Format: 35 overs.
Unusual stats: Maori Oxshott used 10 bowlers (all players except the wicketkeeper)
& William Parker WAS out! (not his usual red-inker)
A team bristling with new(er) faces rolled in to picturesque Oxshott CC on a warm but cloudy afternoon, excited for the game ahead and to overturn 2 back to back defeats at the hands of our welcoming and convivial hosts.
Coops lost the toss, and we were put in to bat, with Ash Bukhari and Furns in as openers. The hosts had a good mix of youth and wily experience (including the ever present and effervescent Steve Saker), however they opened with 2 young lads full of stamina and spirit. It was a green wicket, but one that was rather slow and a little varied in its predictability, however Ash and Furns both navigated the early overs with some assurance and began to get the scoreboard ticking over, Furns rotating the strike nicely, and Ash timing some beautiful and characteristic drives for 4. The Mogs reached 50 with few alarms after 11 overs.
The scoring slowed a little with some of that wily Saker off spin, well accompanied by one or two others, and by the drinks break, the Mogs were 87 for no wicket off 17. It was at the drinks break that Furns complained of an achilles injury, that might have had a direct correlation to the reducing run rate, and at that point he decided to retire hurt for 29. This prompted a little rush of wickets as we quickly lost 2 of our newer brethren, Ollie Friend and Steve Pullen.
Honeyfield came to the wicket with the innings under a little pressure and he dug in looking to build a partnership with Ash, who quickly went to a wonderfully constructed 50. Honeyfield struggled somewhat with the pace of the wicket and missed several dipping leg side deliveries, and having steadied the ship somewhat, went with 7 overs to go. The wickets continued to fall in regular succession as everyone somewhat struggled with the slow pace, and some good bowling, except Ash, who was continuing to imperiously take the attack to Oxshott. Alas, as he neared a very well-deserved century, Ash was bowled for 95 by the returning youthful opening bowler, but with some lusty blows by Peter Friend and Neil Coles towards the end, the Mogs amassed what we felt was a competitive score of 193 for 9, with the Colonel unable to add to his 146 red inkers for the Mogs, run out off a rather comical final ball.
A wonderful tea was devoured in between innings, with some particularly fine BBQ chicken drums sticks and some very generously filled sandwiches, most noticeably the coronation chicken, which then prompted a purists debate as to whether raisins should or should not be a traditional and vital ingredient within said sandwich. I can report that no agreement was reached in what was a robust and passionate debate, and which also covered what the intensity of the spicing should be – again no formal conclusion.
The Mogs somewhat rolled on to the pitch after tea, but quickly got their heads back in to the game as a rallying cry from Coops set the tone, as Neil ‘Daddy’ Coles opened up from the Pétanque end, where a brilliant opening over claimed the wicket of a decent looking opener, with a very smart catch at 1st slip from Ash. Brennan Calafato then opened from the Millionaires Row end and again quickly dropped in to a menacing first over, both in terms of pace and in probing the corridor of uncertainty. 1 wicket quickly became 2 as The Daddy produced an absolute box of tricks to leave the Oxshott top order in in 3 minds how to play each ball. Brennan then deservedly got his wicket in the next few overs as he continued to threaten the off stump (as well as the excellent Colonel behind), and, after 10 overs, and a simply brilliant opening attack, Oxshott were 42 for 3.
The Oxshott No.4 was proving a worthy adversary and beginning to tick as we had a double Friend change, as father and son, Peter and Ollie came on as first and second change. Ollie quickly dropped in to the perfect line and length for the pitch, although sadly Peter picked up an injury in trying to rip too many revolutions on the ball. Ollie deservedly saw a return for his endeavours as he worked over No.5 and clean bowled him during a high class over. The new Friends then made way for Mogs royalty as the newly elected Chairman for the year, Alex Hewitt was then joined by Will Cooper at the other end. Both bowled with typical guile and game management and began to exert some pressure on Oxshott, well supported by some excellent fielding, and, having been the bookies favourite at the drinks break, with a very gettable 5 an over, the run rate began to rise and the pressure began to tell on our hosts, with Cooper picking up 3 excellent wickets that changed the complexion of the game.
Whilst the game was still in the balance, our opening bowlers came back and continued to throttle the scoring, and with 3 overs to go, Oxshott needed 26 to win, and backed by some solid fielding, the Mogs ended up winning by 10 runs, in what was a really great game of Sunday cricket. Our thanks go to Keith Briggs, who again kindly umpired, as a well as our hosts for the quality and spirit of the game and the tea, and also much gratitude goes to the many spectators on both sides who turned out to watch.
MWCC Stats