Match Scorecard

Match Report

9 Bowlers share the spoils

A sunny April day was the setting for Wooburn\s first home match of the season against Penn and Tylers Green. Penn batted first and looked to be off to a good start, reaching 20 without loss after 6 overs on a wicket that looked like it might favour the bowlers early on. This proved to be the case as James White took the wickets of Barber, caught by a surprised Barker at mid-off, followed by Lewis who had his off-stump knocked back. He ended with the miserly figures of 5-4-1-2.



Jordan and Ashford were the first-change bowlers and wickets continued to fall; John White took a good catch at slip, as did Barker who pouched a low one at mid-off. Replays suggest that he was helped ably by his new beer gut, about which I am sure the Wooburn nutritionist will have something to say. This may also be the reason why he decided not to step 5 paces to his right, and instead let Jordan run back and take the catch off his own bowling. Records show that Jeff Morris had collected more than enough ducks (74) during his time at Wooburn and he can add one more to that tally as he was stumped by Chris Hall off Ashford for nought.



Phil Clarke had obviously been reading the Pete Harper bowling manual during the winter break, as a low full toss first ball resulted in Patel being caught on the 45. John White followed suit as Bond chipped a juicy half-volley to Walters at gully. In fairness, Bond seemed to be outdone by the second bounce of White\s delivery. At 44-8, the Penn innings looked to have come to an end, but some stubborn resistance from Monon (26*) allowed them to creep towards a total of 94 all out. A good performance from all 9 bowlers.



After a good tea, Wooburn set about chasing the modest total on the pitch which looked to have hardened as the game went on. It took the Narks 20 overs and the loss of only one wicket to surpass Penn\s score. Dave Rogers batted well for his 25* but there was only one real highlight in the Wooburn innings. Even at this early stage of the season it was wonderful to see a batsman weigh in with an important knock for the Green Caps. An eclectic mix of front and back foot shots, together with some positive shot selection saw the ball being stroked to every corner of the ground. Sadly, a tired shot brought a premature end to such an entertaining innings, as Smith beat the bat of Rob Hall to clip his off-stump bail.



There were no other points of interest in this innings.