The Two’s travelled to a resplendent Hartley Wintney on Saturday with a team packed with batsmen but apparently light on bowling. With that in mind, batting first, they were hoping for a 230 + target.
Batting First
Things didn’t start well, with skipper Jack Brundle departing on 7. However, good partnerships between Nige Bishop and Chris Morris, then Chris and Ian Bennett, got the Oaks on track. Annoyingly after Nigel went, bowled for 32, Ian played a poor shot whilst going well on 40, and Mozz went LBW. By all accounts it was a decision Moz wasn’t happy about, with his helmet getting the brunt of his incandescence.
Could George Lethaby and Steve Bown repeat their 180 run partnership of last year. Nope, Bown went for 6. This left George to try and build something with Nelly Warner. They did so with a 50 run partnership but Nelly fell for 20, just as the pair were building momentum, looking for at least 220. The innings then stalled a little, with George left unbeaten on 36 and The Oaks compiling 208. It felt light.
The Wintney Chase
The Wintney chase was chaotic, with wickets coming nearly as quickly as runs. At 50-5 the game was there for the taking but the lack of bowlers was always a concern. Everyone did what they could to back up the excellent Mike Bryant. However, misfields and dropped catches were getting frustrating.
When the two match winning batsmen were both dropped in two balls, the game drifted away from The Oaks. Of course, having to use batsmen as willing bowlers is always going to make life hard but The Oaks still felt like they blew it. However, credit should go to the Wintney batsmen who stayed in the game and in the end cantered home with 8 balls to spare.
Bouncebackability?
For The Oaks, that’s 2 games on the trot lost despite maximum batting points. They need to find some wicket takers but with injuries and unavailability at the club taking their toll, that’s easier said than done. The loss of key bowlers Alex Brundle and now George Lethaby, means The Oaks need to find some ingenuity and a bit of spirit.
This wasn’t in the script but we have to just crack on and see who can step up to the plate.