At last, we got some cricket on Saturday, although, disappointingly, not for the Third XI. They were rained off but the hard work of the groundwork team at Oakley, got the second XI game on.
First XI
The First team arrived at Redlynch only to be greeted by rain. Fortunately, it dried up and on a couple of occasions the sun actually came out on another bleak day.
The Oaks put Redlynch into bat on a slow and damp pitch. Excellent bowling from Clive Welsman, and youngster, Josh Carpenter, kept the scoring down with The Oaks on top.
However, the Redlynch batsmen dug in, knowing it was likely to be a slow scoring game. Eventually the runs did come as The Oaks lost a bit of their impetus. Redlynch then started moving towards a competitive score.
Wickets did come as well. George Lethaby picking up The Oaks first wicket in County 2, courtesy of a good running catch from Josh Carpenter. The other wickets went to Josh Carpenter in a fantastic second spell and to Alex Brundle. Will Cheyney and James Baylis took good catches ant there was also a sharp run-out.
Redlynch were more than happy with 184, whilst The Oaks could not help thinking it could, and maybe should, have been 30-40 less.
Dan Jones and Will Cheyney started well, and the match appeared to be swinging back towards the Oaks. At this point, the scoreboard moving along nicely. However, when DJ (14) went too early on a drive and was caught, and Will (24) infuriatingly, got done by a full toss, the momentum went with them.
All the following batsmen fought hard to keep The Oaks in the game but scoring was hard work. The hope was for a lack of depth in the Redlynch bowling to take advantage of later. But here is where we see the difference between C3 and C2. Redlynch’s first change bowlers were probably better than their openers. After that, despite a rusty first over, their leg spinner caused real problems.
After a battling partnership from George Lethaby & Will Montgomery was ended, The Oaks looked to the quick running of Chris Morris and potential trump card Ian Bennett, as a last chance. It was not to be. Mozzer fought gamely for his 18 and James Bayliss pushed us along to respectability with 16, but the chance of victory had gone. The positive was that no one threw their wicket away against good bowling, and there were no ducks on the scorecard.
Redlynch were the better team on the day, doing the basics just a bit better and showing patience at critical periods. It was a good game, and some valuable lessons will be learnt as we move forward.
MOM: Josh Carpenter: Great bowling again, rewarded with two fine wickets.
Second XI
The Second XI entertained Bentworth at Oakley Park after overcoming early scares with the weather.
Bentworth batted first and got off to an absolute flier, smashing 70 in the first 10 overs. This proved critical in the end.
The Oaks did pull it round though, with everyone contributing with the ball in hand as the run rate slowed. Wickets went to Nellie Warner (3) Dave Bowers, Mick Wood, Mike Bryant, and Jeff King as Bentworth put on a competitive looking 175-8.
The Oaks got off to a disastrous start with Michael Wood and Steve Savage going early, leaving them reeling on 9-2. However, Jeff Triner (34) and Nellie Warner (55) led an excellent fight back to apparently put The Oaks in control. It was not to be though, because after both departed, The Oaks fell apart, with only Mike Bryant (12) and a late flurry from Jeff King (14) making double digits. This left Dave Bowers stranded on five, which is a shame as he has shown good early season form.
The Oaks finished 28 runs shy of the total. As with the First XI, it was a case of what might have been. Bentworth were marginally better, and their early innings runs proved to be vital in the end.
MOM: Nellie Warner 55 runs and 3 wickets
So, a disappointing start but much to be positive about and improve on as both teams go forward. Most importantly of all, we got some cricket played at last and the weather appears to be settling down.
We move onwards and upwards to next week.