Thread by @TomEvansEcho

Does this look like DIY? Do you see a flat pack bookshelf or an unfitted dishwasher? Neither do I. I see Northern batting against Formby in the ⁦@lpoolcomp⁩.

The visitors have made a couple of breakthroughs through Sam Ellis, who is thundering in from this end. Chris Laker and Andrew Clarke tasked with rebuilding for the hosts. 34/2.

Ollie Sutton, from the far end, causing a few problems for Clarke.

Ellis overpitches a couple of times and gets punished by Laker; a few spots of rain as Northern’s tailenders, satisfied there won’t be a collapse, set off for a stroll around the pitch. 44/2.

Find yourself someone who loves you as much as tailenders love going for a stroll around the pitch while their side is batting.

Clarke deposits Ellis into the garden of one of the very nice houses that surround Moor Park. There’s a wait while it is either retrieved or replaced. The fielders lie down and do stretches; the batters lean on their bats and chat. The umpires look at the clouds. 53/2.

The ball has been found. Ellis thinks a dog has had it.

With two left-handers at the crease and the ball possibly having been chewed by a dog, Jackson Darkes-Sutcliffe gets a go with his off-breaks. 55/2.

Dewi Jones is Formby’s other ball-chewed-by-dog specialist, he replaces Ellis. Clarke looks in the mood to play some shots. The rain has stopped. 60/2.

Jones started round the wicket to Clarke but he goes over to Laker and draws a couple of false shots. Clarke then thumps him through the covers and edges him through the slips; fifty partnership up between these two. 75/2.

Sam Oldham spills an extremely sharp low chance at cover off Laker; Jones the unlucky bowler. 81/2

It’s not an expensive one - next over, Laker fails to get to the pitch of one from JDS and finds short cover. Time for drinks - 84/3 and a crucial breakthrough for Formby.

Ryan Maddock the new man. Callum Turner has all three catches so far. Clarke continues to give it some #humpty. Rain still around. 89/3.

Two in two for JDS as Clarke misses a full toss and is LBW. He has to go for 44, skipper James Cole to face the hat-trick ball. 89/4.

No hat-trick but the young offie is causing problems with his variations in flight and length. 91/4 from 28 overs - honours about even so far.

Cole and Maddock are dealing in singles; the runs have dried up since Clarke’s wicket. 96/4 from 31.

Stung by my etc etc Cole guides the returning Sutton to the vacant third man boundary to bring up Northern’s 100. The young left-armer is finding a bit of bounce, though. 105/4 from 33.

... and he gets one to go big on Cole, whose pull shot picks out backward square leg. 107/5.

Props to James Seward there. It’s a weird shaped boundary down there, and Jones was positioned a good 20 yards in from the fence - it went straight to him.

Left-handed Ben Sloan is the new man. Spin from both ends now as Saad Humayun replaces Sutton. Still 107/5 after 36 overs.

Seward scampers down the wicket for a word with JDS after a full-toss is bunted for four by Maddock. These two have been eating lower orders for lunch this season; Seward will want to make sure they get to that stage without too much damage. 114/5 from 38.

It’s gone fairly quiet out there, which will suit Formby just fine. 125/5 from 42 - not expecting a declaration as funky as last week’s from Cole, but he’ll want to give his bowlers as long as possible.

Fine #celebrappeal from Humayun against a sweeping Maddock and the umpire agrees. The “goofy matchup” (per Hitting Against The Spin) works for Formby. 129/6.

Big appeal against the leftie Justin Snow first ball - looked high, and maybe outside the line.

Goofy strikes again - JDS has Snow feathering behind on the front foot. 131/7.

*Sloan. Scott Snaylam is the new batter. 133/7 from 44.

The people at the table next to me have just misattributed the Eddo Brandes “wife/biscuit” quote to Shane Warne and I’m not sure who to complain to.

“Every time I **** your wife, my mum gives me a diuretic but I’m not allowed to take it. I do anyway. Then I carry on making my way through all the wives.”

On the pitch, it’s 146/7 in the 50th over. Cole has just set off for a stroll so it doesn’t look like a funky declaration is imminent.

Ollie Sutton replaces Humayun from the pavilion end. 157/8 from 51

And Humayun replaces JDS, who had started to lose a bit of control after an excellent spell, from the other end. I don’t know what the end is called, or if it has a name.

Another catch for Turner as Snow makes an awful mess of a pull shot. Humayun the bowler, 162/8 after a useful partnership of 33.

Jones sends down the 55th over, uneventfully. This is the longest Northern have batted all season. 162/8

And that’s tea. People near me were badly explaining the scoreboard to each other and reader, I had to intervene.

The cricket players are coming back out on to the cricket field - with a bit of luck, they might be about to play some cricket! Here’s hoping.

Snaylam is moving into #UsefulRuns territory - he thwacks Humayun back over his head for four. 171/8

Tommy Grey gets in on the act too - he scythes Jones for two fours through the covers. Declaration batting now. 181/8 after 59

Grey then whacks Humayun over, then through, mid-wicket - and the declaration comes at 195/8. After a quick turnaround, Formby will have a little over three and a half hours to chase it.

Two and a half. I meant two.

Callum Turner taking guard for Formby, James Seward at the other end. Liam Grey steaming in.

James Cole holds a screamer to remove Turner off the bowling of Ryan Maddock. 5/1.

Now Grey has Seward edging to third slip, chasing a wide one. 5/2 and not what Formby needed. Sam Oldham joins Ryan Brown in the middle - rebuilding job needed.

We’ve had 6 overs of aggressive pace bowling from Grey and Maddock and Formby are 11/2.

A handful of boundaries as Brown and Oldham start to settle. 23/2 from 8. A similar start to Northern’s - Formby now need these two to stick around.

Grey can’t hold a sharp return chance offered by Oldham. Probably saved his teeth, mind.

I’m assuming Ryan Brown is really attached to his Nantwich helmet - he’s got a big square sticker where the badge would be, which he was also wearing at Bootle in the second game of the season.

Northern are CONVINCED Brown has nicked Maddock to Cole... but he doesn’t move, and the umpire seems to indicate the noice (which was audible at the third man boundary) was bat on ground. 24/2 from 12.

Chris Laker is having a bowl from the pavilion end. 31/2 from 13. Last hour at 6.10 I think because they didn’t change innings at tea.

Time for Tom Sephton. Two set right-handers. Game still could go any of three ways (just about). 36/2 from 15 - 40 minutes plus 20 overs left.

Change of gear from Oldham as he creams Laker for successive fours through the covers then clips him through mid-wicket. 56/2 from 17. Probably about 30 overs left; 140 needed.

These two have put on 54 now. Brown has been riding his luck somewhat - an edge off Sephton squirms out of Maddock’s hand at slip - but Oldham starting to tick over nicely. 59/2.

Maddock returns from the pavilion end and castles Oldham (stung by my etc etc). He was aiming to leg but just... missed it. Big moment. 60/3. Ollie Sutton next in, unlikely to go down wondering.

#TomViz is about 40-50-10.

Now Maddock gets Brown, dragging a wide one on to his stumps, and it’s 61/4. #TomViz shifts somewhat. 60-35-5 now.

Sam Ellis is the new man, and probably Formby’s last hope. Two slips in as Sephton eyes the right-hander. 63/4. 13 mins plus 20 overs left. I think.

And another for Maddock. He’s winning the game with this spell. Sutton slices a full one to fourth slip for a duck. 68/4.

Jackson Darkes-Sutcliffe (henceforth JDS) is next in. Has to be survival/batting points mode now for Formby, surely... target is 125 away. Nearly in the last hour now.

... and now we are in it. Grey returns for his second spell, replacing Sephton. 120 runs, 20 overs, five wickets.

Quite the cordon as Grey bowls to Ellis. Maddock stays on from this end. 19 overs to go.

An over of short stuff yields an edgy four and some leg-side runs. 87/5. 109 runs, 18 overs, five wickets.

JDS walks down the wicket to Grey and shovels him for four. 105 runs, 17 overs, five wickets.

Maddock sends down a slightly wayward over - JDS clubs him for four off the last ball to make it 98/5. Half-way there in both senses. 16 overs left. Draw edging ahead now - I make it 45-50-5. Septhon back on for Grey.

Uneventful. 98 runs, five wickets, 15 overs. Maddock continues.

Ellis squirts three over the slips to bring up the 100 and the first batting point. A single makes it 102/5. 94, 5, 14.

Ellis gives a catchable chance to mid-wicket (Andrew Clarke?) off Sephton. It is not caught. 13 overs left; 92 runs or five wickets.

Formby still going for shots, but surely with bonus points in mind rather than the target. Northern need to make something happen. 109/5, 12 overs left.

JDS goes for a reverse sweep off Sephton which loops into the air; Maddock at slip seems to lose it against the trees. They’re both using their feet well to the spinner. 112/5. 84 to win from 11 overs. Still Maddock from this end.

A couple go aerial but land safely. Northern have had their chances, but they’ve also not had much luck. 116/5, 80 to win from 10 overs.

Ellis gets away with another as Jack Boardman, running back, can’t hang on at cover. Both bad luck (the shot deserved to lead to a wicket) and a missed chance, that one. 119/5, 77 to win from 9 overs. Field spread for Maddock.

125/5. Ellis and JDS have played this perfectly so far. Big eight overs to come still.

129/5, 67 needed from 7 overs. It’s too many, but the threat of them chasing it forced Northern on to the defensive. Maddock continues.

JDS gets hold of one through the covers for four. Then he top-edges one over the keeper for four more. Three more from the over as well. A biggie. 140/5, 56 needed from six overs.

Sephton finally makes the breakthrough, as JDS top-edges a sweep and is well held by Maddock at slip. Fabulous knock of 43 comes to an end. Now then. 140/6 with five and a bit to go.

Fielders crowd Michael Booth, who... doesn’t get out. 140/6, five overs left. Maddock to Ellis, with the field back out.

Uneventful over - the wicket means Formby are probably going to fall short of the third bonus. 141/6, four left.

Booth is given LBW playing no stroke to Sephton. 142/7. End of the over - two from this end and one more from Sephton to come. Nick Sutton the new man, at the non-striker’s end.

Maddock to Ellis.

Not much happens. Sutton on strike for Sephton’s last over. Three wickets needed.

Sutton plays it out. Maddock steels himself for one last effort - this has been a long spell.

First three balls survived... ELLIS IS LBW OFF THE FOURTH. Five for Maddock... he needs to make it a hat-trick for the win.

Saad Humayun has a brief, one-sided conversation with Ellis about where it hit him. Everyone is in the slips... and Humayun defends.

Last ball clipped through the leg-side - captivating encounter ends in a draw.

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