crossley top scored with 35 before becoming C. Robinson's only victim in an excellent and economical spell of five overs that yielded only 15 runs. Carlton then chipped in with the ball, claiming three for 34 and helping to secure his side's 18-run victory.

Every captain knows how tough it is to win a game when you are short of a player and can only raise 10 for the match.

Well Willy's were in the unenviable position of only being able to muster eight men for their tough looking clash with Emplex.

Rather than forfeiting the game, Willy's redoubled their efforts and in what must be the performance of the season recorded a victory in nail-biting fashion.

Emplex decided to bat first in this 16 over a side match but lost two early wickets to G Cowlam (4-0-38-2). Coy (72) with Wood (18) and Searle (7) then built partnerships of 33 and 27 respectively before the mainstay was joined by Maddock (20no) in a stand of 78. This saw Emplex to a final total of 148 for five.

All Willy's bowlers had some success and were well backed up in the field despite their reduced numbers.

Willy's needed a good start to their innings and got just that when openers G Cowlam (67) and C Wragg (26) put on an stand of 83 in just eight overs.

Chandrasekera (4-0-21-2) was brought into the attack and was the most economical of the bowlers but runs continued to flow from the other end.

A Pearson (22no) and R Woodward (15no) came together with 38 needed off four overs and between them they managed to keep up with the rate.

In a gripping finish, Willy's needed one run to win off the last ball and Pearson coolly knocked the ball out on the offside for a quick single to give Willy's the win.

The noteworthy individual performances in the division continued with C. Imran of Phoenix 1sts who smashed 86 in a successful run chase against Old Clee.

For the second week running Old Clee opener Abe (60) carded a half century as he lead from the front. Supported by Campbell (35), their innings closed on 133 for two.

This proved simply to be not enough as solid support for Imran from Faizal (17) and Collett (22), the Doctors reached their target in the 14th over.

The final game in division two saw One Medical 1st overcome PO Milan 1st in a high scoring encounter at Barretts.

The Posties set 157 for seven with Holmes (27) and Inch (42) building the platform for some late fireworks from Blockley (27no) and Benbow (28no). M. Thompson with two for 21 was the bowling pick.

The reply started strongly with Chandika (55) and Stockdale (31) scoring well until they became two of Blockley's three victims. Further steady scoring right down the order ensured that One Medical passed the Posties with seven balls to spare.

As Catholic Sports were unable to raise a team to play Blossom Way OB, the only fixture to be played in division one this week was a comprehensive victory for Holton-le-Clay Exiles against an under-strength Western OB side.

P. Briggs (71no) and A. Tyler (45) put HLC in a commanding position with only recent signing Denis Parker (two for 19) producing bowling figures that you would write home about.

Andy Langford (two for 11) quickly had the WOB reply reeling while the rest of the attack kept things tight and restricted Western to a modest 78/6, some 63 runs short of the target.

In division three, an epic game took place at Holton-le-Clay CC between Rovers and Cuxwold.

Batting first on a quick and bouncy track, Rovers struggled to hit boundaries and lost wickets regularly with Skudder (three for 19) causing problems.

Josh Plaskit hit a valuable 17 and a fine late partnership between Jamie Thompson and Taff saw Rovers over the 100 mark and onto 104/8 from 20 overs.

Simon Jones (one for 17) and Mark Lofthouse (three for 16) made vital early inroads but the arrival of Ratchford upped the pace as he set about the Rovers attack with brute force, punishing anything loose.

With support from Gibbons (28) he hit six fours and one maximum in a superb 42, which when he was dismissed had moved his team to within eight runs of victory with four overs remaining. This brought on a nervous collapse from Cuxwold as Lofthouse and Vivins bowled excellently.

Needing two runs from the ball to tie, Bould was run out by some sharp fielding as he attempted to come back for the second and Rovers could celebrate snatching the win against all the odds.

Bradley OB produced an upset when they beat Harvest Moon by three runs. Bradley set 85 from 20 overs and defended this low total thanks largely to Ballard who ended the game with five wickets.

A brilliant century from Jack Harrison set division four leaders Tetney on the road to a 104-run victory over Crystal Millennium.

After losing an early partner, opener Harrison dominated the innings finishing unbeaten on 115. He received good support from Jamie Fountain (37), who was bowled by Andy Grainger (4-0-32-2), and Dean Jacklin (38 not out) as Tetney closed on 196 for three.

Tetney's new-ball attack of D Khan (3-0-12-2) and James McGregor (5-1-6-1) returned miserly figures which gave the home side no chance of victory. Crystal Millennium finished their 20 overs on 92 for five, with opener Grainger making 56 not out.

Andy Todd (5-0-22-2) claimed two early wickets for Hendry Electrical when they played host to North Thoresby.

Alex Shreeve got the board moving with 24 before he was bowled by Farmery (5-1-19-2), who also accounted for Paul Hooper (12). Andy Richardson hit 22, and with 10 not out from Padley, North Thoresby closed on 93 for six.

Hendry's opener Jon Battersby set off at a good tempo and was undefeated on 48, as he and Williams (11 not out) guided Hendry Electrical to an eight-wicket victory in the 14th over.

Westlands paid a visit to Blossom Way for their game with Woodlands and batted first, making a good start through openers R Bell (49) and Tommy Watson (23).

The latter fell to Johnny Leach (5-0-43-4), who also picked up the wickets of Kiely (13) and Patterson (16) as Westlands closed on 130 for six.

In reply, Woodlands lost early wickets to Pete Manarin (5-0-20-3) and Kiely (2-0-11-2), who included Stuart Mulligan (18) among his dismissals.

The home side recovered and had a chance until they lost Kev Taylor (25) and Nigel Walker (19) to P Chesman (5-0-19-2) and Pickering (5-0-29-2) respectively.

Thereafter the Woodlands innings petered out 99 for nine, to give Westlands a win by 31 runs.

Elsewhere, Clee United Old Boys maintained their promotion push from division five with a nine-wicket victory over Keelby.

Keelby were given a good start by their openers A Briggs (27) and D Bevis (33), who eventually fell to change bowlers Trevor Church and Graham Hackney (5-0-18-2) respectively.

Church (5-0-28-4) then had Richard Papps stumped for 17 as the rest of the Keelby batsmen limped their way to a total of 102 for seven.

Despite losing only one wicket, that of Phil Merrison (27), Clee United had to dig deep to gain their victory. A superb spell from J Smith (4-2-6-0) held the Old Boys up for a while before Mike Hart (37 not out) and Richard Hull (16 not out) saw them home after 19 overs.

Stallingborough lost an early wicket in their game with Crows Nest 1sts before Dave Wesley and Bruce Roberts pushed the score up to 60 when Wesley was dismissed for 26.

Roberts went soon after for 28 when he was bowled by T Holmes (5-0-32-4), and with Trevor Crofts adding 21, Stallingborough closed on 109 for nine.

Crofts then ripped apart the Crows' top-order to leave them reeling on 31 for six. He finished with excellent figures of 5-1-12-5 and included the dismissal of Tony Marfleet (18) amongst his victims thanks to a catch by Luke Roberts. D Dodds hit a late 29 before he was bowled by Andy Howard (3-0-10-2), while a 10th-wicket stand between D Mickleborough (14 not out) and Pete Briggs (10 not out) gave Crows Nest a total of 98 for nine, just 11 behind Stallingborough.

One Medical 2nds gained a second successive win to keep their promotion hopes from division six alive when they defeated Crows Nest 2nds by eight wickets.

Hawkins (32 not out) and Southern (32) saw One Medical home in the 16th over after holding the Crows' to 89 for nine from 20 overs.

N Gray was the Crows' leading scorer with 39 before he was run out, while One Medical's experienced duo of Chris Horsefall (5-0-17-3) and Ian Dye (5-0-18-4) caused most of the damage, Horsefall's three-wicket spell included the wicket of Dave McMullan (10).

An unbeaten 56 from Glyn Benbow ensured another two points for Post Office Milan 2nds over Novartis 2nds. No other details to band.

Corinthian Jedis completed the double over division seven rivals Whitgift thanks to an unbeaten half-century from S Brinson.

Earlier, Whitgift made a good start through their openers Metheringham (26) and Grest (31), who were dismissed by Firth (4-0-25-3) and Kelly Drewery (5-1-17-2) respectively. Handy knocks from Thomas (16) and Richard Coles (14) boosted the Whitgift total up to 113 for seven.

Opener Brinson lost his second team-mate when S Holliday fell on 10. Two wickets then fell to Grest (4-0-19-2), before Brinson (64 not out) and N Collins (12 not out) secured the five-wicket win for the Jedis in the 14th over.

3Q's second-wicket pairing of Kevin Cook (36) and Gavin Munson (59) plundered the Huntsman Hotspurs bowlers until they were both dismissed by Smith (4-0-32-2).

Jason Moore (17 not out) and James Hyams (24) picked up the baton as 3Q closed on 142 for four.

3Q's opening bowler Allan (5-0-31-2) picked up his second wicket when he bowled Matt Cooley (13), while his new-ball partner Pete Rose (5-0-26-2) also bagged a double when he dismissed Sweeting (14). Change bowler Matthews (5-1-25-2) collected the wickets of Smith (23) and Cox (13), while Carr (5-0-28-2) maintained the symmetry when be claimed his second wicket with the dismissal of White (20) as Huntsman were held to 114 for eight, to give 3Q a 28-ran victory.