It was a mixed Saturday for the club as the First XI scrambled to victory against a battling Ashford Hill side and The Seconds were well beaten by a strong Holybourne First XI.
Oaks Seal Title Against Battling Ashford Hill
Ashford Hill gave the First XI one hell of a scare yesterday as the boys held onto their 100% record by just 1 run.
The Oaks batted first and it was obvious from the off that Hill meant business as they battled for enough points to stave of relegation back to the regional structure.
Nellie Warner went for 0 to a worm burner but Will Montgomery and in-form Dan Sumner rebuilt before Will was bowled on 13.
When Rob Wood (1) and Clive Welsman (11) departed, The Oaks were looking for a decent partnership and they got one courtesy of the excellent Alex Brundle and James Bayliss who put on a vital 76 to get the Oaks up to a defendable total.
After they departed there was a flurry of cameos and late wickets, with The Oaks finishing on a seemingly manageable 183.
However, Hill were up for a scrap and a big scalp and they battled gameley with runs and wickets coming and going. The game was finely balanced, swinging one way then the next. Just when the game seemed to be going in their favour, Jack Ballard dug right in for Hill and the pendulum moved back once again.
It was turning into a gripping contest and in the end it was quite fitting that it all came down to the last ball of the game, with Hill not quite managing the three runs that would have taken them to a victory that they would have rightly relished.
Hill were excellent, but they will be wondering why they have not been able to turn in such performances all season.
Wickets went to Barnes (1) Brundle (2) Compton- Bearne (2) Sumner (2) and Rob Wood (1) but Clive Welsman going for just 19 off 9 was equally, if not more important.
So with Overton failing to get maximum points, the title is now Oakley’s, with the last challenge being to try and keep the 100% record against AWE Tadley next weekend.
A Top effort that.
Two’s Not Strong Enough for Well Drilled Holybourne
The Two’s outside chance of promotion ended yesterday after they were well beaten by promotion bound Holybourne on a cloudy and muggy afternoon.
The Oaks batted first with Steve Savage and Dan Jones gameley seeing off two very good openers, only to be rewarded with two even better change bowlers.
The wickets began to fall when Steve (15) and Dan (10) departed and it became something of a procession apart from a lusty 34 from George Lethaby that included five 4’s and two huge sixes. It is also worth mentioning a cameo from young Will Rabley who contributed with 12 runs.
The Oaks finished on 101, around 200 short of what was needed and after a little bit of early token pressure from Jeff King and George Lethaby, Holybourne waltzed to victory and a deserved promotion back to the County structure.
Oakey have a token game left at Old Basing III next week where the target will be a highly commendable top 5 finish in what has been a good season in the highest league the second string have played in. There may be a tinge of disappointment we didn’t make the top three after a great start, but if we are honest, we are not ready for a step up to that level just yet.
Well done lads.
