The first XI came up short again on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon at Oakley Park.
Batting first, The Oaks lost Dan Jones early. However, Will Cheyney looked in imperious form before going for a swashbuckling 33. It was such a shame as he looked set for a big score. After in-form Clive Welsman departed for 6, it was down to a stoical Will Montgomery and the more aggressive Mick Wood, to rebuild.
Woody looked in great nick, taking singles quickly and pushing Will along. It was an excellent 63 run partnership that ended in controversy. Woody got caught on the boundary when it appeared the fence may have been used as an aid.
However, it was given out by the umpire, with both teams unsure of what the decision should be. It must be added, there was no cheating or accusations of cheating, it was just uncertainty. With twisted sporting irony, the incident was a virtual replica of the week before when Woody was given a six. Luck does level itself out. Monty went on to make a gutsy 37.
After Woody departed, the best of a flurry of cameos came via a classy James Bayliss 39, as batsmen selflessly gave up their wickets. The Oaks finished on a credible and defendable, 216.
Defending the Target
Defending the target, The Oaks picked up 2 early wickets courtesy of Mike Bryant and Josh Carpenter. After that, it all went a bit Pete Tong. This was mainly down to a brutal innings from Sparsholt’s David Coyle.
As Coyle grew into his innings, The Oaks missed their chances to nail him. That, ladies, and gentlemen, was the turning point. A couple of catches went down and when one did stick, it was off a marginal no ball. If The Oaks had got him early, they would have, likely, won the game.
Instead, Coyle got more and more aggressive and started pumping the ball to all parts. The Oaks, as ever, stuck with it, but as they tried new things, wides, no balls, and extras, increased. It was very frustrating as a spectator. Even more so as a bowler or fielder on a baking afternoon.
There were consolation wickets for DJ and a further one for Josh Carpenter, but Coyle went past 100 and the game was up. It was a fantastic knock and an example that at this level, half-chances need to stick.
This team never give up. It is great to see that they know they must get better at the basics to compete. Sparsholt took their catches and conceded 30 less extras than Oakley. There, in a nutshell, you have what a difference doing the basics well, can make.
Sparsholt were friendly and sociable visitors, hanging around for a beer afterwards. As a consolation, chairman, Bob Lethaby, even got to meet his semi-ironic sporting hero, Andy Steggles. They say ‘never meet your heroes’ but the lad Steggles was charming and full of great stories from his career as a 1990’s TV sports presenter.
The funniest of which, involved an incident where 3,000 Portsmouth fans appeared to know graphic details of Andy’s sexual orientation.
Hey Ho, the sun shone, and The Oaks move on!
MOM: David Coyle of Sparsholt: Match winning unbeaten century