With the recent heatwave replaced by more typical British summer conditions, the 3s turned up to a blustery and damp Newfound. Some of the less weather app–savvy members of the team were expecting an early return home as a shower passed over. But those with more experience (and possibly more apps to call on) felt confident that, as the afternoon wore on, conditions would remain playable.
And so it proved to be…
Batting First: A Hard Graft
Dan won the toss and decided to make first use of the road before us. Jeff and Dan faced an accurate opening spell, which included plenty of sideways movement but, thankfully, less of the ups and downs we’ve seen in recent weeks. Jeff was undone by that movement, with a beautiful-looking drive not making contact when the ball jagged back.
In came Tom Harris, who has clearly done something to upset the demons that live in the Newfound pitch. He got a spiteful one that spat up off a length, leaving him with a nice bruise as a souvenir.
Noah joined Dan shortly after and was clearly intent on raising the elder Beckell’s pulse rate with some positive running between the wickets. Runs were still hard to come by, but a 20-run stand started to look like the platform for something better.
A Middle-Order Rally
When Dan finally got undone by one mistimed drive too many, Lil strode out purposefully, intent on building his reputation as a pugnacious middle-order counter-puncher. He mixed some beautifully played aggressive shots with some (shall we say) interesting defence.
Noah got out trying to pick up the run rate, which meant the fine vintage wine that is Steve Savage had (yet) another chance to score Oaks runs. Ollie joined him a few overs later, and this pair of youthful veterans were able to increase the scoring rate.
Some of Capital’s second-string bowling wasn’t quite as tight as what had come before, but the bat still needs to be put to ball, and the runs flowed with few chances. A score of 165 was something to defend, with 120 off the second 20 overs a pretty decent return.
A Bright Start with the Ball
When the Oaks took to the field, clouds and rain were a distant memory — it actually got quite warm again. Dan persuaded Jeff to ignore the complaints from his knees and open the bowling. Jeff did that rather well, with a wicket in his first over.
Ollie repeated that feat in his first, with an unplayable inswinging yorker that clattered into the stumps. At least that’s how I remember it. Others may have seen an inside edge that dribbled up to the base of the stumps with just enough force to apologetically remove one of the bails.
Jeff continued to chip away with wickets for not many runs; Ollie was frustratingly not able to maintain the same degree of control at the other end. But with Capital 50-odd for 4, the Oaks were definitely in the contest.
Savage provided an expletive-laden summary of how Capital were feeling about the pitch. A verbatim quote would be inappropriate for a report that is published for all to see, but suffice it to say, it was a pithy and insightful view into the psychology of the opposition.
The Tide Turns
As the Capital batters started to find their range, Oaks needed a couple more wickets to stay in the hunt. Unfortunately, those weren’t forthcoming. Lil, James and Alex all tried hard to turn the tide but without success.
Lil got some reward with a catch that went into Noah’s hands — Noah took it with the demeanour of someone who would rather have been anywhere else in the world than standing at point in the trajectory of a spinning cricket ball.
Alex also lured Capital’s fifty-making batter into giving Savage a stumping. A nicely flighted delivery proved too much as he danced down the wicket.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Capital ran out comfortable winners with eight overs to spare. They’re a decent bunch, with a squad that will be competitive in higher divisions. The Oaks made them work for the win and can take positives from this game — plenty of energy and enthusiasm in the field.
This was led, in no small part, by Tom McCarthy, who also bowled a useful spell at the end.
And surely there’s a moral victory for the team that loses fewer wickets than the team that wins the game.