Oakley, after a great start, stuttered their way in to the Cyril Thompson Semi-Finals after a nervous display in the field gave opponents Ramsdell, more than a sniff of victory on a sunny evening at Oakley Park.
Batting first, Oakley got off to a strong start with the experience and nous of Clive Welsman and Gerry Dique aiding the score past 50 before Clive went, unselfishly pushing the score along.
Gerry was joined by Brad Compton-Bearne, and Oakley’s master of carnage bludgeoned his way to 36 off 9 balls as Gerry watched on in bemused admiration at the other end.
Whilst it is rare to see Gerry play ugly shot, Brad’s uncultured savagery can be just as effective in this form of the game, so it is probably best to leave him untamed, accept it when he gets a golden duck and enjoy it when he bludgeons the ball to all parts of the Hampshire countryside.
The innings was completed by Tommy Holbrook, who hit a couple of beautiful straight sixes in a more than respectable partnership with Paddy Saines, and the Oaks completed their 20 overs with 166 on the board.
The Oaks struggled in the field during the T20 victory over Ramsdell
After a Tommy Holbrook maiden in the first over, the result looked a formality, but the Rams openers began to see the pace of the ball and get the scoreboard ticking, plundering fours and sixes through a combination of good shot-making and poor fielding, rather than poor bowling.
As the game moved into the middle phases, lack of confidence from recent poor form ate away at he fielders as a plethora of unforced errors turned parity into advantage Ramsdell, with it appearing difficult for the Oaks to turn the tide.
Captain, Darrell Dimond, threw the dice one last time and brought on second team opening bowler, Alex Brundle, who responded by almost single-handedly putting Ramsdell in reverse with two wickets in two balls.
Alex may be a smart arse who has an answer for everything and can count himself lucky never to have had a good shoeing, however, on this occasion he had the right answers to drive the Oaks on to victory in adversity with an excellent bowling display under pressure.
Alex followed his double by dismissing the dangerous Ramsdell opener (who admirably walked when initially given not-out) caught behind and with Clive Welsman and then Gerry Dique, slowing up the run rate at the other end, the Rams ran out of overs, finishing on 149 in what was an exciting encounter played in good spirits.
So a great result in the end but if Oakley are going to retain the trophy come the end of August, they need to get their confidence and concentration sorted out in the field, because, as last week’s loss to Wherwell emphasised, dropped catches lose matches.
Up the Oaks!