THE Groves gave Chester County Officers a scare before being eliminated by their higher-division rivals from the Meller Braggins League Twenty20 Knockout.
Groves made the short trip to Upton in Chester for last Thursday’s first-round tie.
CCO, who have made a flying start to the league season after winning promotion to Division Two last year, were asked to field first after visiting skipper Martin Flanagan won the toss.
Vamshi Parvathaneni (2-17) and Mike Clarke (2-12) did some early damage to leave the Groves 18-4 but they managed to recover to post a competitive total of 121ao, thanks to Mike Garvey (42) and Daz Green (30).
The Groves were fired up for the second innings and CCO were given a fright as they lost three early wickets, all to Tom Garratt (3-18).
Mike Jones (48no) was the mainstay of the reply but The Groves made CCO fight all the way.
The hosts got home, with six wickets down, with 10 balls to spare.
Ellesmere Port Old Boys have picked up another win in the Chester Midweek League. They hosted MP Plumbing, who scored 118 from their 20 overs. EPOB replied with 119-2 (Andy Murphy 64).
