Magnificent figures figures of nine for 38 rewrote the cricketing life of Halstead's Trevor Cooper in their division C match at Maldon.

The slow left armer's effort was his best in more than 25 years of cricket.

Cooper said: "My previous best was eight in a first team game several years ago.

"On Saturday we had a strong batting line-up and had a big score on the board (264-5) so I opened the bowling.

"I got the first eight and it looked very much on course that I'd get ten at that stage. But then Robbie Grove got number nine."

Maldon were finally dismissed for 99.

Cooper saw it as some kind of revenge for a game 20 years ago.

"Nine for 38 is exactly the same as my team-mate Mike Jones got 20 years ago in a match at Cromer.

"He had got the first nine - and I was the one who got the tenth."

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