Despite a superb bowling display by James White, ably supported by Richie Barker and Mo Aslam, Wooburn Narkovians 1sts couldn’t quite force a victory against 10-man Bagshot in their Thames Valley League game in Bagshot Park on Saturday.
Put into bat, Wooburn made a good start and, bearing in mind that the home side were a player short, were probably a little disappointed with their final total of 205-7, built around a solid 60 by Paul Cooper and 40s from Dave Rogers and Dave Pidgeon. However, with four or five first-team regulars missing, the visitors might well have accepted that score if it had been offered before the game.
With strike bowler Mark Tennant one of those absent, Wooburn were relying on White and Barker to perform well with the new ball, and they did just that. In particular, White produced a tremendous spell of swing bowling, beating the bat with monotonous regularity. Bagshot’s batsmen were at a loss as to how to deal with him, resulting in eight consecutive maidens, and the scoring rate struggled to reach two an over in the first 20 overs.
Unfortunately for Wooburn, the domination of ball over bat did not translate itself into wickets, with only one falling to White in those opening overs. Barker eventually got some reward for a fine 14-over spell with the dismissal of Dawson, and White picked up a well-deserved second wicket, bowling Young for 37.
It took the introduction of Wooburn’s spinners to bring the game to life. Hollely and Joshi got the scoreboard moving by punishing any loose deliveries, suggesting, albeit briefly, that the target might still be in reach. White was brought back into the attack, and his decision to bowl spin as well was rewarded with the wicket of Joshi. Meanwhile, Hollely was run out for 47, thanks to some good work by Dave Jordan.
Suddenly, Wooburn had an opening, and two quick wickets for Aslam and another for White, who finished with 4-48, brought the home side’s last pair to the crease for the final couple of overs. However, Wooburn could not find a way to wrap up the game, and Bagshot held on to reach 158-8.
