ROGERS ENJOYS A WINNING START
WOOBURN Narkovians 2nd XI continued their excellent start to the season with a solid eight wicket victory over Bracknell. Rob Rogers haul of six wickets, along with 75 from Alan Cuthbert, were the highlights in another good team performance.
Wooburn\s acting captain, Rogers, had the best possible start when he won the toss and put Bracknell in to bat. The pitch was a good one, but Bracknell\s openers, Henly and Harman, struggled against the new ball pairing of Phil Day and Qadeer. Both batsmen played and missed on a number of occasions as Wooburn toiled for an early wicket. Runs did come in the early overs, mostly to the third man region, and it was the introduction of Rogers that stemmed the scoring. Now the lack of pace on the ball put the onus on the batsman to provide the power, which proved difficult.
Rogers soon removed both openers, both bowled off the inside edge attempting cut strokes. Paul Cuthbert then removed Watson, well caught at mid on by Rob Smith, and 65-0 had become 75-3. Dewick and Pinnock steadied the ship, but the scoring rate slowed and with 15 overs left the total had only reached 89. Rogers eventually induced a false stroke from Pinnock, holding a good catch off his own bowling. Bray was then bowled aiming a big shot over mid wicket, and Dixon soon followed. Meanwhile, Dewick had decided to go onto the attack, accelerating the rate with some well-struck boundaries. He took 16 off one Rogers over, on his way to a well made 54. But support was lacking, and after Harmer was run out, Elliott fell to a fine running catch by Brad Sutherland in the deep. Dewick was finally caught at deep cover off Nick Tappin and Martindale was run out in the last over, leaving Bracknell 152 all out. Rogers finished with the excellent figures of 6-43 off 16 overs.
Bracknell decided to retain the old ball when Wooburn began their reply, combining the leg spin of Bray with Elliott\s medium pace. Openers Dave Rogers and Alan Cuthbert started slowly against some accurate bowling, with Elliott achieving some movement and having the latter batsman dropped at slip early on. Bray, however, was an easier proposition, and was soon replaced after being struck for a number of boudaries. Martindale was a little wayward at first, but when he settled down scoring was never easy. The batsmen did manage to keep up with the required rate, and the opening partnership had reached 118 when Rogers fell one short of a deserved half-century.
Rob Smith cracked a magnificent boundary through the covers, but departed lbw for the second week running with the score on 142. Paul Cuthbert then joined his brother, and the victory target was reached with three overs to spare. Alan Cuthbert finished unbeaten on 75 as Wooburn consolidated their position near the top of the table. It was also a very satisfying day for Rob Rogers, with a 6-wicket haul to his name, and a comprehensive victory in his first game in charge of Wooburn.
Maidenhead Advertiser