After Saturday’s washouts it was up to the ladies get a result on the board. Fleet were the visitors and despite it being only their 2nd proper league fixture, they proved too tough an opposition for the Oaks.
Jenny won the toss and put Fleet into bat. The opening pair of Jo and Chloe set about making a fast start, hitting 28 from their 4, 21 of which came in an expensive 2nd over. The second pair looked to capitalise on the momentum but Michelle clean bowled Emma, before Jenny snapped up a straightforward catch off Heena’s bowling to keep the score at 40 from 8.
Oakley were beginning to turn the screw, Eve the pick so far allowing just four singles from her first two overs. Not content with simply taking the catches, Jenny then took a wicket in her first over of bowling for 2 years, bowling Millicent after three tidy dot balls.
The penultimate pair were in no mood to stick about though, striking 30 from their first two overs to move to 80. Bex B then fired back with two wickets in three balls, Jenny taking yet another caught behind, before Eve took a good catch at deep backward square, gathering the ball at the second attempt. Not to miss out, Eve then bowled Emily in the final over of the pair to make it a net -1 off overs 15 and 16. There was still time for Gemma to get into the wickets, bowling Kelly in the 19th over. This pair though had been finding the boundary regularly, including the very next delivery with Lindsey clearing the rope with ease and offering yours truly a one-handed catch at the scorers table (thank you, thank you). All of which left Oakley needing 112 to win from their 20.
Jude and Emily came to the crease to get the run chase underway with the same tactic that has served them well this season – try and take a big chunk out of the score early doors, and when Jude found the boundary off the first ball, it seemed the tried and tested plan might work. Fleet though had observed Oakley keeping fielders deep on the on side for most of their innings and did exactly the same, which meant that Jude’s well struck pull at the start of the second over would only find a fielder on the boundary rope. Emily followed suit with a caught behind in the third, although this did bring Jude back on strike, who bagged herself 12 runs from three consecutive no balls. In a final twist for the first pair, Jude was unlucky to find another fielder out in the deep, and 26 was the total after 4.
Jenny and Michelle were the next pair, but a combination of accurate bowling and tidy fielding made runs harder to come by. Confident calling kept the singles ticking over as they rotated the strike and at the end of the 8th Oakley had matched Fleet’s score at the same stage. Game on. Gemma and Heena were tasked with more of the same and put away the bad balls and let the extras come when offered, all of which left Oakley needing 51 from the two pairs.
Sadly, Sarah was caught at square leg off her first delivery to swing momentum back to Fleet, and when Eve fell to a yorker in the next, Oakley were up against it. Good running kept the scoreboard moving, but they couldn’t find that elusive boundary and when Bex and Lucy came to the crease for the final 4, it was always going to be an uphill battle. More excellent fielding kept the final total safely out of reach, the Oaks ultimately falling 23 runs short for their first defeat of the season.
Fleet 311-7
Oakley 288-7
Fleet win by 23 runs
