25/8/07 - 2nd XI V Banbury XX 2

No Holtons or Browns, Jim away getting tinned in Sardinea and Lee stolen away at the last minute, the side looked a bit depleted as it set out on the make or break game vs Banbury XX. On the other hand, Ed had recovered from ricking his back while sitting at his office desk and Buzzers returned. Having lost the toss, The Ratt could do nothing other than remind everyone about the importance of backing up behind the bowler’s wicket and drive the team out on the field on a blazing afternoon.

For a while we prospered. Hugh was pressed into action as emergency opener and delivered twelve overs 3-30 in the heat, twice knocking middle stump back and once claiming an lbw (their umpire.) Yasser’s back let him down and Ed came on for an eventful first over where the first ball went screaming into, but through, slip’s hands and the fourth was adjudged caught behind by everyone except the umpire.

Having survived that, Aslam plodded along till Andy trapped him lbw. But Densham was putting together a model of batting in the dog days of August. Without attempting any heroics, taking the singles on offer and sometimes turning them into twos, then beginning to add fours into the mix he went on to a chanceless and decisive 67.  Our fielding began to wilt, run outs didn’t quite happen, catches went down on the boundary, the keeper put his head in his gloves. In the end we were probably lucky to restrict them to 202-6.

It looked like a tough call after the pounding in the field and got tougher when our openers proved themselves completely out of nick. Tim achieved a two off second slip’s right breast but then feathered it through to the keeper, Hugh once again found confusion between bat and pads until the umpire put him out of his misery and only Mark seemed prepared to persevere against Wedderburn’s extremely accurate, give nothing away, wicket-to-wicket bowling.

Once Mark went, for a stubborn 15, the middle order capitulated. We were left watching Andy and George put on almost the only sensible piece of batting the seconds have delivered in August as they played for the draw. Banbury began to realise that dominance was not enough and things got a bit tetchy out in the middle with swearing in several different languages. But the pair were not to be separated.

When their quickie, back on to finish things off, decided to try going round the wicket, his whole side refused to help him move the sightscreens. The bowler himself ran down to the screens, moved them on his own, ran back, positioned backward short leg exactly where he wanted, bowled exactly the ball he wanted and watched Geo loop up exactly the catch he wanted. Short leg failed to move one yard for it.

In the penultimate over Andy got one that popped a bit and shouldered a catch into the gully but the injured Yasser, aided by some timely, senior pro style advice from George, was up to batting out the draw…………….leaving us with no further hope of promotion and XX pinned back to an interesting match v Shipton.

Surely Banbury XX are the first side ever to bring drinks on the field for their bats without offering to do the same for the fielding side.