Match Scorecard

Match Report

Match Report

Wooburn Narkovians 1sts’ mid-season slump continued on Saturday with a two-wicket defeat in their Thames Valley League game against Hayes 1sts.



Batting first, Wooburn were given a great start by Andy Tennant and Dave Rogers, who took advantage of the deceptively quick Hayes outfield to put on 122 in 22 overs for the first wicket. Although hampered by a wrist injury, Tennant dominated the partnership, hitting 14 boundaries on his way to a score of 73.



After his dismissal, Wooburn found it harder to maintain the impetus of the innings against some steady Hayes bowling, for whom Michael Green picked up 5-55. Rogers completed his fifty before being unluckily run out backing up by a deflected drive, and Ian Cuthbert looked well set before falling for 27 to a spectacular catch in the deep. The search for quick runs led to a clatter of late wickets, meaning Wooburn were bowled out for 234 in the last over of the innings.



With their two leading wicket takers missing, the visitors’ bowling resources were thin on the ground, so early wickets were desperately needed. James White responded by removing Farooq in the 4th over of the Hayes reply, bringing together Simon and Michael Green at the crease. Wooburn were well aware of the threat posed by the big-hitting pair, and the Hayes batsmen were quickly into their stride, bringing up the 100 in the 16th over.



White picked up an important breakthrough not long after, removing Simon Green for 68, but the runs continued to flow. The score had reached 163 before Andy Tennant bowled Michael Green off the inside edge for 72, giving Wooburn some hope of forcing a victory.



With limited options available to the visitors, White, bowling spin, and Tennant continued to operate in tandem for the rest of the game, and the pair began to make inroads into the Hayes batting line-up. White completed 21 overs with figures of 5-121, while Tennant ended with 3-69 from 16 overs.



By the time that Paul Cooper had held a stinging catch to remove Wayland, the home side were eight wickets down and still required 25 runs to win. However, Morgan and Funnell batted sensibly to steer Hayes to victory with more than four overs to spare.



The result means that Wooburn have won just once in their last seven league games, although they still find themselves less than 20 points off of first place.