In another warm -up match at the Theatre of Scenes, Oakley came up against Knights Valley for the south of the county. The teams were greeted by a Baltic Saturday that ranged from bearable to brutal in lively northerly wind gusts.
Oaks Bat First
Oakley batted first, with Joe Marlow and Matt Burrell opening. After Matt’s early departure, Joe steadied the innings, building a partnership with Josh Carpenter. Joe eventually retired after reaching 50 with a towering six. A good start to his Oaks career. Josh Carpenter departed after a solid 48 that included 9 fours.
Nick Green’s semi-legendary big hitting was short-lived after a big six was followed by a clean bowled. He was followed by Dan Jones’ unfortunate LBW dismissal that had him refraining from exacting violence on team mate, Alex Holman. Paddy Saines (15) and Will Cheyney then contributed well as The Oaks pushed on. Will retired on an impressive and rapid 52 that included 3 sixes and 5 fours. The boy looks good.
Alex Brundle put on a valuable 28 in quick time and despite losing Stef Kaltner and Alex Holman for not much, The Oaks put on a formidable looking 247.
Defending 247
The Oakley bowlers, led by the metronomic Stef Kaltner (2 for 10 off 8) and Josh Carpenter, made early breakthroughs, restricting Knights Valley’s scoring as they did so. Despite a brief fightback, the Oakley bowlers continued to take wickets, with Joe Marlow impressing on debut with 3 wickets and Will Cheyney, Alex Holman, DJ and Alex Brundle taking one apiece. A good work out for the bowlers.
The match ended with Oakley securing a comfortable 100 run victory without much alarm. However, the result wasn’t as important as the valuable game time for both teams, this despite the cold weather conditions. Knights Valley were also great guests who enjoyed their day out and hung around for a beer and some social time after the game.
A good day…on we travel!