The Oaks First & Second XI had another double Saturday to celebrate yesterday after good wins against Longparish II and Ropley II.
First XI Victorious at Longparish
The First XI put in a good team performance with a hard fought but ultimately comfortable victory at lowly Longparish on a cloudy and humid Saturday afternoon in the Test Valley.
Batting first, The Oaks had to deal with the loss of Dan Sumner early but Nellie Warner steadied the Oakley ship and built a good partnership with Michael Wood.
When Nellie departed on 33, Woody and Clive Welsman continued the tick the scoreboard along but runs weren’t easy to come by.
However, that didn’t stop Woody making his first 50 of the season and after battling for form, this was great news for him and the First XI as a whole.
Longparish didn’t give up though and suddenly, a mini-collapse ensued and out of nowhere, the Oaks were 137 for 7 with Brad Compton-Bearne and Mark Potter at the crease and under pressure.
They responded well, pushing the scoreboard along with Brad, belligerent and Potts batting with the new found intelligence (yes I said intelligence) he has brought into the 2018 season. Potts could always bat but now, rather than trying to hit every ball to Weymouth, he plays with much calmer authority, well, at least until he ran Brad out on 33.
Potts remained and was joined by Rob Wood, who once again showed he knows how to hold a bat as The Oaks reached what could be deemed a credible 191 for 9.
The First XI have been excellent in the field this season and this game was to be no exception as tight bowling and fielding strangled any opportunity for ‘Parish to get into the game.
Once again the wickets were shared around the team with Mark Potter (1) Brad Compton-Bearne (2) Tom Barnes (3) Rob Wood (2) and Clive Welsman (2) all in on the action as Longparish were dismantled for 111 after being 62-2 at one point.
Star of the day was Tom Barnes who bowled brilliantly throughout the game, causing carnage as he did so; no batsmen could live with him. A special mention must also go to Dan Sumner who took a spectacular flying catch in the slips.
Tougher tests lie in wait for but with Gerry Dique and Dave Pistorious to come back, The Oaks are looking strong and ready for a push at promotion.
Second XI Dig Deep to See off Ropley
The Oaks second string recovered from an unusually shoddy performance in the field to see off a spirited and experienced Ropley side at a muggy Oakley Park, where a constant threat of rain added to the drama.
Fielding first, Oakley struggled to get going in the early Overs with the Ropley opener pumping the ball to the boundaries at will, with the second over of the game going for 21.
Oakley did turn things round during the middle period with Rav Kancharla the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 17 off his 8 Overs. Wickets also came for Steve Bown, George Lethaby and Ollie Rabley.
However, after the experienced Nick Gerrard arrived at the crease, Oakley fell to bits somewhat, with a host of miss fields accompanying average bowling as Ropley raced from 90-6 past the 150 mark. Gerrard batted well, with one supporter describing him as a phantom of cricket experience (I think he meant fountain).
Matters weren’t helped when after five or six catches went down, a Ropley batsmen thick edged off George Lethaby into the gloves of Steve Savage and refused to walk, causing bad feeling all round the field, with George in particular, simmering around boiling point in a state of incandescence and on the verge of blowing a gasket.
Is it fair? It’s an emotive subject and it depends on your perspective but if you can hear the edge from the clubhouse, it is just bad luck the umpire was the only person at the ground who didn’t hear it. Perhaps he was waiting for the batsman to walk?
Whatever the case, Oakley didn’t deal with it well and the untidy fielding became contagious. As a consequence, when Ropley left the field on 175 for 8, they appeared to be the team in control of proceedings and momentum.
It certainly seemed that way when The Oaks lost Ollie Rabley for 4 and Steve Savage for 15 but George Lethaby (22) and Jack Brundle (20) did get the innings going as Oakley kept up with the run rate.
However, George, Jack and Stuart Spalding all went in quick succession and with 5 down and around six an over required, it looked a daunting task for new batsmen at the crease, Dave Fuller and youngster, Nathan Rabley.
To add to the drama, heavy downpours were being reported from all around Hampshire and the cloud was building up quickly as the few first few blobs of rain landed on the scorers books.
Could Dave and Rabbers do it? Would the rain hold off long enough to avoid setting renewed targets that are calculated by dividing the amount of items in a plumbers tool box by the minutes delayed and then multiplying that figure by the overs bowled once it has been divided by the runs scored?
Fortunately, as the rain became heavier, the two coolest heads were those of Dave and Rabbers who batted calmly as the run rate hovered between 5 and 7 an over. With wickets in hand, they went for it and gained momentum and the game swung back to the Oaks.
In the end, they did it with eight balls to spare with the only disappointment being that Nathan didn’t quite make a deserved 50, finishing on 48 not out. At the other Dave finished unbeaten on 33 in what really was a terrific, match changing partnership.
As the rain came tumbling from the lead grey skies and the beer started flowing, news emerged from the other games that all the teams above in Oakley the league table had lost, meaning, remarkably, The Oaks had jumped three places to the summit of RNE1.
To stay there, The Oaks will need to improve on a tally of 35 extras off their bowling but after last season’s canter to the title, everyone agrees that wherever we end up, it is far more fun to be involved in competitive and exciting games.
So, with both teams successful once again, we must regroup and look forward to the challenges that come our way next week.
The Oakley wagons roll on….giddy up boy!
Up the Oaks!