A remarkable fight back saw the U15s defeat Marlow by the slim margin of 2 runs, Marlow’s last wicket falling with just 2 balls remaining, in another exciting finish. Such an outcome looked highly unlikely as, chasing a victory target of 111, Marlow raced to 53-0 from the first six overs, 48 of which came from the bat of opener Bruce. However, Bruce’s departure sparked a miraculous turnaround. The Marlow batting order first collapsed and then disintegrated in the later stages, Alfie Jordan taking crucial three wickets at the end, Ollie Nicol claiming the last to a catch by Vithuraaan.
The match had started well for Wooburn, Will Cuthbert and Michael Levy adding 32 in the first five overs. The pitch was playing well and with a fast outfield, a big score looked on. Such hopes were thwarted by an inability to convert good starts. Michael was bowled for 14, Will dragged one on for 17, Oli Lawrie ran himself out when looking comfortable, Ali Dalton slapped a long hop to cover, Vithuraan, played well, but then hit a full toss back to the bowler on 16 and Matt Craig top edged another full toss to the keeper. After another poor run out, this time of Matt Hoddell, and a brief appearance from Ollie, Wooburn were in danger of being bowled out for under 100, but John Henry Kelly, coming in at number 10, played nicely with Matt Wilson to eke out some important runs down the order. Matt demonstrating an interesting diving technique along the way, sliding feet first to make his ground, or was it first base? John Henry eventually departed for 14 with an over left, bringing in Alfie, who added a couple of singles to take the total to 110, Matt ending unbeaten on 17.
After the good start, a total of 130 had looked possible, but a number of our batsmen handed their wickets to Marlow on a plate, undermining the chances of posting an imposing target. On a good wicket, with a fast outfield, 110 was barely par for the course. We would need to bowl and catch well to have a chance.
Will opened the bowling to Bruce, and the batsmen made his intentions known straight away. He had made just a single when he tried to slog a length ball to cow corner, succeeding only in hitting it straight up in the air. Three Narks circled under it at short mid wicket, but it fell to the ground with no one appearing to lay a hand on it. Had that chance been taken, it would surely have been a very different game. Bruce then proceeded to smash the ball to all parts, hitting 48 off 26 balls. He had a lot of luck along the way, three more catches went down, and several balls shaved the stumps after passing his wildly swinging bat. He also hit some very powerful shots.
It was the introduction of John Henry that brought the breakthrough, two in fact. First, Bruce was bowled, mowing across the line, and then Oli took a good catch at cover to remove the new batsman. With Bruce gone, normality resumed, and Wooburn began to regain some control in the field. John Henry and Matt Hoddell bowled well, taking two wickets each, as Wooburn chipped away at the Marlow batting. From 80-2, Marlow slipped to 91-6, other opener Angus Bolton departing for 25. With all four main bowlers ‘bowled out’ in the search for wickets, Wooburn turned to Alfie Jordan and Ollie Nicol to bowl the final four overs, Marlow needing 12 with four wickets in hand. Alfie removed Hume to a good catch by Ali Dalton at mid off. 99-7. Ollie’s first over saw a run out chance with the batsmen scrambling for every run they could get. John Henry took aim from mid wicket, but missed, and no one had got round to back up! 2 crucial buzzers were added to the tight single! With two overs remaining, 7 were now required, three wickets still in hand. Alfie then bowled Baxter and Ayres, going for glory, top edged a catch, taken by Will in the short leg area, with a fielder collision looking a distinct possibility. The last over started with the score 106-9 and Wooburn now slight favourites. Two runs were scored off the first ball, 108-9. Marlow now fancied their chances. With all the fielders in, one decent hit would win it. Two misses followed, then off the fourth ball, Bownass swung and connected but only succeeded in top edged it to Vithuraan in the gully, who safely held the catch. Borlase bragging rights were safely in the hands of Wooburn’s small contingent!
In the cold light of day, this should have been a much easier victory. Poor shots and poor decision making undermined our batting effort, and better catching might have prevented or minimized the onslaught at the start of Marlow’s innings, but it would be churlish to criticize after such a marvellous cricket match when the Wooburn team showed real character to drag themselves back into a match that seemed lost. Chalfont St Giles await on Friday, and then it’s high catching practice on Sunday morning…
Batting: W.Cuthbert 17, M.Levy 14, O.Lawrie 6, Vithuraan 16, A.Dalton 1, M.Wilson 17*, M.Craig 6, M.Hoddell 2, O.Nicol 0, J.H.Kelly 14, A.Jordan 2* (20 extras) - 110-9 off 20 overs
Bowling: W.Cuthbert 4-0-24-1, A.Dalton 4-0-32-0, J.H.Kelly 4-1-20-2, M.Hoddell 4-1-21-2, A.Jordan 2-0-2-3, O.Nicol 1.4-0-6-1
Team: Ali Dalton (capt), Will Cuthbert, Michael Levy (w/keeper), Oli Lawrie, Vithuraan, Matt Wilson, Matt Craig, Matt Hoddell, Ollie Nicol, John Henry Kelly, Alfie Jordan
