Giles Ecclestone scored his second ton in as many games in the Bertie Joel Cup.

WALDEN fell at the final hurdle in the Bertie Joel Cup, losing by five wickets to Waltham at the Anglo American Playing Fields.

Having set a commanding total, Walden were unable to limit their opponents who surpassed the target with 14 balls to spare, handing them the trophy.

Captained by Joe Barrs, the hosts got off to a flying start. Giles Ecclestone scored his second ton is as many games in the competition while Alex Jackson kept the run rate ticking over.

The opening pair put 109 runs on the board before Jackson was caught by Naseer Ahmed.

The second wicket partnership of Ecclestone and Glen Batticciotto was just as devastating. Ecclestone put up 112 runs before he was caught off Ahmed’s bowling, but thanks to the Aussie’s knock of 97 runs, Walden were 194-2.

Walden added anther 50 runs for the next wicket as Batticcitto and Andy Laws (19) pushed on. After Laws was caught, Andrew Gale scored 16 runs to bolster Walden’s total.

When Batticciotto was cleaned bowled by Tanweer Sikandar with the score on 285-4, the hosts added 12 more runs before their allotted overs came to an end.

In a seemingly insurmountable position, Walden capitalised on the momentum: Barrs trapped Sikandar LBW and Batticciotto followed up with Rizwan Sadiq’s wicket with the score on 71.

Ahmed (42) pushed the score over 100 before falling victim to Batticciotto, allowing Khawar Ali Kazim and Usman Jaar to build a match-winning partnership. The pair took Waltham from 101-3 to 264-4 before Jaan was caught on 109.

Kazim (68) and Tauseef Kazmi (21) batted on, reaching 300 in the 42nd over to win the game.

Final score: Waltham (300-5) beat Saffron Walden (297-7) by five wickets.