The Twos travelled to the postcard-perfect Hurstbourne Priors on a sun-drenched August Saturday, with a simple mission: find 11 points and guarantee survival.
Oaks Bat First
Batting first, The Oaks made a bright start as George Rutt and George Lethaby pieced together a tidy opening stand. Rutty looked comfortable before departing in frustration for 23, but youngster Joby Beatty carried on his good work, dodging an appeal here and a dropped catch there, before finding some rhythm. Just as things were beginning to look promising at 71 for 1, George forgot the golden rule about straight balls and exited on 27, along with some colourful vocabulary aimed at himself. Ian Bennett arrived, crunched a couple of fours, then met his match against a peach of a delivery, before Joby’s luck ran out, going for a battling, excellent, 46.
Jack Brundle kept things ticking with a well-compiled 26, but support was limited. Noah (8) and Kalum (12) offered cameos, before the tail reminded everyone that scoring runs is apparently optional. Bob Lethaby, Will Mac, and Tony recorded the dreaded doughnuts, leaving Ollie Rabley stranded on 4. The Oaks all out for 170, a total that felt about 50 light given the tiny boundaries and lightning outfield.
Bowlers Fight Back
To their credit, the bowlers came out snarling. Tony Thomas and Will McCarthy had the hosts wobbling at 31-3, though opener Jeff Williams lived a charmed life thanks to some generosity in the field. Hurstbourne steadied at 103-3 until Ollie Rabley finally winkled out Williams (at last). Then came a burst: An ecstatic Bob Lethaby (“hit that for six, matey!”), sent the dangerous Ajax Singh packing, and Kalum snaffled Urquhart to leave the hosts teetering at 128-6. Game on, or so we thought.
Enter skipper, Raj Kumar, who calmly dismantled the Oaks’ resistance with a mix of class and counter-attack against, shall we say, mixed bowling by Lethaby & Son Limited and others. In no time, Hurstbourne had crossed the line, leaving us muttering about “if only” and “30-40 more runs.” Truth of the matter. Hurstbourne batted deep, we didn’t.
Defeat but Survival Confirmed
The defeat stung, but here’s the silver lining: 8 losing points, combined with rivals failing to win, meant survival was confirmed. Not quite cause for a Kool & The Gang singalong, but certainly a collective sigh of relief as we really didn’t want the humiliation of relegation.
Looking ahead, the lesson is clear. We don’t bat deep enough. The top five shoulder too much pressure, and one collapse away lurks the kind of embarrassing total that ends up trending online. Next season’s challenge for the new skipper? Build a middle and lower order that can turn 170 all out into 220—and start winning these fine-margin games instead of admiring the scenery. With developing young players and a couple of additions, there is no reason why we can’t.
Many thanks to Hurstbourne Priors for being good hosts. They look set to just miss out on promotion but will be right up there again next year. They are a good bunch with some fine players.