On a gloriously spring afternoon at Newfound, The Oaks Third XI hosted Cove IV, determined to bounce back after last week’s forgettable outing. With two months of dry weather behind us, the pitch had taken on a distinctly late-August feel—cracked, unpredictable, and the colour of stale digestive biscuits. The consensus was clear: this wasn’t going to be easy.
Digging in on a Devilish Deck
The Oaks batted first, sending out Dan Beckell and Jeff Triner to try and make sense of a surface that looked like it had personal vendettas against batsmen. This was a pitch where one ball could rearrange your teeth and the next dislocate your ankle. Anything in double figures would be considered a noble effort.
Both openers made a steady start, mixing caution with the occasional classy stroke. Jeff, looking solid, was eventually undone by a moment of indecision, caught in no man’s land for 12. In came Ben Robinson, who struck a few sweet cover drives and looked poised for a proper innings—until he too was caught in two minds and one fielder’s hands, dismissed for 15.
A Father-Son Partnership and a Mid-Innings Wobble
Dan continued, defiant and dogged, and was soon joined by son Noah. The family pairing knuckled down with admirable grit. Dan scrapped his way to a well-earned 44 before misjudging a wide one just before tea, departing with a despairing yell that echoed to the car park. It was a pivotal knock in tough conditions.
Noah held firm for 12 before falling victim to a classic worm-burner, while poor Will Rabley suffered a brutal delivery that resulted in a “helmet-meets-bat” moment, proving that not all cricketing genes are passed on evenly. Steve Savage suffered a similar fate going for 9, and the innings looked wobbly.
Ollie Rallies the Lower Order (Almost)
Enter Ollie Rabley, who brought some much-needed energy, punishing anything short or wide with crisp boundaries. He played beautifully for his 36 and looked capable of hauling Oaks to a strong total—if only someone could stick with him. Sadly, support was lacking. Bob Lethaby briefly threatened before deciding to audition for The Hundred and was caught attempting a six he had no business trying. At least he didn’t have a helmet to throw. Alex Holman and Alan Howarth couldn’t offer resistance either, going binary and leaving Ollie stranded and frustrated when looking good for a 50. Oaks finished on 151—a score that felt slightly light, but with a treacherous pitch, anything was possible.
A Bright Start, Then Trouble
Dan opened the bowling with Ollie and Noah. Ollie struck twice in succession with two sharp caught-and-bowled dismissals, and a sensational one-handed catch from Will Rabley gave Noah a wicket. But Noah, despite some beautiful deliveries, was inconsistent, and Dan rightly gave him the shepherd’s crook—4 good balls and 2 loose ones just wouldn’t cut it defending 151.
Alan Howarth and Alex Holman bowled reasonably well and Alan picked up another wicket, but they were still going at six an over which, obviously, is too much. The scoreboard kept ticking and Cove looked comfortable.
Enter the Chaos Twins
With six wickets needed and the match slipping, Dan made his final move: enter Bob “The Oakley Express” Lethaby and Jeff Triner, under strict instructions to “just get it up there and let the pitch do the rest.”
It worked. Bob’s looping full deliveries and Jeff’s skiddy, accurate quicker stuff, perfectly exploited the pitch, and backed by sharp fielding—especially from Noah and the excellent Will—the wickets tumbled. Between them, Bob and Jeff shared six scalps as Cove collapsed in remarkable fashion. What had looked like a certain defeat turned into a surprisingly straightforward win, thanks in part to Dan’s well-timed drinks-break speech about “domino effects” and belief. A good day for the skipper.
Spirit and Togetherness
All in all, a fine team victory. An eclectic mix of players, aged 19 to 75 (with many somewhere between autumn and winter), stuck together, battled hard, and were rewarded for their perseverance. Cricket remains one of the few sports where such age diversity thrives—and thrive it did. Credit too to Cove IV, a good-natured side with some promising young players who played the game in the right spirit.
Onwards we go.