The build-up to this fixture was hotly anticipated. Both teams had started the season with mixed fortunes and found themselves neck and neck in the league. With rumours coming from the opposition’s camp of having 47 players unavailable, The Oaks were pretty sure we would be facing a full-strength side from Overton. Bizarrely though Overton did look a little light (metaphorically) on players. A few of the regular heavyweights were in town and a couple of the others looked as though they could hold wood well.
Captain Brundle chatted to their skipper about what Overton would like to do when they win the toss, and it was duly decided that The Oaks would have a bat first.
A SOLID BEGINNING
DJ and Matt Burrell opened up proceedings and didn’t hang about. I tell a lie. From the pavilion, it seemed like an eternity before we were able to applaud the first run of the day. Still, a solid start with no loss is always a good thing. Unfortunately for DJ he appeared to have fallen asleep in the middle and a lazy shot saw him returning to the clubhouse with barely a few runs under his belt. DJ is a great bowler and a fantastic fielder though so he knew he would still have a big impact on the game…
Bishop took the No3 slot and got on with things in his usual manner, driving through the offside whilst looking at the leg side, you know the type of thing. Nigel doesn’t disappoint though and was soon edging his way past another 50. With Matt plodding away at the other end a respectable score looked promising. Nigel was eventually caught on 59 which saw a change in the batting order.
IN THE CORN FIELDS
Brad was deployed to have a bit of fun and boy did he look like he was having fun. With a hand full of Oaks players patrolling the corn fields, Brad still managed to get the ball playing hide and seek in the wispy grain stalks. With a tally of 29 runs at a strike rate of 290 watching Brad isn’t like being in a long-term relationship. It’s more like the best one-night stand ever. Fast, furious, loveless but a whole heap of fun.
BACK TO NORMAL
From there on in the remaining batsmen came and went with regularity. Matt was eventually caught out. Josh was bowled before he could settle in. Mozza fell to a splendid caught and bowled by Galvin. Brundle was caught after a flurry of runs. Neil was caught before he got going. Stefan was run out. Ian carried his bat for a well-deserved 24 runs which could have been a few more had the scoreboard been up to date and he knew how many overs were left. Finally, Dave carried his bat too.
All in all, it wasn’t a disaster and The Oaks posted a target of 216.
A point of interest for those that care: Dave has never actually been out for the 1stXI since his debut in 2021. Nine innings, nine not-outs and a total of 17 runs. He doesn’t really mention it…
ROBBO UNLEASHED
Pumped up and ready to go, Neil Robinson was given the honour of the first ball in our attack and by heck it was a corker. Starting outside of the off stump and coming in at a rate of knots to clean up the middle stump was not what the Overton opener was expecting. The movement Neil has been getting over the last few matches was finally rewarded with what could only be described as the perfect delivery.
With the bar set high, Dave trundled in from the other end hoping for similar rewards, however, it wasn’t to be this week and not for want of trying.
With rain clouds surrounding the skies overhead, the objective was to not hang about. With Josh offering calming words, Dave plugged away.
DJ AGAIN
With both batsmen offering few chances we knew we would need to keep things tight in the field, something DJ failed to pick up on, in fact, it wasn’t the only thing he failed to pick up. I won’t prolong this, but a masterclass in how not to field was presented to anyone who could bear to watch. If a ball could beat you in any possible way DJ let it… One through the hands, another past his arm, yet another over the shoulder, but the “piece de resistance” was being nutmegged on the boundary. The lad should be six feet under by now with the number of death stares fired in his direction.
KEEPING IT EASY
The Overton pairing were looking more comfortable as the innings progressed, but a rash decision on a cheeky single would be their undoing, wouldn’t it? In a moment of madness one of the batsmen took of for a single, the other stood his ground. The ball fell easily to our fielder. The return to the keeper was simple. The catch from Ian, was, well, non-existent. The stranded Overton bat looked confused, still halfway down the wicket, as he saw Ian scrambling around on the floor desperately trying to claw back the ball that had somehow popped out of his gloves. The Batsmen strolled calmly back into his crease as if nothing had happened, whilst Ian was left wondering why the ground couldn’t just swallow him up.
DJ BACK FOR MORE
Coming on for a bowl was DJ’s chance to redeem himself. Did he? Did he heck? Straight up with 3 full toss no balls could not have made DJ’s day any worse. With the opposition calling for him to be banned for life for bowling dangerously the only saving grace was, that some reason the batsmen took mercy on the poor lad. Two forward defensive shots at head height were not what you expect to see from such dross bowling. In fact, the only shot played in DJ’s first over was a hoik behind that was snaffled up by a possessed Neil Robinson diving backwards at full length. Unfortunately. Predictably, it came from another no-ball. DJ did recover from this and actually returned with good figures and a wicket.
A NEW NAME ON THE BOARD
With things in the field not going as smoothly as we would have liked it was time for Stefan to come on with his calming influence.
With Brad keeping things tight and taking a few wickets from one end Stefan had the freedom to attack. He did just that. The first wicket came by way of a stunning catch by Josh deep at Mid-On. The second he cleaned up the off stump. The third, a smart catch from Mozza and the fourth by claiming the Overton skipper. Coming into his final over everyone was willing Stefan to get just one more wicket. Every ball seemed to do something but not quite enough. With the final ball of his spell, Stefan stormed in and swung it a mile. A collective scream went up and the umpire signalled LBW. A great achievement for Stefan, and a new name on the board.
OVER AND DONE
The match was well and truly over by the time AB came on to bowl, but he did take the final scalp of the day and let Stefan lead us off the field for a well-earned victory. The jugs were filled with beer and the celebrating began. Back to winning ways. The only disappointment was hearing that the 2ndXI had been called off after putting themselves in a dominant position against a reluctant Basingstoke side. That and the 3rd XI getting called off because the opposition couldn’t put a side together.
We go again though as we always do.
Guy Jewel tomorrow evening, so go well to those that are playing.
Disclaimer: Please be aware that the correspondent means for no offence to be taken by this report. It’s just a light-hearted view of the day from one man’s perspective.