The Second XI travelled down to St Mary Bourne for their last away fixture on what was another sparkling late summer Saturday. Could they keep up their recent win one, lose one, run of form that has underlined a consistently inconsistent season?
Oaks Bat First
To do so, they had to beat in form Bourne (a bit of poetry there) who had propelled themselves into second place after a late season winning streak. The Oaks batted first, with Jack gambling on bell lifter and occasional bell end, Nick Green, to get us of to a flier. Nick responded in a typically Nick type way, scoring quickly along with the more technically minded Paddy Saines. The Oaks raced to 50 off not many overs, an ideal start.
Nick then went for a valuable and chaotic 25 off not many balls but Nigel Bishop and Paddy kept the momentum going. After Paddy (33) and Nigel (27) departed, the Oaks found themselves in a mini collapse situation with a now buoyant Bourne right back in it at 138-6. They were now bowling some good stuff, getting movement off a variable strip.
The Rebuild
However, an excellent 31 from Mike Tiley and a belligerent 30 from Mike Bryant backed by cameos from Jack (18) and Will Rabley (10) took The Oaks to respectability. The Oaks were also aided by misfortune, with Bourne’s best bowler taking a sickening blow to his fingers off a Tiley pile-driver. It drew drew plenty of claret, ruling him out for the match and probably, the season, the poor sod. Bob Lethaby and Jeff Triner edged The Oaks past 200 and maximum batting points. Bob even took a single that looked a bit bit like a cricket shot.
Would it be enough? It seemed a hard target to defend on a fast and bumpy outfield. When George lost his range in the opening overs, it felt like an early finish was incoming. George then got taken out of the firing line before it was all over, red rover. This left Mike Bryant and Jeff Triner to attempt a repair job on a game rapidly disappearing over the horizon. They had to bowl well before it was too late.
Tall Becomes Mean Jeff
Boy oh boy did they respond? Jeff was sensational. A three pace run up followed by a bit of zip and metronomic accuracy took The Oaks back to parity, with Mike also pinning down the Bourne batsmen. Jeff completed his spell going for just six runs in eight overs. Incredible stuff from the man known to many as Tall Jeff, because he is tall, and called Jeff. Mike was also bowling very well and had one big LBW appeal that had a small boy in the adjacent playground screaming, “THAT’S OUT, YOU TWAT!” It’s nice to see youngsters take an interest in cricket but from that angle, the lad couldn’t have known for sure.
With Jeff’s overs used up, Bob Lethaby, playing on his new manor, came into the attack. Bob hoped his new neighbours wouldn’t recognise him and call him out as a traitor. However, a Bourne supporter was overheard saying, “that’s the bloke with the dog and the camera, isn’t it?” Bob had been rumbled. The pressure to perform intensified and following Jeff was no easy gig. Bob’s job was to turn the screw on boundaries as the Bourne required rate went past 7 then 8. He did well for seven overs, conceding just two boundaries as the run rate approached 10. However, a job is never a good job until it is complete. As proof of this theory, Bob cocked up his last over in spectacular fashion, going for a morale sapping, bottom lip wobbling, 19.
George’s Redemption
This also infected the otherwise excellent Mike Tiley who offered up a similar bad over that went for 12. When Paddy’s fill in over then went for 10, Bourne were back in business and sensing a late victory charge. The Oaks were feeling a little deflated and The Bourne supporters had their tails up, sensing a great chase. Jack was running out of bowling options and had no choice but to turn his attention back to George, who had not been having his best day at the office. What would happen? As George started his run up all that could he heard was the collective pulse of 10 Oakley sphincters. No one wanted George’s bad day get worse, not least George, so it was a tense and defining moment.
Much to everyone’s relief, George found his radar on ball one. With confidence resumed, he bowled a fine 4 over spell, quietening the increasingly vociferous locals by removing the Bourne opener caught and bowled. George followed this up taking 3 further wickets to end the contest with a bit of breathing space. What a great turnaround for the lad. Bourne finished all out in the last over, 19 runs short of victory. Good bowling still needs back up and Tiley also rediscovered his line and length. Both he and George received vital support from some great fielding, notably a fine pressure catch from Big Mike, right on the boundary.
All Round Display
So, an excellent all-round performance from The Oaks maintained the win one, lose one end to the season. There were good performances throughout the team, with the players backing each other up and fielding with determination. Jack got his big calls right, opening with Nick and bringing George back on to bowl when under pressure. Big Mike led from the front with his fight them on the beaches speeches in between wickets. Mike is an imposing figure who knows his stuff and demands concentration from the players around him.
As for St Mary Bourne, their promotion run is probably over. However, Bourne have still galvanised themselves for a fine 2022 after pre-season concerns they may struggle for numbers. They are a good bunch of lads who played in an excellent spirit in a game that did get a bit feisty but never in a spiteful way. A couple of them were a bit pissed off they couldn’t see it through, but that is understandable. We’re all the same us cricketers. It was good to join them for a pint and a chat after the game.
On to the final week we shall travel, with St Mary’s the opposition in a local derby.