All Aboard the Two-Point-Train

Anyone noticing the Twoo's position in Division would be forgiven to be shocked at the fact that they have only lost one match this season. Out of nine matches played, four have been losing draws.

After a long early journey, Wrecclesham arrived at one of the most picturesque cricket grounds in the country. The toss was taken and the cracks in the outfield (in some places 1 inch wide) were visible and would play a part in the match.

Naturally, Wrecclesham fielded first and their energy in the field paid off in the first twenty overs. Leo-Jak Carter and James 'It was all yelloooowwwww' Merryweather opened the bowling. At first it didn't look like there would be any breakthrough and then D. Barnard edged the ball and Dave 'Boom Boom' Vasey plucked an incredible catch straight over his head to send him to the pavilion. He had made an unbelievably difficult catch look like an everyday occurrence.

The temperature continued to climb and although the run rate was around 3 an over, the heat was taking its toll and Hayden 'Tourettes' Newman and Mitch 'Golden' Brown were brought on to relieve Carter and Merryweather. Both utterly removed the Harting middle order in a very short space in time. Hayden bowled P. Riding, who was scored 21 from 5 boundaries and had T. O'Kelly Jnr caught for 9. Mitch 'Golden' Brown joined the action with three successive maidens. The Harting middle order barely had time to breathe before they were sent to the pavilion.

Throughout all of these wickets falling, T O'Kelly was standing firm. He had been batting since the first ball and needed partners that would stay around to be able to post an imposing score. Thankfully, for him, the Harting tail wagged. J. Wadey cut loose, before being caught - again superbly by Dave Vasey. P. Goble also pinch hit for 14 before being bowled by James Merryweather, leaving D. Yates as last man on 13 not out, with T. O'Kelly (77 not out) posting a total of 191 for 9 off 48 overs.

Now, it would be a huge understatement to say that throughout this innings, Wrecclesham didn't exactly field too well. Admittedly, there were some amazing catches by Messrs Vasey, Brown and Harris, but there were at least four dropped catches. Furthermore, the incredibly uneven outfield meant that anything scored along the ground was very difficult to stop. It was all summed up at the last ball when D. Yates sent the ball skyward off Tony 'Pope' Boniface's bowling towards Peter O'Sullivan, who, instead of running in to catch it, backed off letting it bounce unpredictably and go for four. Nevertheless, he was not alone in hanging his head in shame and it can be said that his extended family has never been bigger!

After a very silent and (but otherwise fine) tea, Wrecclesham came out to bat. With a Croucher-less batting line up 'Golden' Brown (texture like sun) and James Merryweather went in to open.

Mitch continued batting in his aggressive way, sending anything loose on the leg side for four, but James was bowled by a beauty by P. Riding for 7. Neil 'Hammy' Harris came in and looked well set, but gave a snatched chance to the slips and was also sent packing. This brought to the crease Dave 'Boom Boom' Vasey. He had by his own words 'gone through a lean period recently' and was eager to get some runs on the board (without running any quick singles). The boundaries scored by Dave and Mitch accounted for 10 of the 11 of the team total. Unfortunately, Dave gave D. Deakin his first wicket of what proved to be a devastating spell.

Not long after Dave went in to the changing room, Hayden who was out adjudged lbw off Deakin joined him. Alex 'Athlone Dining' Hall came in having only 1 run to his name this season and had a 5-pint wager with Tony 'Pope and Saint' Boniface that he would score 10 runs. This bet was to prove his undoing, because when he reached 6, his attempt to score a boundary resulted in having his bails sent flying by Deakin.
Mitch stuck around but, like Hayden, was adjudged lbw off Deakin who returned exceptional figures of 9 overs, 5 maidens, and 4 wickets for 6 runs. Scott 'Dog' Newman came in knowing that time in the crease was more important than runs and laid the groundwork for Leo-Jak Carter and Andy 'Podge' Partridge to see the Twoo's to the end. They batted coolly and calmly and remained unflappable, ensuring that the Two-Point-Train steams ahead!

by the Ginger Owl