Wreccers regain advantage

The Wrecclesham Owls bounced back well from last week's shock defeat to record a sweeping 102 victory against 10 man Witley and earn 10 valuable points at the recreation ground on Saturday.

Back to the home comforts of the rec the Owls produced a fine all round display to wrack up victory number 10 of the season and edge towards the 100 point mark.

In overcast conditions with the threat of rain, Witley won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first in the testing conditions.

Chris 'Back on it' Spooner and Joe 'Alec Stewart' Boniface opened things up and the home side generally coped well with the new ball despite some extra movement and bounce generated from a slightly green wicket.

That was until Boniface needlessly called for a phantom run and was sent packing much to his disgust as a tight umpiring decision went the visitors way.

James 'Gok Wan' Wright joined Spooner in a fruitful partnership which settled the home sides nerves before the technically gifted opener was caught behind for a well made 28.

Despite the loss of his partner and a brief rain delay, in which 2 overs were lost, Wright kept his concentration well and as ever took a few risks to play his shots as he and the returning Chris 'Show us your birth certificate' Board helped to put Wrecclesham in a strong position.

Wright powered his way to a fine half century as the run rate accelerated and it was looking as if the swashbuckling number 3 was set for his second century of the season.

However the introduction of spinner Shea stemmed the flow of runs and Wright duly succumbed, getting bowled trying to force a single through the leg side to spark an early drinks interval and leave the hosts on 120 odd for 3 after 21 overs.

Chris 'The Raspberry Rock' Windeatt and Henry 'Lock up your daughters' Bate came in and despite their recent good form the pair were back in the pavilion for a mere 2 runs between them to check the home sides progress as Witley reduced the Owls to 140 for 5.

Matt 'MB is he on E?' Parkinson came in to blast a quickfire 13 before being caught on the boundary after a rash shot and seemingly leave Wrecclesham with some work to do to reach a competitive total at 170 for 6.

However with Board looking comfortable and full of runs he just needed an able partner to push on and ensure the big total that Wrecclesham had threatened earlier in the innings.

Thankfully Oli 'Bondi Beach' Caston, obviously irate at coming in at the lowly position of number 8(!) decided to show his mettle and proceeded to share a big partnership with the impressive Board.

The pair played some fine cricket and a number of expansive strokes as the home side reached the 200 mark inside 38 overs.

The pair continued to score freely against a dispirited attack and despite the loss of Caston, who was attempting to hit one in orbit, for 36 and a fine last over from Fawkes in which we bowled classic yorkers to collect 3 wickets for 5 runs against an onrushing attack, the hosts were able to post a daunting 246-9 from 43 overs, Board finishing unbeaten on 64.

After indulging in a fantastic tea courtesy of Mr Windeatt the Owls took to the field knowing that ten points would go a long way to making up for the disappointment of last week's demise and getting their push for the title back on track.

However despite the gloomy conditions Wrecclesham didn't have things their own way with Witley skipper Ritchie going on the offensive from the outset striking anything remotely loose to the boundary with gusto.

When the teams left the field for a rain interval, which again saw 2 overs chalked off, after 6.3 overs Witley had amassed 40 odd for no wicket and the game was in the balance.

However that man Board came on to good effect, restricting the visitors expertly with some accurate off spin and upping the pressure on the Witley openers as the run rate climbed.

Caston soon claimed the prize wicket as he tightened his line and despite some brief resistance Hill and King which kept Witley in the game, the visitors began to fall foul of the conditions as wickets went down with more and more regularly the longer the game went on.

Perma tanned opener Caston, as has so often been the case this season, was the standout performer with the ball taking 6-82 in 17 overs to take his haul for the season past 60.

Crucially he was well supported by some outstanding catching from the likes of the ever reliable Windeatt and Spooner as well being grateful for a Wrighty special.

As wickets kept falling the visitors hopes of a victory evaporated and they rightly set their stall out to deny Wrecclesham a maximum, with Rod Shea making a solid contribution being falling to another classic Caston/Spooner dismissal.

However the Owls kept plugging away and the introduction of Dan 'Mongoose' Vasey seemed to do the trick as the man with the short run up did the rest, taking 2 for 15 in a lively 5 over spell.

Witley were skittled out for 144 as they came up 102 runs short and the Mighty Wreccers recorded a big ten for the fourth time this season.

The Owls face promotion rivals Cody on Saturday in an eagerly anticipated clash at Pyestock Green where victory would see the Owls on the brink of a third successive promotion.

Afterword by Joe Boniface

Well done Owls, a fine all round display and it's great to see so many people contributing.

I thought in general we batted pretty well scoring freely against some decent bowling but still some improvement to come which is promising.

What encouraged me most was the improvement in the field, we were hungry for it and never gave them any second chances which was our undoing last week. If we can keep this level up then we have every chance to end the season as champions.

Wrighty, a bit flirty at times but another great half century for you in what is turning out to be another excellent season for you, keep it up mate.

Boardy, an excellent contribution once again, you looked in great nick with the bat and produced some good tight bowling, some more of the same on Saturday wouldn't go a miss!

Oli, well stuck at it mate and yet another 5 wicket haul, keep it going and you will be able to look back on the season with real pride. A good contribution with the bat at a crucial time as well, I am glad you're doing my all rounder tag justice!

Let's make sure we're bang up for it tomorrow as a win puts us in a great position.

Up the Owls!

Twit Twoo