Two Teams, Two Very Different Journeys
Sunday’s friendly match between Oakley Ladies and Hook Ladies saw two teams playing for very different things. For Oakley, it was a chance to bridge the gap between the regular season finishing and their upcoming semi-final. For Hook, it was their first match as a team, and the first ever match for some of their players. The more experienced Oakley team were strong favourites, but nothing is a given in this game.
Tricky Conditions and a Quick Start
The sky was overcast with a little bit of rain in the air to make for some tricky fielding conditions for fielding. Hook won the toss and put Oakley into bat. Bex scored boundaries off the first two legal balls to get the scoreboard moving, but anyone believing the result was a foregone conclusion was sorely mistaken, and Hook spurned a glorious chance to put some pressure on when they dropped a catch off the fourth delivery. Oakley didn’t heed the warning though and Jenny was bowled off the first delivery of the next over. This did though mean an opportunity to see Hook’s light-up stumps in action! Hook’s bowlers couldn’t capitalise though and the opening pair racked up 42, the second highest of the season.
Middle Order Keeps the Runs Coming
Heena and Brenda kept the momentum going, sharing singles between them and taking the extras when they came their way. 25 scored, and the scoreboard was looking healthy. Penny and Claire followed, moving the ball around the pitch and scoring freely. The 100 would have come up had Claire not lost a wicket with a handful of deliveries left of the pair. Hook were also unlucky to have a wicket overturned by a no-ball signal from the umpire.
Double Shift and Strong Finish
Brenda headed back to the crease, thrilled to have drawn the short straw and needing to bat twice with Oakley a player short. Batting alongside Eve, both players fell victim to the Hook bowlers, and a combination of very few extras being conceded and some smart fielding, the pair had to settle for 10. The final pairing of Joan and Michelle signalled their intent with a boundary off the first ball and continued to score throughout. Hook’s final bowler experienced a baptism of fire, suffering the misfortune of bowling a 14-ball over to finish proceedings and pushing the total to a competitive 335 for 5. Each Hook player bowled two overs each, with an honourable mention to Kirsten for taking a wicket and a catch and showing some of her more experienced team mates the way to do it. Jenny (x2), Dianne and Kirsty took the other wickets.
Hook’s Chase Begins with Promise
Oakley took to the field to defend their total with 9, declining Hook’s generous offer to make up the numbers. Gwyn and Di opened Hook’s response, and after putting away two boundaries in the first over, it looked like we had a game on our hands. Unfortunately the momentum was lost when they were only able to score off one delivery in the following two overs, but still finished with a creditable 26. Helen and Yolande were up next and despite losing a wicket, scored regularly bringing their total to 22, aided in part by some wayward throws from the outfield. There was a bizarre incident when a great catch was taken by the non-striker who seemed to forget she was batting and got caught up in the moment somewhat. Stand-in captain Bex sportingly didn’t appeal, although this denied the scorers the change of recording the lesser spotted ‘out obstructing the field’.
Middle Overs and Comedy Moments
Ziran, batting alongside Jenny, was less fortunate though, being undone by some accurate bowling from Eve and a smart piece of fielding to effect a run-out, all of which meant she was out off of her first two deliveries! Runs were harder to come by and the pair scored 8. Jo and Kirsty scored a little more freely though, losing just one wicket when Bex took a less than straightforward catch off her own bowling.
Final Push Falls Short
The family combination Kirsten and Helen finished off the innings, needing an unlikely 63 to win. 11 off the first over gave them a glimmer of hope, but some accurate bowling restricted the opportunities, with Hook finally falling 40 runs short on 95 for 4. Eve was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 23 off 4 overs with no extras, and was unfortunate not to claim a third wicket when Brenda put down a catch off the last delivery of the innings. Penny also conceded just the 8 runs off her 3, again conceding no extras.
Plenty to Take from a Spirited Contest
The result was a fair reflection of the game. Hook will take plenty of positives from the game, having by no means disgraced themselves. If they can get their extras under control, they’ll no doubt look forward to some competitive matches next season. As for Oakley, they head into their semi-final on a high off the back of another all-round solid team performance.