Diss Cricket Club's first team travelled to the invincibles of Downham Market and no-one could have expected the nail-biting game that was to follow, ending in a tie.

Diss Cricket Club's first team travelled to the invincibles of Downham Market and no-one could have expected the nail-biting game that was to follow, ending in a tie.

The visitors had expected little out of the game in which their opponents, who have gone four years and over 50 league games without losing, needed just seven points to secure yet another championship season.

Simon Cooper won the toss and asked the reigning champions to bat first. Germon got Diss off to a flying start as he had Downham's leading runscorer, A Stuart, magnificently caught by Rush in the first over.

The ever-improving Germon accounted for D Tulett (17) in the 11th over with Benji Spinks taking a simple catch.

With captain, Simon Cooper, also keeping the scoring rate down from the other end pressure continued to heighten, resulting in Germon running out Yates (14), with a devastating throw from the boundary.

There seemed to be no stopping Diss' tall opening bowler, as next he saw the back of Australian pro, Cunningham, who was wonderfully snaffled by Simon Cooper.

With Downham on 50-4 Diss were starting to dream, and the wickets didn't stop there as Chris Cooper ran out Todd (28), and then brother Simon picked up the wicket of Lanchester in his final over.

With Rob Tooke conceding virtually no runs from his metronomic bowling at one end, Henry Rush detonated the stumps of J Stuart for nought from the other.

The final three wickets were spread between Tooke, Chris Cooper and yet another run-out, which left Downham dismissed for 127 in the 47th over.

As Diss openers Henry Rush and James Wilby strode to the crease, the team was confident of completing an historic victory.

Diss reached ten before they lost their first wicket as Rush's off-stump was sent cart-wheeling by the impressive Todd.

David Tooke came and went without scoring. A decent partnership between Simon Cooper and Wilby was to follow as they pushed the score towards fifty.

Unfortunately the rain came and Diss' momentum was halted. The ten overs after the rain break completely swung the match back into the champions' hands as Diss capitulated from 46-2 to 67-7, with Wilby (24), Simon Cooper (10), Rob Tooke (1), Chris Cooper (13), and Spinks (1) all falling.

After another lengthy rain break Diss hopes were hanging by a thread, with Dawson and Mike Tooke at the crease, both of whom had yet to face a ball.

The pair gradually made inroads into the 61 runs they required for victory. The inspired Tooke then dispatched one Todd over for 13, and with 31 runs now required for victory Diss started to dream again. The biggest partnership of the match came to an end with Tooke caught in the deep for 26.

Diss needed just 15 runs for victory with only two wickets in hand. Dawson (25no) continued to accumulate runs, and was ably assisted by Weal, as the score moved onto 126; just two runs for victory.

Then Weal was very unfortunate to have been adjudged lbw. After a solitary leg bye, Chris Germon took strike with the scores level. Diss dreams were shattered along with the stumps, as Todd clean bowled Germon resulting in the first tied match in Diss' recent league history.

Despite the Diss players thinking what might have been as they left, they should be exceptionally proud of the way the young team ran Downham so close to their first league defeat in four years.

MoM: Will Dawson.