Match Scorecard

Match Report

Match Report

The 2nd XI consolidated their mid-table position with a second successive victory, this time against Farnham Common at One Pin Lane. They were indebted to slow bowlers Rob Rogers (5-61) and Pete Harper (4-22) who shared the wickets as their local rivals fell 73 runs short of their target. Wooburn’s policy of batting first at every opportunity, and then taking the pace off the ball in the field, again proved successful.



At the start, a damp pitch made run-scoring difficult for the Wooburn batsmen. Openers Angus Porter and John White patiently constructed an opening stand of 71, before Porter fell for 34. White was caught soon after for 47, the off-spin of Farnham captain Bassi proving his undoing. Wooburn’s middle order then failed to take advantage of the good start, Bassi picking up further wickets as the batsmen proved unable to increase the tempo.



Dave Jordan joined skipper Stuart Savage, and provided a much needed cameo to push the total up towards respectability. Positive from the start, Jordan hit five boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 37, while Savage contributed an important 20. Rob Rogers briefly featured at the end, successfully rotating the strike for the in-form Jordan. A final Wooburn total of 184-7 represented a good recovery from their mid-innings difficulties, but there was a suspicion they were 50 short from being competitive on what was really a good pitch.



Common started carefully against the swing of White and the controlled slow bowling of Rogers. White beat the bat on several occasions with his outswinger, before Rogers struck to remove Gaute, Rob Hall taking a simple catch at square leg off the leading edge. 



Baker joined Bassi and began to take the attack to the Wooburn bowlers, being particularly strong on the offside, but was undone by his skipper. Bassi pushed into the offside and called for a quick single, only to change his mind with Baker committed. With the two batsmen stranded at the same end, keeper Rowley threw down the stumps. This proved an important wicket for the Narks, Baker having looked in good form, and they proceeded to work their way through the home side’s batting.



Pete Harper came into the attack, and Common really struggled against the variations of Wooburn’s two slow bowlers. Sanford was bowled in Harper’s first over, then Bassi, after a cautious innings, swung hard at Rogers only to give a looping catch to Harper at slip. Asif briefly threatened with a six and two fours, but none of the home batsmen really showed the application required to get close to Wooburn’s score.



Wicket-keeper Rowley picked up a good catch and two stumpings, and there was another catch for Harper at slip as Common tamely subsided. Another wild swing by Woodland ended the match with Common all out for 111.