Owls Back With a Bang

The Wrecclesham Owls opened their Division III account in fine style on Saturday by recording an emphatic victory over an under par Kingsley side, which is sure to send a message of intent to their rivals.

The boundary had been marked, the pitch had been well prepared and with a hitherto unheard level of expectation the Mighty Owls embarked on what is potentially the biggest season of the clubs recent history.

To that extent the reigning Division IV champions were determined to make a positive start in their new division and they certainly didn't disappoint.

With some light rain in the morning and the pitch looking a little tacky Skipper Boniface won a good toss and decided to bowl.

Vasey Jnr and Spooner opened things up and Kingsley started with a somewhat aggressive approach which whilst providing a decent run rate, also provided the Wreccers with the hope of quick wickets.

Despite a few streaky boundaries it wasn't long before Spooner had struck, Oli 'Bondi beach' Caston, who was looking suspiciously brown for this time of year, taking a very good catch in the deep.

Dan 'Boris' Vasey then removed the dangerous looking Parratt with an excellent delivery, pouched efficiently by the near faultless Wright behind the stumps.

The tone had been set and the innings followed a similar pattern throughout as wickets fell on a regular basis with the odd boundary thrown in.

A good spell by the ever consistent Spooner (5-33) in partnership with the impressive Caston (3-11) broke the back of the Kingsley innings, the latter taking 2 wickets in successive deliveries, one being a fine catch from the ever agile Vasey Snr, which turned the match decisively in Wrecclesham's favour.

Graeme '1000' wickets Larby came on for a late 10 ball cameo and bowled King emphatically to wrap things up in fine style as Kingsley were skittled out for a paltry 88.

The Mighty Owls were in great spirits at mother Boniface's sumptuous tea (a fine example of how tea should be prepared!) and things were looking rather rosy for the Wreccers.

The opening partnership of Chris 'Uzi 9mm' Spooner and the newly promoted Matt 'MB is he on E?' Parkinson set about the Kingsley attack in a more systematic way than their Kingsley predecessors.

Parkinson had set the tone as early as the fourth over with a huge straight 6 into the tennis courts.

Despite the loss of Spooner for 16, Parkinson and James 'Aurora 2' Wright continued the good work and had pretty much wrapped things up before Wright was dismissed for a well played 38.

Parkinson showed excellent application and ended on 32 not out, continuing his fine form towards the end of last season which earned him the accolade of most improved player.

8 points and a fantastic start to the season for the Owls, who will be looking forward to flexing more of their available talent next week against a well established Tilford side, who will surely provide more of a challenge.

Afterword by Joe 'Boni'face

First of all, well done Owls!!

A magnificent start to the season. It really shows how far we have come and given the nature of the victory, who knows where that might end.

I thought our attitude was spot on and we were keen in the field throughout, chasing down everything and taking our catches well which is where the majority of games are won.

We know we have a long batting line up and would be confident of chasing down most things but to skittle them out for 88 was a massive step towards victory.

The way we chased their total down with a minimum of fuss, given the amount of games I (and many others) have played in where we have bottled it from similar situations, again shows that we are a different proposition these days.

I am sure we had all been looking forward to yesterday and it was superb to be out there again with you all and to start in such emphatic fashion was particularly enjoyable!

A quick thanks to Steve and Tony aka Dad (who I am sure will be missed at our match next week) for their efforts in preparing the pitch, to Jane Boni aka mother for a magnificent tea and to the leagues best WAGS for their excellent support.

Good luck to the 2nd's for Saturday.

Bring on next week!

Twit Twoo