Dan Jones and his merry men headed to local rivals (well, not really rivals) Overton on a sunny summer’s afternoon.
The Toss
No one quite remembers who won it, but Oakley found themselves batting. This was music to the ears of Woody and Matty, who love batting together. They went in, happy as Larry. However, this didn’t last long. Even though both looked solid, Matt decided to run himself out. (This may have been Woody’s fault, but since I’m writing the report, it wasn’t.) So off Matt went to spend the remainder of his day doing bugger all.
In came DJ, and out went DJ. In came Josh, and out went Josh. In-form Bowny then sprinted out and started finding the boundary, which was needed as Woody couldn’t find a run. After smashing Sam Cross all over the place, Bowny decided to hook a ball straight into the fielder’s hands. Off he popped for 21—what a silly boy. Woody was left to really dig in and regroup again. This lasted 3 balls until he played a rather rank shot and went off crying in the changing room for a boring 10.
Middle Order Drama
Now it was Paddy and Will’s turn to bat. It didn’t take long for Will to get in and hit some stunning 6s and 4s. Good God, this man is in form. Paddy, on 13, then chipped one to the fielder, leaving Oakley at 99-6. How the hell did Overton blow it from this position, I hear you ask? Well, one name: Mike Bryant (Mikey Moo Moo). After a great knock by Will for 48 and a useful 15 by Stefan, Mike came in and batted wonderfully. With both attacking shots and little cuts, Oakley got up to 212. A great turnaround.
Tea Time. Yum yum!
Overton’s Chase
Stefan and Mikey Moo Moo opened the bowling, and even though Mike got an early wicket, the other opener was batting well, hitting some huge 6s and looking like he could win the game on his own. After being dropped in his 20s, he really opened up. However, with wickets falling at the other end, he started to feel the pressure. Then, out of nowhere, the skipper bowled a lovely full toss, and the batsman whacked it into the air and was caught. GAME ON.
108-3 suddenly turned into 121-5 with Andy Pett getting out for a duck (which was funny because I know Pett). It was up to Galvin to bat and bat long to see Overton home. After turning down numerous 2s and with wickets falling, it started to look like he had left too much to do. Sharron and DJ, who both got 3 wickets, really squeezed Overton, and with 5 overs to go, Overton needed 40-odd to win. Could Galvin get his team over the line? No, he couldn’t, but it was a great effort by the lad, who stayed unbeaten.
Fielding Brilliance
A sharp catch by Matt really summed up the fielding performance, and Oakley won the game by 6 runs, continuing their unbeaten run. Not bad for a team whose season was supposedly over a few weeks back (according to some).
MOTM: Mikey Moo Moo** – 48 runs and 2 wickets.
Post-Match Celebrations
A good few pints were had afterward, and it was a delightful evening chatting cricket and footy with the Overton lads. The beer tasted even better after winning.
Up da Oaks!