WAXMAN POLISHES OFF RIVALS AS NARKS KEEP UP TOP FORM
A FINE spell of bowling from Tim Waxman carried Wooburn Narkovians 2nd XI to an excellent 61 run win over Royal Ascot in the Thames Valley League. Losing the toss proved to be a blessing in disguise for Wooburn, with light rain in the early part of Ascot\s innings creating conditions favourable for seam bowling, which Waxman exploited expertly.
It was overcast when the match started, and the atmosphere offered some help to the bowlers. Wooburn openers, Dave Rogers and Alan Cuthbert, had to be content with survival against some testing bowling from Allen and Theobald. Theobald, bowling left-arm over, was particularly threatening, swinging the ball into the batsmen at good pace. He made the breakthrough, trapping Rogers leg before, but not before 47 had been added for the first wicket. Cuthbert, having done all the hard work, then fell to a soft dismissal, offering an easy catch to mid wicket.
Rob Smith and Richard Barker kept the scoreboard moving, with Barker hit two big sixes in his 34, but at 124-5 Wooburn were in danger of falling short of a competitive total. Waxman and Day then came together, the pace duo this time combining well with the bat to add 30. Kevin Czakan and Rob Rogers continued the good work, with Wooburn ending up on 188-8. The scorecard had a reassuringly solid look about it, with every batsman reaching double figures.
The target of 189 left Royal Ascot with a fair task if they were to win the game. The home side\s reply started well enough against the new ball pairing of Day and Waxman. King dominated the scoring, hitting boudaries off both bowlers, while Iveson, promoted in the order, struggled to get the ball away. The openers put on 37 before Day struck, bowling Iveson as he aimed a big shot over the top. Waxman then took the important wickets of Allen and Ellis to reduce Ascot to 42-3. Both were bowled, Ellis getting an absolute snorter that he could only fend down onto his stumps.
Wiggett then joined King, and the scoring rate slowed as the batsmen tried to consolidate. Czakan replaced Day and managed to dismiss King, caught at mid-off, and at 60-4 Wooburn scented victory. However, Warburton and Wiggett resisted stoutly, with Qadeer bowling well without luck. A light shower freshened up the pitch, and Waxman was able to extract plenty of seam movement when he returned. He trapped Warburton in front of his stumps as the batsman shuffled across, and then clean bowled Theobald with a beauty. Rob Rogers, varying his pace well, wrapped things up at the other end, taking 3-21, while Waxman finished with 5-32 from 16 overs.
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