Sat 19th May Charlbury 2nd vs Witney Mills 2nd

Witney Mills 2nd 141-8 (45 overs)

 

 

Charlbury 2nd 142-5 (35 overs)

Charlie Sinton 42

 

On a sunny day Charlbury entertained Witney Mills. Mills batted first and so it was up to the two Matts, Doran and Lyver, to open the bowling for Charlbury. Both bowlers dropped straight into great lines and lengths, using their extra height to get some extra bounce and a bit of movement off the wicket. Charlbury backed up this great start with the ball with some good fielding as the Mills batsmen found things tough from the off. Matt Doran was bowling a good spell, getting the ball to move around a bit and getting the batsmen to play and miss. Matt Lyver was using his height to extract some bounce out of the wicket whilst also bowling a fabulous line and length. The overs ticked by with few runs being added to the score. Matt Doran then came out of the attack and so Ellie entered it. Ellie was right on the mark from ball one, getting the ball to move around a bit while also bowling a good line and length. Finally Charlbury got the breakthru wicket they wanted when Matt clean bowled one of the opening batsmen. Things got even better for Charlbury in the next over when the other opening batsman hit the ball in the air off Ellie’s bowling and Jon took a good catch. Both bowlers were causing problems for the batsmen and none of them were able to get the ball away for runs on a regular basis. A couple of boundaries had been hit. The overs ticked by and the score was moving along very slowly. Then Matt grabbed another wicket when he again clean bowled one batsmen. Three wickets down and only 38 runs scored. Ellie was bowling a fabulous spell and all of the batsmen were struggling to score runs off of her. Matt Lyver came out of the attack and Matt Doran re-entered it as Charlbury really looked to turn the screw on the Mills batsmen. Matt was straight on the mark in his second spell, putting the ball in good areas and giving nothing away. The runs were slowly coming, but with the overs beginning to run out the batsmen were going to have to be more attacking if they were to set a defendable target. Then Charlbury got the breakthru when Ellie bowled one batsman. Things got even better in the next over when Matt bowled the other set batsman and now Mills had two new batsmen at the crease as the overs began to run out. The two new batsmen just tried to stay there for a few overs before they launched their attack. Charlbury were bowling well and still fielding really well, stopping many boundary bound balls from reaching their target. A double change was made as Ellie and Matt made way for Liam and Andy. With the overs now running out fast the running was harder and the score started to rise at the quickest it had all match. The hundred mark was reached, but soon afterwards Charlbury were back amongst the wickets. One batsman tried to hit out at one of Andy’s deliveries, but hit the ball straight to Matt Doran who gratefully took the catch. Next over things got even better for Charlbury as a mix-up in the calling saw one batsmen short of his ground as Matt Lyver threw the stumps down. Soon afterwards things got even better as Liam clean bowled a batsmen to leave Mills 110-8. The new batsman hurt himself taking a run early on and so retired hurt. The last two batsmen then threw the bat at everything and ran as hard as they could as Witney Mills finished on 141-8 off their 45 overs.

 

Charlbury were going to have to bat well if they were going to win the game. Martin and Carla opened the batting as both of them had somewhere to be, this meant they could throw caution to the wind and attack the bowling hard from the off. Both players found an early boundary to put the pressure onto the Mills bowlers. Slowly but surely the bowlers started to find their length and line. Martin smashed another couple of quick fours to keep the scoreboard moving along quickly. Carla was taking a more defensive attitude, keeping out the good deliveries, but also looking to run hard and score singles when she could. Then disaster struck as Martin hit out at one too many and was caught. Charlie now came to the crease. A few overs ticked by while both batsmen tried to make sure no more quick wickets fell and to give Charlie time to get his eye in. Carla struck a second boundary four to keep things moving along. A change in the bowling was made as Mills searched for the wickets that might get them back in the game. Charlie was batting well just looking to push the ball around for ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Then disaster struck when Carla was wrapped on the pads by the new bowler and given out adjudged LBW. Andy now joined his captain at the crease as another bowling change was made. Charlie took a liking to the new bowler and hit him for an early boundary four. Andy just spent some time just trying to get his eye in whilst letting Charlie do the bulk of the scoring. Charlie then hit a massive six and followed it up with another in the new bowler’s next over. Charlbury were on a bit of a charge and Mills were going to need to take wickets if they were to get back in the game. A change in the bowling was made as an opening bowler returned to the attack. Charlie hit his third six of the innings as Charlbury started to pile on the pressure. Then disaster struck as the returning opening bowler found the edge of Charlie’s bat and had him caught by the wicket-keeper for a good 42. Matt Lyver entered the fray. Matt as never going to die wondering as he attacked the ball from the off and hit an early boundary. With some hard running the score rushed over the hundred mark and with plenty of overs left Mills only chance of winning was to bowl Charlbury out. Matt launched one bowler out of the ground for a big six as Charlbury seemed to be racing to victory. Then disaster struck as Matt hit one straight to a fielder and was caught. Robert now joined Andy at the wicket. Andy now took on the responsibility of winning the game as he stroked the ball around for ones and twos and made sure Charlbury did not look like losing another wicket. Charlbury needed just two runs for victory when Andy edged one to the keeper and was caught for a good 29. Jon now came to the crease and first ball he pushed it for two runs and Charlbury had won by five wickets.

 

A great win for the seconds built on a great all round bowling and fielding display and then a good batting display saw them home – well played lads and lasses.

 

Charlbury 2nd 25 points