CUTHBERT PUTS NARKS BACK ON RIGHT TRACK
After consecutive defeats in the Thames Valley League, Wooburn Narkovians 2nds bounced back with a comfortable seven wicket victory over Old Latymerians.
Wooburn opted to field after winning the toss, and their opening bowlers Phil Day and Paul Cuthbert were quickly in the groove. Day bowled a probing line around off stump, while Cuthbert moved the ball in the air and off the pitch, and scoring was difficult with the batsmen concentrating more on survival. Day replaced himself with Richard Barker and soon after that, Cuthbert made the breakthrough, bowling Moss with a yorker. Barker, slightly wayward at first, eventually settled into a rhythm and was rewarded with the wicket of Gird. Cuthbert then took the wickets of Russell and Barnes in the same over, courtesy of catches behind the stumps by Matt Curtis.
Opener Cambray and Hussain managed to stop the rot for a while, but the scoring rate virtually ground to a halt in the process. Hussain was eventually bowled by Cuthbert and Cambray, after a patient 32, fell lbw to Barker. The Old Lats innings folded after that, with the last two men run out by Lavers, who seemed determined to keep the strike. After a marathon spell, Cuthbert finished with splendid figures of 4-26, while Barker ended up with 3-36. Old Lats all out for 73.
The Wooburn openers, Rob Smith and Dave Rogers, found batting equally difficult, particularly against Hussain. He managed to move the ball just as much as the Wooburn bowlers had done, and quickly removed Rogers with one that came back in to the batsman. Alan Cuthbert made a solid 15 before he too fell to Hussain, bowled by the outswinger. Smith, playing the anchor role, and Paul Cuthbert, made the game safe for Wooburn. The tiring Hussain was replaced by Gird who posed fewer problems, although he did eventually bowl Cuthbert with a leg stump yorker. Smith, partnered by Richie Barker, steered Wooburn to victory, ending unbeaten on 23.
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