High Wycombe fell agonisingly short of beating Banbury on Saturday as they lost ground on league leaders Henley in Home Counties Division One.

The visitors needed just one wicket from the final five balls of the match after three wickets fell in as many balls to leave the home side’s number ten and 11 at the crease.

But the final wicket proved elusive for Nathan Hawkes and his side in a game which the Wycombe skipper described as “touch and go” after Banbury themselves saw an opportunity to win when 16 runs off the final eight balls was required.

A washout against Horspath had frustrated Wycombe the previous weekend and the rain again intervened to reduce the home side’s innings by one over to 46 – six balls that could have proved crucial as the away team chased the victory.

Hawkes was satisfied with the draw given that both teams were in the running to snatch the win.

“They lost three quick ones – seven, eight and nine all close together, but we only got three balls at the number 11,” he said.

“The last three balls didn’t provide us with any chances, it would have been nice to have two or three overs at the last pair but it wasn’t to be.

“They got off to a good start and kept that going which helped to produce a good game of cricket all round. Both teams, at different points, had opportunities to win the game.

“I think it was a fairly balanced match, considering the rain breaks and circumstances but I don’t think that either team deserved to lose on Saturday. I think it was a fair result in the end.”

Wycombe had earlier continued their fine form with the bat as they compiled 276-3 from 54 overs, thanks in large part to a second century of the season from the captain, who made an unbeaten 107.

Openers Adam Hose (60) and Gavin Baker (26) set a solid base before Hawkes and a speedy 76 off just 47 balls from Gavin Russell built a partnership of 148 after James Benning had been dismissed for a duck.

Banbury lost wickets at regular intervals but were handily placed on 258 with four wickets remaining in the penultimate over of the match.

A wicket for Benning (2-46) and two run outs in the space of three balls made for a grandstand ending to the game, but the final five balls passed without incident for the final pair.

Hawkes was proud of the way his team had performed and was glad to see practice make perfect when they were up against it in the field on Saturday.

He said: “We’ve got quite a young side, so in the field we should be sharp, looking to save as many runs as we can and take any opportunities that come our way.

“That’s something we’ve been working on in training, we practice that and take it into games. That’s one thing we wanted to improve and show that we’ve been working on.

“When you’re under pressure, like on Saturday when they were on top, to get three run outs justifies what we’ve been working on.”

Second bottom Harefield are the opposition for Wycombe on Saturday as they look to close the gap to runaway leaders Henley, who’ve been benefitted from the weather in recent weeks to open up a 39 point lead.

“Everyone else got rained off and they got a game in, which seems to have happened quite regularly over the last few years,” said Hawkes.

“We’ve got to play them twice, so we need to beat them twice and hope they slip up. I know they’ve got to play Slough two weeks after us, so if they lose two in three weeks then we’re right back in it.”