Promotion chasing Wrecclesham earned their sixth win of the season as they overcame a resilient Elstead 2nd XI side by 10 wickets.
The Owls recorded their second win in as many weeks as they followed up on last weeks mauling of Chiddingfold with another convincing win.
The Wreccers, who now boast a superb 26 game unbeaten run, went into the game in confident mood as they looked to keep the pressure up on league leaders Blackheath.
Skipper Boniface won the toss on an excellent looking batting track which combined with a very quick outfield and temperatures soaring looked like a tough ask of the Owls.
However despite the fact Boniface had set his side a seemingly big task, the Wreccers knew their strong batting line up could chase down something large and so put the emphasis on the home side to score big.
The Owls didn't have the best of starts as despite not doing anything particularly badly, Dave 'mind your windows' Vasey taking a wonderful catch at slip for instance, they found themselves under a little pressure as Elstead manoeuvered themselves to 80 odd for 1 from the first 18 overs, Pat Murphy in particular showing some excellent temperament and judgement for the home side.
The drinks break allowed the Wreccers to regroup and thanks to some external motivation provided by the ear wigging travelling WAG support, Boniface asked his men to show some more composure and make sure they were not all mouth and no trousers.
With 30 overs and 9 wickets in hand the Owls knew it would take some good control and accuracy from the bowlers backed up tight fielding and a bit of luck to change things around.
Thankfully that is exactly what the visitors produced.
Oli 'Ronaldo of cricket' Caston set the tone with a stunning catch of the season contender as he caught and bowled the dangerous looking Elstead skipper Phillips.
Caston who bowled throughout and picked up 5-72 in the process, was once again the spearhead of the Wrecclesham attack and in combination with the evergreen and well decorated (honours as well as tatts!) Graeme '1000 wickets and counting' Larby (3-26) put the squeeze on the home side as the runs noticeably dried up.
The turn around was now tangible as the Owls exerted their authority on the game as Neal 'Hamstring' Harris, Phil 'the cat' Caine (who kept expertly) and skipper Boniface attacked the ball well and set the tone for the Owls.
The rest of the side all followed suit (especially Spooner and Parkinson who combined excellently to halve the throw on one occassion!) as the Wreccers upped the ante.
The last 24 overs yielded 7 wickets but more importantly a mere 50 runs as the Owls restricted the home side to 156-9 from 48 overs.
A fine effort considering the position at drinks and it put the Wreccers in a promising position at tea knowing if they batted to their potential a win was theirs for the taking.
Chris 'Herald love child' Spooner and Parkinson set about the task in positive fashion and showed that despite the absence of James 'Napier' Wright the visitors were well up to the task.
Matt Parkinson was the main aggressor in the partnership and with some experienced advice coming from the leagues leading run scorer, he took the game to Elstead in a controlled fashion.
The pair batted superbly and shared a magnificent 157 partnership which steered the Owls to a deserved 10 wicket victory in the process.
It was a great display of application from the duo as they eroded the belief of the home side before dispatching the bad balls with ruthless efficiency.
Spooner(64*) fresh from last weeks magnificent 145* has so often been the hero for Wrecclesham and yet this time he played around the effervescent Parkinson which helped to further illustrate the talent at the Owls disposal this year.
The Owls, who have now reached the halfway point in the season, are showing a great togetherness and enjoyment of the game and will surely be looking forward to next weeks challenge against Tilford as they look to maintain their challenge for Division III.
Afterword by Joe Boniface
A superb performance in the end from the boys and a quite remarkable turnaround to go with it.
The way we restricted them in the second half of the game was key, Oli and Larby were both fantastic and the way Parky and Spooner batted the result never looked in doubt.
We wanted the challenge of playing better teams and I am delighted that we have yet again risen to the occasion when it mattered most.
I also think it was great to show, in such emphatic fashion, why we are second in the table!
Bring it on
Up the Owls
Twit Twoo
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3 comments:
Well done boys, great effort this week...I thought we were a bit average in the field to start with but after drinks we are awesome. Oli I thought you were a complete trooper and Larbs you continue to amaze me. As for the "Run Chase" Parky I couldn't be more impressed with how you went about things...That is the best I have seen you bat and that on-drive was one of the shots of the day! I hope you realise now that you are a class act and that you will only get yourself out as you are as they say...Too good for this league! Joe once again you showed you are pure class....Top changes and top motivational tactics hehe! Well done the owls and well done the Twoos!
Great stuff guys! 10 wickets! Merciless!
On a good track and fast outfield i thought 150 odd was a fantastic effort Well done to Oli and Phil thought you were both fantastic and Spoons even if they had scored 280 plus i still would beleive we could chase it down i am that confident in the batting line up and well done to Parky a true mature innings keep it going you two. A final thought for Joe you can have 11 fantastic individuals out there but without some one to lead them they would still be individuals (WE HAVE GOT A TEAM)
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