Cricket: SALISBURY 6 SEALS SUPER VICTORY FOR BEARS; NORTHANTS v WARKS.

A TOWERING six off the penultimate ball of the match secured a thrilling victory for Warwickshire at Wantage Road.

Ian Salisbury, on his Warwickshire debut, produced a nerveless performance to settle a game that could have had any one of four results down to the last.

But if it was Salisbury (nine balls, three fours and a six) who clinched the win, it was Darren Maddy who set it up. Warwickshire's captain made a brilliant century to help his side to their first championship victory since May 5, 2007.

Outplayed for most of the first three days, Warwickshire produced a superb performance on the final afternoon to snatch a win that few would have thought possible.

How important could this win turn out to be? With Warwickshire's confidence fragile after two dismal seasons, such a stirring victory could be the turning point in the club's fortunes.

Some critics might suggest the Northants captain, Nicky Boje, should have delayed his declaration. Yet Warwickshire's score was the fifth-highest fourth-innings total they have ever made and the fourth-highest winning total. It was not so much that Northants mis-calculated, as Warwickshire played brilliantly.

Besides, Northants came tantalisingly close to victory themselves. Even in the last over they had a chance. Instead of Salisbury's edge going to hand, however, it sped to the third-man boundary and, two balls later, he planted the six over long-on that settled matters.

This was a heroic performance from Warwickshire. At a time when other teams would have settled for a draw, their lower order continued to go for broke, risking defeat in pursuit of victory.

"I haven't smiled for a while," Maddy admitted afterwards. "It's probably the most important and certainly the most pleasing innings I've played for Warwickshire.

"I was already captain when the new coaching team of Allan Donald and Ashley Giles came in and I really wanted to earn their respect. I hadn't even reached double figures for a while and I was getting a bit tense about my form.

"But the most pleasing thing is that everyone contributed to the win. It was great team cricket. I sat the team in a circle before play and told them we could win, but we had to believe it.

"We deserved that victory. We were rewarded for being positive and for all the hard work we've put in."

Warwickshire judged the run-chase perfectly. When they were set 383 to win in 82 overs, victory seemed implausible. However, they kept wickets in hand. Maddy led the way, but there were also excellent contributions from Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, who played fine, selfless innings.