The U15s made it three wins out of four this season, after a third successive last over finish, this time against Chalfont St Giles. Chasing a tough target of 125, Wooburn executed a near perfect run chase, Matt Wilson getting down low to scoop the winning run with just three balls to spare.
Put into bat on cool evening at Wooburn Park, Chalfont found runs hard to come by against the tight bowling of Will Cuthbert and Ali Dalton. Ali was unlucky to pick up an early wicket when Shoesmith top edged a pull shot and was easily caught by the bowler, but unfortunately he had overstepped the front line by a good six inches for a clear no ball. John Henry Kelly and Matt Hoddell maintained the pressure on the batsmen, and the score had only reached 41 after the first ten overs.
At this stage, Wooburn had the game under control, but now the batting side accelerated the scoring. Four boundaries from the next two overs got the innings going, Patel moving to 39. In Alfie Jordan’s next over, Patel drove hard but in the air towards mid on. Leaping to his left, an airborne Matt Wilson caught the ball two-handed at full stretch, to send back the bewildered batsman. What a catch! Shoesmith was then run out in the same over to leave CSG on 63-2.
Husson came into the attack, initially struggling to find his line and length, but then another good catch, this time from Matt Hoddell, low down at mid off, brought another wicket. Gibbs and Robinson now went onto the attack. Gibbs favoured the legside, causing one Wooburn fielder to move himself from the covers to the legside, much to the surprise of captain, bowler and coach! Good overs from John Henry and Husson restricted the scoring, but 24 from the final two overs to CSG to a very competitive 124 from their 20 overs.
The Wooburn innings got off to a flier with openers Will Cuthbert and Michael Levy taking 29 from the first three overs. Michael dominated the bowling, driving powerfully and taking advantage of anything off line. He was particularly good against the dangerous spin of Gibbs, not allowing the bowler to settle. He raced to 39 in double quick time, but with a well-deserved half century in his sights, he mistimed a drive straight back to the bowler and departed, crestfallen. Ali, struggling a little for runs this season, was quickly away with 2 through mid wicket, but he was then bowled by Patel, going back to a full ball when he should have been forward.
At the halfway point, Wooburn had reached 65-2 and were well placed. Will was now joined by a pumped up Vith, bristling with intent. The pair now put together an important partnership of 32. Will, technically correct, keeping the ball on the ground, hit two lovely boundaries, one through the covers and the other straight, just to the onside of the stumps. Vith adopted a more forceful, but equally effective approach, not afraid to go over the top. He hit the ball powerfully, one blow landing just short of the boundary at long on. At 95, Will cut hard but straight to point, where a good catch was taken. Disappointed, he almost had to be dragged off the field after a well made 28.
John Henry now joined Vith, and was quickly off the mark with a boundary. A well-timed flick off the pads brought another through square leg, the ball racing away for four. He was looking in very good order, when he was beaten by the good old second bounce yorker and bowled. A horrible way to go, but at 114-4 with 16 balls remaining, he had played a good hand for the team.
Matt Wilson now joined Vith, revealing his new crouching stance, apparently designed to help him ‘sweep’ the ball. With tension mounting, Wooburn’s running between the wickets, excellent throughout, now began to verge on the suicidal. Vith chanced his arm to midwicket and was rewarded with overthrows, the fielder throwing the ball with all his might from point blank range, when an underarm throw to the bowler would have sufficed. The final over started with the scores level. Matt swung and missed the first two balls, but he managed to ‘sweep’ the third past the close set field for the winning run. Phew! A collective sigh of relief could be heard from the boundary.
This was an excellent win for the team, chasing down a target of 125 is no mean feat, against a team who belied their lowly position in the league table. The bowling was steady, the catching excellent, but it was the batting that stood out. A fine innings of 39 by Michael laid the foundation, and Will (28), Vith (23*) and John Henry (11) maintained the momentum, with Matt W. finishing things off.
Bowling: W.Cuthbert 4-0-17-0, A.Dalton 4-0-31-0, J.H.Kelly 3-0-17-0, M.Hoddell 3-0-14-0, A.Jordan 3-0-26-1, Husson 3-0-18-1
Batting: W.Cuthbert 28, M.Levy 39, A.Dalton 2, Vithuraan 23*, J.H.Kelly 11, M.Wilson 5*
Team: Will Cuthbert, Michael Levy, Ali Dalton (capt), Vithuraan, John Henry Kelly, Matt Wilson, Matt Hoddell, Matt Craig, Matt Brockman, Alfie Jordan, Husson
