Neighbours and ground sharers, St Mary’s, were the visitors to Oakley Park on a fine and sunny late summer afternoon. It was an important day for St Mary’s, who needed a win to confirm their place in the league next year.
The Oaks batted first, and Steve Bown looked in imperious form along with the more dogged Kris Tucknott, building a great platform as the churchmen tired, despite some useful bowling. When Kris (24) departed, Alan North took up the reins and went along quickly.
50 For Bown
Bownie departed for a well-made 55 and Alan for 30. At this point the game swung away from us amongst a plethora of ducks and single figure scores. Only Jack Brundle (16) and Nellie Warner (13) got into double figures. A notable achievement was the father and son combination of Bob and George Lethaby getting a golden duck apiece. Lovely stuff, that.
The Oaks finished on 170, a disappointing, if not pathetic return, from 80 odd for one. Still, it was something to defend, and you never know what might happen with a couple of early wickets.
However, St Mary’s started well and built a great platform for victory despite some decent bowling from youngsters, Herbie Hamilton, and Harry Tucknott. Kalum Sapumanage did make a breakthrough and George Lethaby picked up late 4 wickets for the second time in a week. St Mary’s didn’t buckle though, with Stephen Reid guiding them to a comfortable win with a calm innings.
The Silver Lining
There is silver lining and that is that St Mary’s are a decent bunch (even Nathan behaved himself) and we didn’t really want to be responsible for sending them down. It could in part be the reason for a bit of a mid-table lacklustre display but there were definitely no strings attached. St Mary’s wanted it a bit more than The Oaks and were certainly the better team on the day.
So, the season ends with our win one, lose one, consistently inconsistent record, intact. On our day, we are a match for anyone. Off it, to be brutally honest, we are reasonably easy to beat. That’s often the case with a Second XI, as it is nigh on impossible to get a settled side on the pitch. Something to work on next season perhaps?
A few new additions and the return of Mike Bryant, Paddy Saines and Mike Tiley next year, will ramp up competition for places at the club as a whole and will undoubtedly make the Two’s better equipped in 2023. We wanted to do better this year and perhaps should have done, but we have still enjoyed it (most of the time).
On we must travel!