2nd XI
An early start to avoid the Silverstone traffic saw the Potterbus brimming with Wolves. Our opponents sat mid table but we knew little about them as the first game was rained off.
Rich duly won the toss and inserted the home side having twice fallen foul of batting first then seeing the opposition play out for a losing draw. Master and Pupil opened the attack. The Brackley skipper looked dangerous as he took four boundaries off the first 3 overs taking them to 20-0. Payne found an edge and Madhav took a sharp catch at gully. In his next over their skipper edged to Ben at first slip ending his innings.
Neil and Sam then tightened their grip and the run rate rapidly diminished. Then the ‘champagne moment’ a superb diving catch by Gareth off Neil’s bowling, saw them three down. The Cherwell boys continued to turn the screw as the next ten overs yielded just ten runs. Both openers got 3 wickets, Madhav taking another sharp catch. The Kadster was then given the ball and he didn’t disappoint. He deceived the no. 7 with his second ball and lured no. 9 into edging it into Darren’s glove.
Madhav finished them off with catches from Potter and from a superb dive from Neil to end the innings. 94 all out.
The Wolves reply saw a solid start from our talisman Ben and Chris, 14 from the first 8 overs, Ben struggling to find his usual rhythm then slapped the ball into the hands of a fielder (14-1). Deepak then joined and slowly but surely took control of the game. Deepak looked set to see us through but was caught for 34. (69-2) Darren was victim to yet another questionable umpiring decision. (75-3) This brought the Captain to the crease. The Iceman and Chris saw us over the line in the 34th over. Chris carried his bat to 30* and Rich 13*.
A win by seven wickets and favourable results elsewhere saw us increase our lead to 19 points. Madhav was awarded man of the match by the Brackley scorer.
Next week we welcome Bletchingdon to the park. Divjot and Madhav can’t wait!
Match report by AP
3rd XI
Coles on Fire!
It was a day of records. It was a 35 degree blue sky scorcher. It was a famous win. Victory was snatched from the very talons of defeat. But the day began with 1970s interior decor… 3 ducks in a row. Losing the toss and surprised to be put in, Wolvercote lost 1, 2, and 3 as poultry, and found themselves 4 for 4 off 8. Lewis was unfortunate to have been given LBW to a ball going down (and arguably pitching outside) leg. This misfortune was somewhat lessened by the fact that he should probably have gone an over earlier for the same dismissal. Crouch succumbed to a guzzunder that, if Amit watching from the boundary is to be believed, bounced twice on the way to the stumps. This was the first of seven wickets for Vickers, the Chesterton offie, with Toby and Walshy going shortly thereafter. Their wickets brought the brothers-in-law to the crease, who provided the only real resistance to the Chesterton openers. Ayyaz top-edged for 9, leaving Abeer’s hard won, watchful, and unbeaten 48 as our only real performance, that was, with the benefit of hindsight, worth a ton on any other day. Abeer was supported by cameos from Luke and Yousef, but the Wolvercote innings included 5 ducks and was undoubtedly sub par. Jimmy Appleton ended the game with a miserly 3 for 9 from 12, and 3 of those 9 were his own… Vickers, who ran through the wolves with guile and bounce more than genuine turn, ended with 7 for 39 off his 15. He could be forgiven for assuming that the Man of the Match award would be his… he would be wrong. Ending on 96, the Wolfpack were buoyed only by the fact that this was nearly three times Chesterton’s previous effort against our attack this season. Walsh elected to open with Murgotroyd and Ayyaz, and was rewarded early with an early LBW from the spinner. Coles was introduced after 6 overs, and bowled the number 3 shortly thereafter. It was at this point that Amit left Kennington (presumably assuming that a sad loss was all but inevitable). His leaving triggered a turnaround in our fortunes, and confirmed our suspicion that his presence is akin to that of an albatross above a ship (take note Barkat!). Speaking of rare birds, another, in the form of a Crouchie catch at mid-on, shortly followed with the crucial wicket of Appleton. Apres Jimmy, le deluge! The next wickets went 4, 4, 2, 4, 7, 2. Coles ended with 8 for 18 off 9, 5 bowled, and an LB, a stellar effort, a club record, and a proper wolf win!
Report by Daniel Crouch
4th XI
Away at Oxford Downs the 4th XI took the knee – all together with the opposition and and the umpires. That felt very special. We won the toss, batted nicely up top (Dent and Sarosh) to put on 46 runs together. Slid to 67-6 from there before lower order resistance to bring the total to 122 (Rajat 31*). Amazing start to our fielding with 2 wickets in the first over, Simon Palmer bowling 8 consecutive maidens before his 50th ball finally went for runs. But the Downs 3&4 dug in and freed their arms as the innings progressed, chasing down the total in 32 overs. Great catch standing up to the stumps by Danny Robinson, and a wonderful running catch in the deep by Tom Akerman.
Match report by Philipp Lohan