Dan Sumner’s Second XI emerged victorious from a bizarre match on a nightmare of a batting track at Cheriton this afternoon.
Batting first, the Oaks were soon in disarray as the ball fizzed off a pitch that was crumbling apart like a Rich Tea biscuit, dispatching Brad Compton-Bearne and Oscar Rowley in the process.
In-form Bob Lethaby, fresh from the 45 not-out last week that he doesn’t like to talk about, smelt leather as it fizzed past his nose on a couple of occasions before gloving another to slips, departing for what was now looking like a ludicrously acceptable 7 shortly after the irrepressible Deano James had gone for a comedic 1, no doubt relieved he still had his teeth in his head.
Will Bentley was unlucky to go for a duck but the same could not be said of Jack Brundle, who successfully executed the worst shot ever witnessed on a cricket pitch, lobbing up a disastrously short pitched long hop into the hands of the salivating mid-on. Jack’s claim that “it swung” completed a unique ‘Worst shot, worst excuse’ double, for which he was rightly ridiculed.
The situation was at best pitiful but although the tail hardly wagged, it did, tentatively at least, move from side to side as Dan Jones (17) Alex Brundle (16) George Lethaby (10) and Dan Sumner (10 not-out) edged the Oaks along to 72 all out.
Defending the target, it has to be said that George Lethaby and Alex Brundle used the pitch to devastating effect, causing absolute carnage as they tore through the Cheriton attack taking five wickets between them before the target had reached 30.
Three’s Company: George, Alex and Dan caused carnage whilst dismissing Cheriton for 48
With huge damage done, Dan Sumner gave Alex a breather and blitzed his way to a brilliant 5 for as Cheriton resigned themselves to a heavy defeat with a mixture of dignity, bewilderment and anger from one batsmen who George clattered in the helmet from a nasty one that reared up.
Cheriton were all-out for 48 and whilst Oakley may have been frowned upon by some for attacking hard on dangerous pitch, it is hard to know what else to do when defending such a small target and the majority of the Cheriton players accepted the fact that it was, ultimately, their pitch to prepare and not Oakley’s.
In complete fairness, Cheriton, a decent bunch of chaps, were quick to show their disappointment that they have not been able to create a better surface since the damage caused by the 2013 floods, and whilst it was a good win, most of the Oakley players would have preferred a better match on a better track.
Ce La Vie and all that…
Up the Oaks!