Skipper Mark Jones heaped praise on man-of-the-moment Ryan ten Doeschate after his heroics in Clacton's eight-wicket success against Vauxhall Mallards.
The Norfolk heavyweights - reigning champions - were brought crashing down to earth in Saturday's pulsating clash at Vista Road.
South African ten Doeschate - fresh from his five-wicket haul against Fakenham - turned the screw with a magnificent unbeaten 169 smashing the winning runs off a six in the third ball of the final over.
And that helped Clacton reach 272 for eight - bettering the 268 for eight achieved by Mallards.
Captain Jones said proudly: "This was a magnificent victory and the star of the show, undoubtedly, was Ryan.
"He really is a fantastic cricketer, capable of top-class batting, bowling and fielding."
Clacton showed real resilience to earn victory after Mallards, batting first, raced to 150 without loss.
Trevor Moulton then helped himself to the first of four wickets and, from 230 for two, Mallards subsided to 268 for eight.
Moulton, with figures of four for 69, was the star bowler while Chris Swallow and David Coyle chipped in with two apiece.
In reply, Clacton put on 64 for the first wicket, before losing Moulton.
Ian Morton took up the challenge, chipping in with a useful 41, before a middle-order batting collapse looked as though it might prove costly.
Five wickets fell for just 15 runs - at which point 101 was still needed from just 16 overs.
Enter ten Doeschate, who is on the books at Essex. He smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, cracking a sparkling century from 136 balls.
Published Wednesday June 9, 2004
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