The Oakley 2’s eased past AWE at a picturesque Aldermaston bomb factory yesterday; there is no more a quintessential setting than the AWE, with a stunning backdrop featuring a caravan park and a nuclear waste facility surrounding by exquisite barbed wire fencing, it is an fine example of why the beautiful game was invented.
AWE batted first and were aided to a healthy total by a plethora of dropped catches as the Oaks, unusually, toiled in the field, perhaps intoxicated by the heady mix of July sunshine and plutonium.
Oaks Eased to Victory at a Humid AWE
Steve “Bownie, Bownster, Bowner” Bown removed the AWE opener third ball but from then onwards, AWE started making good progress with a series of edges and miss-hits flying to the boundaries as the the Oaks bowlers, George “The hair” Lethaby, in particular, fizzed with anger at their misfortune that wasn’t helped by catches going down.
Lance Van Dyk, resilient as ever, took three wickets and son Callum took the all important wicket of the AWE number 4 who had gone on to make a 50 that only included about fifteen play and misses and dropped catches.
Captain courageous, Michael “Woody, Woodman, Woodstock” Wood then finished off the tail with 5 quick wickets that included a hat-trick that whilst impressive, could have been completed by Stephen Hawking or even Bob Lethaby.
Chasing the 191 total, the Oaks got off to a terrible start, with Michael “Woodstock, Woodman, Woody” Wood edging for a third ball duck but Dan Beckall and Chris “Mozzair, Mozzer, Mozzman” Morris settled things with a 50+ partnership before Dan top edged to point whilst going well.
Callum Van Dyke started where Dan left off and aided Mozzer past 50 before eventually getting done by an exquisite piece of pie chucking. Bownie then came in and batted sensibly, but just as the game was about to be won, there was a late twist as Mozzer went for an excellent 93, leaving the Oaks needing 2 to win.
It was was left to Bob Lethaby to see out a nervy end, and his faultless 15 second stint at the non strikers was typical of a man who, when needed, can bring calm and order to a tense situation; it was a great innings from Bob, who received treatment for cramp at the end of the game.
This was the second’s biggest test so far, one they overcame, in the end, with ease!
Up the Oaks!