A Promising Start for The Oaks
Oakley entertained runaway leaders Basingstoke on Saturday in what turned out to be a thrilling encounter. On a warm sunny afternoon, Basingstoke batted first, looking to compile a big score to defend. The Oaks got the early breakthrough when Perera edged the excellent Mike Bryant to Paddy Saines, who deflected the ball to Steve Bown. Bown took a smart catch, making it 13-1. Basingstoke responded well with the obdurate Nanthakumar and Marcus Bazeley taking them to 75 without further loss.
Breaking Through the Middle Order
Greg Spires made the breakthrough, clean bowling Marcus Bazeley, but Basingstoke kept rebuilding, making The Oaks work hard for wickets. DJ then removed the useful Chris Freud to make it 120-3, and an excellent direct hit by Will Cheyney removed Heaton-Ellis as the game swung back and forth. It was evolving into a cracker at 141-4.
Basingstoke then looked to move through the gears with Vikram Singh going full Bazball, with the score rattling along to 173-5 before Alex Rogan finally ended Nanthakumar’s stoic resistance. It was a fine knock of 63. Dan Jones then snared Sharma for just 1 and took a good catch as Greg ended the innings of the dangerous Singh, who smacked 29 off not many. This curtailed what could have been a 250-plus score, with Greg picking up a third when Chandler edged to Paddy, and Stef Kaltner cleaned up Charlie Allen to leave Basingstoke at 208-9 off 40 overs. An excellent, well-controlled bowling and fielding display offered a gettable, albeit tricky, target against a good bowling side.
Chasing the Total
Chasing the total, Michael Wood was cleaned up by a good ball from Mindi, leaving The Oaks at 12-1. This brought Greg Spires to the crease in no mood to defend. Matt Burrell and Greg steadily rebuilt the innings, but another setback came when Matt appeared unlucky to depart for 15, with no one appearing to know whether he was given out caught behind or LBW.
Josh came in and did what Josh does, calmly going about the business of building an innings. The Oaks were going well, but a fine catch in the slips removed Greg, who was looking like he could go big. At 64-3, the game was back in the balance. Steve Bown came and looked in good touch, but he departed on 19, making Basingstoke marginal favourites at 95-4.
A Tense Finish
The Oaks needed a decent partnership between Josh and someone, and they got one from Will Cheyney, who went straight on the attack. Josh was happy to keep playing the sensible role and let Will open up with a big six and a flurry of fours. This was good stuff, and the ol’ pendulum swung back to The Oaks. Just as a busy balcony settled down, Will miscued to short cover and had to go on 41. The tension was palpable.
Still, Josh was there, and DJ joined him, looking to take The Oaks from 160-5 to the victory gates. However, DJ was cleaned up for 10 by a resurgent Mindi, and when Alex Rogan went next ball, Basingstoke were cock-a-hoop. Mike Bryant avoided the hat-trick ball but went for just 2, leaving The Oaks wobbling at 188-8, still 21 from victory. It looked like Basingstoke’s game to lose.
Final Moments
Paddy came in and pulled for 4, edging another one to the boundary while Josh continued to keep things in order with a crunching drive for 4. It’s easy to forget how young Josh is, but with Paddy keeping his head, Josh was determined to take them to victory. With two needed off 3 balls, Josh went big, nailing it to the boundary fielder. The fielder got his hands to it but only managed to parry it over the fence for a six. What a game!
Conclusion
Credit to Basingstoke, they were easily the best team The Oaks had faced in 2024, and The Oaks had to be exceptional to beat them. And exceptional they were, to a man, including the 2s players who roared them on to victory. A club victory, the best performance for a long time from a team who had struggled early in the season after losing their injured skipper, who was a big influence.
As for Josh, this was his best-ever display in an Oaks shirt. He’s made tons and slapped lesser bowlers all over Oakley and beyond, but this was a pressure situation against an unbeaten team who were, quite correctly, going after him. To take that responsibility was the mark of a talented boy who has now become a man. An excellent innings.
A team that bottles it when chasing? Nah.
MOTM: Josh Carpenter: An Excellent Innings