Owls Fightback Stuns Peper Harrow

The Wrecclesham Owls produced a stirring fightback to overcome an established Peper Harrow side in a remarkable game of cricket at the recreation ground.

After losing for the first time in 38 matches last week this vital win proves that when the Owls play to their potential they can compete with anyone and could prove to be a turning point even at this early stage of the season.

The early signs were not positive as Skipper Boniface lost the toss and the home side were asked to bat on a bowler friendly looking wicket.

Roberts and in particular Bradley started well for the visitors and it was clear that patience and shot selection would be key on a lively wicket.

Identifying the need to be watchful and executing it however appear to be two completely different things as the majority of the home side failed to bat with the required application and a number of players surrendered their wickets too cheaply.

After Matt 'MB is he on E?' Parkinson was clean bowled for 7 and James 'Graham Napier' Wright followed in pretty quick succession for 10, the Owls had to re build and it was left to Joe 'Angry' Boniface and Tom 'Jeff' Caston to forge a decent partnership.

The duo managed to take the shine off the new ball and survive until the drinks break and the ship had been steadied at 55 for 2.

Caston had applied himself well and was improving with every ball and the pair showed enough ability to suggest that a decent total was once again a realistic proposition.

However Caston tempered his good work by mistiming an on drive to short midwicket and when Boniface was bizarrely dismissed via an unlucky ricochet off the diving Hebditch shortly after, the Owls never really recovered.

Henry 'Granny Basher' Bate never really got going, Oli 'Bondi' Caston made a fine start but couldn't go on and only Chris 'The Rock' Windeatt made a contribution of note from the middle order.

Berridge (6-24) was causing havoc with his tight lines and variation and bowled extremely well as he proceeded to take a great hat trick.

First Andy 'Ac' Collins was caught behind by a rising delivery that turned sharply, then Neal 'Hamstring' Harris indeterminately prodded at one and got a snick to slip and when Dan 'Bionic Man' Vasey obliged being trapped in front, it appeared that Berridge has swung the game decisively in Peper Harrow's favour.

Despite a decent cameo from the evergreen Graeme '1000' Wickets Larby, Windeatt eventually ran out of partners and the Owls posted a sorry looking 89.

Spirits at tea were still remarkably good and a general acknowledgement that the wicket made it tough to score quickly gave just a glimmer of hope to the home side.

Boniface rallied the troops and the Owls knew that if they approached things with the right attitude and took a couple of early wickets then anything was possible.

When Dan Vasey took a fine catch off the bowling of Oli Caston to remove the dangerous John Hebditch in the first over it was the perfect start and the belief that the Wreccers could get a result was tangible.

Wright then clean bowled Dedman first up with a beauty and Berridge was soon back in the hutch and Peper Harrow were reeling at 7-3 with the game back firmly in the balance and Owls total of 89 now firmly in perspective as a competitive score.

Caston was bowling with great rhythm, pace and accuracy and used the pitch to great effect in a devastating spell (10-5-11-5) to prove that he is up there with the best openers in the division.

Caston also found a perfect foil in Dan Vasey (7-3-11-4) who continued his fine form with the ball which has stretched over a significant period. Vasey showed excellent control and was finding a troublesome length causing all manner of problems as he too exploited the inconsistency of the pitch with ruthless efficiency.

Both were also superbly supported by some good keen fielding, vocal encouragement and most importantly expert keeping from Harris, who took several sharp chances and has improved immensely in this respect and can now be considered as a specialist in this position.

Despite a brief resistance from Smithies and Bradley the onslaught from Wrecclesham continued as the belief and desire of the home side peaked.

Momentum was firmly with the Owls and they simply swept past the Peper Harrow lower order and bowled the visitors out for just 43 inside 21 overs to complete a remarkable turn around and gain a vital 10 points.

Next up for the Owls is a trip to local rivals Blackheath as they look to cement their position in the top half of the table.

Afterword by Joe Boniface

All in all a quite amazing game and one which I was proud to be involved in.

Victories and matches like these are exactly why we play the game and so it will live long in the memory.

Obviously we have room for improvement in terms of the batting display and must show more patience and value our wicket a little more but the way we turned things around was nothing short of awesome.

What I love is the spirit at the club and this is one of the key reasons why we have been so successful over the past 2 years and it was evident again Saturday as when we took the field we genuinely believed we have a chance to defend 89 when lesser teams would have accepted defeat as a formality and let it become self fulfilling.

The fielding display alone should give us great confidence as when we get it right on both fronts we are among the best teams in this division.

Oli, I thought you were superb, your spell was one of the most dominant and impressive displays I've seen.

Having someone on top at one end is great but to put a real strangle hold on a team, which is essential when you are defending 89, you need someone to do the same at the other end.

Dan you were spot on from ball 1, the control and accuracy you showed were top class and it was right up their with your best ever spells and to do it all under such pressure was brilliant.

Similarly if you have two bowlers constantly beating the bat and creating chances it is vital to take them when they come.

Hammy, with only 89 on the board the keeper is perhaps under the greatest pressure of all and I thought you coped superbly, a fine display of keeping at a crucial time, well done.

Let's take the positives onto next week and if we can get the batting aspect right there is no reason why we can't be celebrating another win.

Up the Owls

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