Report by Two’s Wicketkeeper, Will Rabley
Last weekend Oakley’s 2nd team took a trip up to the north of Newbury to play against Donnington hoping to carry on their good form from game week 1.
Arriving in High Spirits
The strong start the week before meant the Oaks arrived at the ground with high spirits. As the Oaks were warming up (just like the first team) the first blow to morale was discovered. Jack lost the toss. Despite losing the toss we walked onto the field looking to pile on the pressure right from the start.
The only way we know how to do that is to give Dave the ball. He went about his usual business of bowling a consistent line and length which troubled the batsman. However, the Dons opening batsman, who Oakley had already identified as a threat, tonked the ball back over Dave’s head for a 4. From the other end the young Noah Beckell got to work. Both bowlers were doing a great job and by the time Noah had finished his first spell, the hosts were 17-0.
A Tall Jeff Breakthrough
This then bought on Jack Brundle’s new strike bowler Tall Jeff Triner. This is when the tide started to shift in the way of Oakley. Jeff released the ball from his normal 7-foot point, and it landed nicely for a drive. The Donnington opening batsman unhinged his jaw and went to drive the ball, but it was skewed up in the air.
Luckily for Oakley Ollie Rabley wasn’t sat under the ball to drop his best friend as he has done for the last 2 matches. The ball fell for Nigel “Bucket hands” Bishop, who dived full stretch to grasp the ball and get the first wicket of the match. Then Jeff struck again 3 overs later, and much like his first wicket, the Donnington batsman hit the ball up into the air and Nigel was patiently waiting for it to drop into his hands.
This was the start of the Oak’s first battle in the field, the young Donnington bat came to the crease took his guard faced his first ball, and played an on-drive over the infield for 4. With Dave bowled out, Kalum came into the fray. He seemed to be the only one of the bowlers that could peg the young Donnington batsman back. Then the ball was pumped high into the air and Ben Robinson settled under it. Unfortunately for him it was directly in the sun and the ball slipped through his hands and he couldn’t quite reclaim the ball before it hit the ground.
Wood Comes Good
The Oaks did not let this affect their mood. One thing that did boost the morale in the field was the returning Rob Wood. His meticulously placed leg-spin stopped the Donnington batsmen from slapping the ball to the boundary. A beautifully delivered leg stump yorker caught the Donnington batsman out and he had to walk. Then it only took him 2.4 overs to claim his second victim turning the ball into the middle stump.
Some may say his third wicket was his greatest…. His flight and guile drew the batsman in. The Dons batsman charged down the wicket, swung, and missed. Then the young wicketkeeper Will Rabley, much like a prime Alan Knott, took the ball and whipped the bails off faster than Dave could say “F*** off Ben!”. After that Rob’s 4th wicket came and was much like others before it: the ball was spooned into the air and Nigel happened to be under it.
The Beckell and Burrell Show
The Oaks were set a target of 172 and the opening pair of Dan Beckell and Matt Burrell walked out to the middle. They quickly got to work breaking apart the Donnington attack and within the first 10 overs, they had raised their 50-run partnership. They kept on building and building their innings playing sensibly and dismantling the bowling attack they faced.
The game reached drinks with a score of 122-0. At this point captain, Jack Brundle was getting a bit bored and decided to abuse his power and move above poor Ben Robinson, up to 3rd. However, this proved to be pointless as Matt and Dan cruised to the end of the game. Dan is clearly intent on building on his league average for the season which is currently non-existent after two not-outs.
Oakley’s No. 2 Bus is clearly on the road and not stopping anytime soon.
Bring on the next challenge.