Wolverton 2nd 225-5 (45 overs)
Charlbury 2nd 164 (40 overs)
Andy Glass 60
Charlbury travelled to Milton Keynes for their division 7 clash. Charlbury won the toss and elected to field first. Sam and Alex opened the bowling and got Charlbury off to a good start. In only the second over of the game Sam clean bowled one batsman. Both bowlers quickly settled into a good line and length and with a bit of movement off the pitch they both moved the ball around a bit. Slowly the runs started to come, but the outfield was not too quick and so the batsmen had to run hard for every run. Charlbury were fielding well and backing up their bowlers with some diving stops. With no more early wickets coming Charlbury made a double change in the bowling with Andy and Robert entering the attack. Both bowlers quickly dropped into a reasonable length and line and caused a few problems for the batsmen. The opening batsman was looking good as he stroked the ball around and Charlbury realised early on that they would need him out if they were to keep the score down. Robert was bowling a really good spell, getting a bit of movement and getting both batsmen to play and miss. Andy was bowling well, varying his speed to try and weedle a batsman out. Finally the second wicket came when Robert clean bowled the new batsman with the score on 50. The opening batsmen found a couple of boundaries as the score continued to increase, but then Andy got in amongst the wickets. Andy bowled one and the batsman miss-hit it with the ball lobbing straight back to Andy for an easy catch, the new batsman was out for a duck. Andy now took himself out of the attack and brought Sam back on as Charlbury went for more wickets. Both bowlers were bowling well, but the opening batsman just kept on pushing ones and twos around to make sure the score kept on growing. The overs ticked by and no more wickets fell and with both batsmen going in confidence they started to play more shots. The opening batsman seemed able to hit a boundary almost any time Charlbury bowled anything even slightly loose. Robert finished his spell and Andy re-entered the attack. With the overs now starting to run out the batsmen went on the offensive hitting several boundary fours. Sam finished his good ten over spell and Alex replaced him. The score had passed the 150 mark and with only three wickets down Charlbury would need more wickets if they were to keep the score down. Finally Charlbury got a wicket in Alex’s last over when he clean bowled one batsman. Abi now replaced Alex in the attack and in her first over the new batsman edged the ball and Simon took a good catch. Abi had dropped into a reasonable length and line and even in the final stages of the innings she was had to get away. Andy finished his spell and so Jon came on for an over. Wolverton finished their innings on 225-5.
Charlbury needed a good start to chase down their target and so it was up to Sam and Simon to get them off. Things did not go to plan as early on Simon missed one and was bowled. Robert now entered the fray. Both batsmen kept a wary eye on early in the piece as they tried to get their eye in. Sam was looking good at the crease as he stroked the ball around, pushing several ones and twos. Robert too was looking good, playing defensively when needed, but always on the lookout for the single. Slowly the score started to rise. Sam hit a couple of boundaries and so after eight overs Wolverton changed their bowling around at one end, then a few overs later they changed the other end around as well. Both of the new bowlers dropped into good lines and lengths and this made run scoring more difficult. The score moved on slowly, but Charlbury had reached fifty for the loss of only one wicket. Then disaster struck as Robert missed one and was bowled. Next over Sam edged one and the wicket-keeper took the catch to leave Charlbury 57-3. Andy and Jon were now at the crease, but Jon was not there too long as he hit one in the air and it was caught. Abi now joined the captain at the crease as they sought to re-build the innings. It was tough going as both batsmen just looked to push the odd run around whilst defending the many good deliveries. Slowly the score was rising and just as it looked like Charlbury had recovered Abi missed one and was bowled. Alex now came to the crease. Andy was looking good at the crease, hitting a couple of boundaries to keep things going, but also defending the many good deliveries and not giving any chances. Charlbury were falling behind the required rate and would have to score much heavier if they were to win the game. Alex attacked the bowling and hit a couple of fours to accelerate the score a bit. Andy joined in and he also found a boundary along with several twos. The hundred mark was passed, but the overs were now starting to run out. Then disaster struck as Alex missed one and was stumped. Mark now came to the crease, but was not there too long as he dragged his back foot out of the crease and was stumped. Nathan now joined his captain at the wicket. Not too many overs left and Charlbury just needed to score as many as they could to pick up as many points as they could. One of the bowlers now finished their allotted ten over spell and so a new bowler entered the attack. Nathan edged one and was caught by the wicket-keeper and so Martyn came to the crease. Both batsmen played out one end until the bowler finished his spell and a new one entered the attack, although both tried to score as many as they could from the other end. Andy ran a single and reached a well deserved fifty. The new bowlers were a bit looser and so both batsmen attacked the bowling. Martyn found a couple of early fours to push the score on. The last couple of overs saw Charlbury running hard. Then Andy edged one and was caught by the wicket-keeper. Ian not entered the fray. Last ball of the over and Martyn hit it straight to a fielder and was caught as Charlbury finished on 164 all out.
Charlbury 2nd 6 points
