A nine-man 2nd XI put up a brave fight before going down by 57 runs to Windsor 3rds in the heat at Home Park. Poor availability had once again left the Wooburn side depleted, but the players on the field put up a spirited performance against a much stronger Windsor team.
With the temperature pushing 30 degrees, Windsor had no hesitation in opting to bat first, and openers Clifford and Huggins took full advantage of the conditions and their opponents\ lack of numbers. Both completed fifties before Graham Dare broke through, having Clifford caught behind.
Wooburn then managed to bring some control to the run-scoring, with Dare and Rob Smith bowling tightly. Huggins continued to hit the ball hard, going on to his hundred, before he became one of Smith\s three victims.
Steve Sweet, on his return to the Wooburn team, fielded superbly, running out Dawson with a direct hit, and pulling off a number of fine stops. Windsor eventually declared on 241-5 after 47 overs, with Smith producing the best bowling figures of 3-48.
After a top class tea, Wooburn started well with Rob Smith and Alan Cuthbert adding 41 for the first wicket. Disaster then struck when both batsmen departed in successive balls. First, Smith drove at Wigley with the ball just carrying to mid off, then Cuthbert was bowled by a beauty from Endacott. Stuart Savage then played on to leave Wooburn in trouble on 55-3.
An excellent stand of 58 for the fourth wicket now followed, between Graham Dare and Steve Sweet. Both were tested early on by the pace of Endacott, but once they were settled, they had few problems. Sweet, in particular, looked in good form, striking six boundaries in his 35.
The partnership was eventually ended by the leg spin of Malik. He was getting considerable turn, and picked up Dare to a catch behind the wicket. This was followed by the disappointing dismissals of Sweet and Dave Small. Both fell to long hops, holing out on the leg side boundary. Saj Padiyara then departed for 4 to leave us on 128-7 with last man Ted Savage on his way to the wicket.
With 19 overs remaining, Tim Waxman and Ted decided to put bat to ball and added an entertaining 56 for the last (eighth) wicket. Waxman, known to be fallible against spin, was delighted when Endacott was brought back and bristled with determination. He hit four fours in his unbeaten 29, including some powerful straight hits against the Windsor paceman. The fun finally ended when Ted Savage was given out to leg spinner Malik for 18, much to the home side\s relief.
The defeat leaves the 2nds in real trouble at the bottom of TVL Division 5A, and needing a couple of wins from the last three games to avoid a second successive relegation.
