The Second XI entertained Herriard 2s yesterday, still searching for a first win after a stop-start beginning to the season. The bad news before a ball had even been bowled was the absence of skipper Mike Tiley and opening bowler Ben Weller-Evans, leaving The Oaks slightly underpowered from the outset.
Bowling First
Bowling first, Alex Rogan was lively from the word go, causing all sorts of problems, but at the other end Zak struggled and was soon replaced by Alex Gough. Unfortunately, Zak’s difficult spell left The Oaks effectively a bowler short for the remainder of the innings.
With a couple of sharp run-outs from Nigel, plus wickets for Goughy, Rogan and Noah, The Oaks had things nicely under control at 62-4. Then along came Marapan, wielding the bat like a man in a hurry, swinging hard at absolutely everything and, annoyingly, connecting with most of it. His 59 from 50 balls completely shifted the momentum.
Bob Lethaby bore the brunt of the counterattack, with several towering hits sailing agonisingly inches over the rope rather than into grateful hands. Fine margins. Mostly very painful ones.
There was controversy too, with both Marapan and Singh appearing to feather edges behind without walking as the umpire remained rooted to the spot. Singh’s looked about as subtle as a car alarm, while Marapan’s perhaps fell into the “seen them given” category. Either way, there was collective relief when Noah eventually had Marapan caught in the deep.
Further wickets for Noah, George and Goughy, plus a bonus scalp for Bob to improve figures that did not entirely reflect his effort, helped keep Herriard to 199. Given the circumstances, and with everyone chipping in admirably in the field, it felt a chase The Oaks should have fancied.
George Stands Firm as Batting Falls Away
In reply, however, the batting card once again resembled a collection of promising starts attached to very little substance. Solanke and Bishop departed early, though George stood firm and batted well alongside Dave Parry. Sadly, after Dave went for 14, Jack decided that 14 also looked like a nice place to stop.
George passed fifty in an excellent knock and briefly gave the innings some shape and direction, but when he fell caught and bowled for 55 the rest of the batting folded with all the resistance of a Home Bargains deckchair. The Oaks eventually fell well short.
There were mitigating factors. A couple of opposition batsmen perhaps should have walked, and being without Ben and Mike certainly hurt the bowling balance. But on a decent track, chasing 200 ought to have been well within reach. When your second-highest score is 14, it is fair to say the batting unit may need a slightly longer net session this week.
Still, cricket has a short memory. On to the next one.
