Another disappointing day in the field cost Oakley victory on Saturday as they lost in the last Over away to Sherfield.
Oakley batted first with Scott Bright and Adam Robinson quickly moving the scoreboard on, picking the bad balls against some good, lively Sherfield bowling, before Robinson got done by a cracking delivery whilst looking set for a big score.
Scott Bright and Adam Robinson got Oakley off to a good start at Sherfield
This started the wickets tumbling as batsmen got themselves in and out trying to support Bright who was furious with himself for getting out on 45 to buffet bowling when he had worked so hard to set himself up for a big knock.
Even so, a decent knock of 41 for Tom Holbrook backed by an obligatory late flurry of sixes from Alex Brundle got the score up to a respectable total of 188 that captain Clive Welsman was relatively happy with, though a further 20-30 runs would have put Sherfield out of the contest.
Defending, Oakley bowled well enough, but not for the first time this season, chances came and went and proved costly, with a fine catch in the deep by George Lethaby being one of the few chances that stuck as other catches went begging.
The wickets were shared around between Clive Welsman, Tom Holbrook and pick of the bunch, Neil Robinson who was really tight, but ultimately, it was not enough to make up for basic fielding errors that have been annoyingly infectious for much of the season.
Oakley are a better side than their league position might suggest and though it is too late now, next year needs some major pre-season work on the basics of taking catches that ultimately, win matches.
Up the Oaks