The day began brightly for the Mighty Oaks, winning the toss and opting to bat in warm but blustery conditions at Oakley Park. Any early pressure on the batting side was quickly dismissed, with openers Paddy and Woody getting off to a flyer. A flurry of early boundaries—helped by some wayward bowling and generous extras—meant the scoreboard ticked along nicely before St Cross found their rhythm and tightened things up.
Despite the slowdown, a valuable half-century stand was secured. Paddy (27) and Woody (10) fell in successive overs just as they’d done the hard work seeing off the new ball.
Will Takes Control, Partnership Builds
With two fresh batsmen at the crease, St Cross sensed an opportunity. However, Will had other ideas—smashing two boundaries in his first over at the crease and letting the unmistakable sound of a well-timed middle echo across Hampshire. He continued in commanding but measured fashion, forming a steady partnership with DJ, who batted at a more deliberate pace.
As the 30-over mark passed with just two wickets down, the Oaks had built a platform to push on. Unfortunately, Will (57) fell to a mistimed shot to cover, bringing an end to an excellent knock and a crucial century stand for the third wicket. Tiley was next to go, pinned LBW by a tidy off-spinner, and DJ soon followed for a well-crafted 43.
Late Surge Secures Maximum Batting Points
Brundle and George came in with intent, running hard and finding boundaries—including one bizarre sequence of two runs and four overthrows for a six! George was caught on the boundary going for a more traditional six, and Harry soon followed, falling to a sharp caught and bowled.
The innings ended with a flourish, as Rogan (16*) brought the brute force and Brundle (21*) added a touch of finesse with a stylish scoop. The Oaks closed on 230, securing maximum batting points and posting a competitive total—a clear improvement on previous weeks.
Bowling Struggles as Lovett Dominates Chase
With runs on the board and recent encouraging bowling displays, confidence was high heading into the second innings. That optimism was quickly dented, however, as the St Cross openers came out firing—punishing anything even slightly off line. With pace on the ball assisting the batsmen, even good deliveries were disappearing to the boundary.
St Cross reached the first drinks break unscathed and well ahead of the rate. Enter Sharan, who broke the deadlock with two quick wickets, including a fine leg-side catch by Paddy to remove the aggressive opener.
Lovett Leads the Way, Oaks to Regroup
Despite this breakthrough, St Cross’s remaining opener, Lovett, continued in a fiercely determined fashion—offering only two difficult chances on his way to an unbeaten century. Will Cheyney chipped in with a wicket, caught in the deep by Brundle, who also picked up a wicket of his own later—once again with Paddy involved behind the stumps.
Ultimately, the visitors chased down the target with four wickets in hand and ten overs to spare—thanks largely to Lovett’s imperious century on a day that didn’t feature our best bowling and fielding.
Plenty to Build On
While the result wasn’t what the Oaks hoped for, the batting performance—anchored by Will, DJ, and late fireworks from Brundle and Rogan—was a step in the right direction. With more control needed in the bowling and tighter fielding efforts, there’s plenty pf room for improvement. But with a squad that’s already shown what it can do, there’s no shortage of belief heading into the weeks ahead.
We travel on, looking for that first win.