CUTHBERT RACES TO ASCOT WIN
Wooburn Narkovians 2nd XI recorded their second victory in Thames Valley League Division 3, defeating a deleted Royal Ascot by 9 wickets on Saturday.
Wooburn won the toss and felt duty bound to put Royal Ascot in to bat, on a wicket softened by recent wet weather. In the event, the wicket did not play too badly. The odd ball stopped, but not dangerously, and batsmen prepared to apply themselves could make runs. Sadly for Royal Ascot, few of their batsmen were capable of doing this, with only Hayes (42) providing prolonged resistance.
Wooburn performed well in the field without ever being stretched. Phil Day and Kevin Czakan shared five wickets, aided by excellent catches by David Rogers at short leg, and Richard Barker at fine leg. Day, at times, expected to take a wicket with every ball, and was not shy of showing his disappointment when he failed to do so.
Czakan, struggling with his run up, bowled steadily, and deserved his two wickets, although not necessarily with the balls that he took them with. David White came on to take his first league wicket, before Rob Rogers mopped up the tail. Paul Cuthbert was unsuccessful with his hat-trick ball, carried over from two weeks ago.
Wooburn, requiring only 105, suffered an early blow when skipper Rob Smith was bowled by the second ball of the innings. Alan Cuthbert joined Dave Rogers, and they saw Wooburn home without further alarms. Cuthbert soon got into his stride, scoring freely against the wayward Ascot bowling. He was particularly severe on the short ball on his way to a season\s best 71.
At the other end, the dependable Rogers provided solid support as Wooburn strolled home with 36 overs to spare. Royal Ascot, missing a number of regulars, will be hoping to improve over the rest of the season. Tomorrow (Saturday) Wooburn entertain Teddington Town.
Maidenhead Advertiser
