Wooburn gained a crucial victory in a real nail-biter against Bracknell 1st XI. After bowling Bracknell out for just 69, Wooburn scraped home with just two wickets in hand after an epic batting collapse. Phil Clarke emerged as Wooburn\‘s hero with a vital 6 not out in a gripping finale.
After being put in, the early part of Bracknell\‘s innings gave no indication of the carnage to follow. After the early loss of Wall, their second wicket pair added 32 with Darvell despatching the ball with relish whenever Dave Small overpitched. Small eventually got his man though, when a leading edge sent the ball looping up for Dave Rogers to take the catch.
Batting suddenly became a difficult proposition. Tim Waxman, despite being far from his best, and the miserly Richie Barker, ran through the Bracknell batting, as the last nine wickets fell for 32 runs. Extras continued his good form with 27, but this hardly seemed important when the final total was just 69.
At 21-0 in reply, Wooburn were looking comfortable. The difficult opening overs had been negotiated, and an easy stroll to victory was in prospect. Disaster then reared its ugly head. Crittenden performed the hat-trick to turn the game on its head. First Cuthbert chased a wide leg-cutter, then Cooper received the only really \‘unplayable\’ ball of the day, and finally Tab was caught off bat and pad at short mid off. Wooburn\‘s good start had been blown away, and they now had a real fight on their hands.
Wickets now fell steadily. John Wall, easily Bracknell\‘s best bowler, found new energy and removed Dave Rogers. 33-4. Angus Porter became the second Wooburn batsman to reach double figures with a splendid drive over the slips for four, but his patient effort ended when he adjudged lbw to Crittenden. 45-5. Stuart Savage then departed attempting to slap the leg-spinner Bray over the top. 52-6. Wooburn\‘s hopes now rested on their bowling heroes, Barker and Waxman.
Time stood still. Both batsmen appeared too nervous to attempt a scoring stroke, and the scoreboard ground to a halt. Waxman finally tried to hit Bray over the top, the ball just dropping short of mid on. Next over, Wall returned to snare Waxman, well caught at third slip for possibly the longest nought of his career. 56-7. The dependable Rob Rogers joined Barker, and Barker now tried to take the initiative, hitting a welcome boundary. The respite was brief. Soon after, Wall caught him in two minds, the bowler taking the catch himself. 63-8.
The tension was now too much for Wooburn to bear. Waxman hid in the long grass, unable to watch. Phil Clarke entered the fray with seven runs still required. With Rogers presenting an impeccable dead bat to every delivery, Clarke carefully nudged and nurdled his way to the target. When the scores were levelled, relief swept over Wooburn Park. Clarke then pushed Wall towards mid off for the winning run, allowing Waxman to emerge from hiding, and last man Small and his army of supporters to breathe a very large sigh of relief.
This was a \‘Wooburn wobble\’ of gigantic proportions, but it did make for a very interesting game of cricket for the large crowd that had gathered, and plenty of amusement for the former Wooburn players watching. All this on a pitch which, though helpful to the seam bowlers, was by no means unplayable. The current Wooburn team consoled themselves with the 20 points, and the thought that this could never ever happen again, could it?
