Two opening batters went toe-to-toe at a windswept Bull Hey in a fine advert for timed cricket.
In the end, it was probably fair that they cancelled each other out.
But Wigan couldn’t have complained had skipper Charles Taylor’s defiant 103* been in vain; nor could Birkenhead Park have griped had Michael Barnes’ emphatic 112 not been enough.
The final act of the drama saw Taylor - finally forced into defensive mode, with his side 35 behind and only number 11 for company - block out an over from Park’s overseas left-arm spinner Safi Abdullah, surviving a blood-curdling LBW shout off the last ball.
It was fitting that he was still standing at the end. He’s now scored 302 runs since he was last dismissed in the league, a purple patch even by the standards of this golden summer for batters.
“I’m seeing it quite well at the moment,” Taylor understated to the ECHO.
“We were always behind the eight ball, losing wickets at bad times, so we were always chasing.
“But I think we did well to stay in the fight.
“We’ll always go in with the mindset that we’re going to try to chase it down, but obviously circumstances change.”
Visiting skipper Tom Foster was left to rue an early shower, and the caution that led him to delay declaring until tea, with 267/7 on the board.
But, having scored 52 himself in a stand of 137 with Barnes, he knew the pitch was flat and the opposition daunting.
He added: “They’ve got some really good batters, and they were well capable of chasing it.
“We tried to keep them in the game all the way, and they kept playing it - I thought it was a great game.
“Charlie’s been in magnificent form, so as long as he was out there, we thought the game was 50/50.”
The hosts’ attack was depleted by injuries to John Richardson and Akshay Wakhare and a Lancashire call-up for Josh Boyden, and it showed. The seamers bowled too short and wide, feeding Barnes’ cut shot, while the spin of Taylor and Aaron Redmond proved ineffective.
Barnes pulled Redmond to the fine leg fence to bring up his first Comp century since 2015, then aimed one cut too many at Adam Samouelle; Safi added a breezy 50 as Taylor picked up three wickets late on.
By the time Safi removed Redmond first ball, then had Daniel Yates held at short leg with the next to make the score 62/4, Wigan were staring down the barrel.
They had barely scraped into three figures by the time the last hour began, but Taylor - off the back of 114* and 85* in his last two league knocks - wasn’t playing for time.
A 63-run stand with Jordan Hampson shifted the momentum and cost Ashraf Nawab 46 runs off his first four overs - the veteran spinner got his revenge on Hampson, but another cameo from Patrick Howley kept the momentum going.
Taylor’s sweep was particularly destructive, as Foster kept the field up; Safi’s flatter trajectory proved tougher to get away, but Ashraf continued to go the distance, with two huge sixes reducing the equation to 61 from six overs.
Only when Howley edged to slip did the win slip from Taylor’s grasp; another sweep off Ashraf moved him into three figures, but by then he had only the tail for company.
The draw means Park have gone unbeaten through June, and while they’re in the bottom two, Foster has seen enough to believe they can start to climb the table.
He said: “We’re playing some really good cricket, but it’s so hard to get wins in this league. Every week’s a graft, every game’s tough, every team’s good.”
Wigan flew out of the blocks but have now drawn three in a row - Taylor is determined that their strong start isn’t squandered.
He added: “The squad that we’ve got, when we’re all fit, is a good team - we don’t want to slide down now, we want to compete.”
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Two of the usual suspects extended Wallasey’s lead at the top of the ECB Premier Division to an imposing 58 points with a comprehensive win over Southport & Birkdale.
Dan Beaver’s 100*, his third century of the season, set up a total of 232/3, with some help from Josh Rylance’s 66 in a stand of 130. Then it was over to the pro - Sumit Ruikar’s 7/54 was his ninth five-for in 10 league games, and his current haul of 57 would place him fourth already in last year’s rankings.
JJ Fielding managed 50, but no-one else had any answers, and S&B fell 133 runs short.
None of Saturday’s games were washed out, but a few sides were affected by the rain - notably Northern, who didn’t have time to press their advantage at Orrell Red Triangle after Liam Grey’s 103* led them to 225/6. The hosts closed on 138/5.
Rainhill’s resurgence continued at bottom side Formby, who have yet to bowl a side out this season. Ollie Sutton’s 77 and Ryan Brown’s 51 led the hosts to 253/6 in quick time, but Sam Kershaw’s 91 and Rob McKeown’s unbeaten 62 were enough for a five-wicket win.
Ben Walkden hit 107*, his maiden Premier Division century following five fifties, to help Newton-le-Willows post 243/5 against Ormskirk, backed up by 64 from Rizwan Haider; the visitors teetered, but Harvey Rankin’s unbeaten 64 led them to safety at 160/8.
New Brighton earned a five-wicket win over Leigh; Mattie McKiernan’s 75 and Sam Dorsey’s 73 helped the visitors post 236/6, but skipper Adam Neal led the chase with 62, and the middle order did the rest.
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Sefton Park inflicted Lytham’s first defeat of the season in Division One, with a hat-trick from teenage left-arm seamer Leo Spilsbury sealing a 36-run win.
In a low-scoring encounter, the hosts had reached 78/7 in pursuit of Park’s 114, before Spilsbury had Toby Lester caught behind, then trapped Jack Saunders and castled Charlie Nixon with his next two balls.
Lytham’s slip allowed Liverpool to go top of the table with a 15-run win over Northop Hall. Jared Clein’s patient 76 led the hosts’ 188/9, before Zohaib Zamankhail took a Boeing - 7/67 - to run through the visitors’ lower order after fifties from Evan Withe and Will Higginson.
Rainford’s spin twins John Dotters and Andrew Davies each took 5/53 to roll Fleetwood Hesketh for 139; Matthew Bailey’s unbeaten 61 led the successful chase with six wickets to spare. Left-armer Dotters’ haul for the season stands at 54, with seven five-fors.
Colwyn Bay’s Will Evans hit 111 and Jack Parry 81 in an unbroken stand of 172 to set up a 90-run win at Firwood Bootle. The hosts’ Callum McGee’s 61 was his maiden 1st XI half-century, but it couldn’t get his side close to their target of 255.
Luke Smith’s unbeaten 73 set up Ainsdale’s 193/7 against Spring View, before Muhammad Irfan’s 6/46 wrapped up a 24-run win; and Highfield captain Michael Farrell top-scored with 58 in his side’s 103-run win over Caldy.
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Southport Trinity narrowed the gap on Division Two leaders Maghull with a four-wicket win at Hightown St Marys.
Alder earned their second win on the bounce, chasing 100 to beat Parkfield Liscard by three wickets. Mark Chappell took 6/32 and Harry Deveney scored 50.
Old Xavs won their derby clash with Wavertree by six wickets, after Daniel Harrison anchored their pursuit of 111 with an unbeaten 56.
Sharen Rajendran took 5/15 as St Helens Town skittled Norley Hall for just 60 to earn a 57-run win.
Thunder all-rounder Nat Brown took 5/20 as Sutton dismissed Prestatyn for 115 - Jack York’s unbeaten 63 sealed a nine-wicket win.
