Wooburn Narkovians 2nd XI kept up the pressure at the top of Thames Valley League Division 3, with a four wicket victory over Redingensians 2nds. In a tense struggle on a deteriorating wicket, Wooburn were made to work hard, and when Matt Curtis nudged the winning single, there was a feeling of great relief in the Wooburn dressing room.
The day started with Redingensians electing to bat first, on a very dry, bare pitch, and a very fast outfield. With Phil Day absent, all-rounder John Saunders shared the new ball with Kevin Czakan, and they bowled well in the early stages. Czakan bowled with good pace, and neither batsman looked comfortable against him. Once again though, the luck was not on his side, and it was Saunders who made the breakthrough when Cartwright top-edged a pull shot to Rob Smith behind the stumps.
Off-spinner Jeff Morris replaced the unlucky Czakan, and immediately found turn and bounce. He was to cause all the batsmen problems and soon deceived Jackson. At the other end, Saunders continued to plug away, and was rewarded with three more wickets. Rees went to a smart catch at square leg, Pervez was caught right in front and Boot well caught by wicket-keeper Smith. Morris then bowled Gooling to leave the home side in real trouble at 70-6. Rob Rogers then replaced Saunders, as Wooburn changed to an all-spin attack.
Boffey and Wood dug in, but found runs hard to come by against the Wooburn spinners. When Boffey finally attempted an attacking stroke, he was clean bowled. Morris proceeded to mop up the tail, finishing with figures of 6-32. When Paul Cuthbert caught Wood at long on, Redingensians had been dismissed for a modest 108. As expected, the wicket had started to beak up, with a number of balls going through the top. Holes were starting to appear around a seam bowler\s length and the ball was starting to pop more frequently, making batting difficult.
Despite these problems, Wooburn openers Dave Rogers and Alan Cuthbert got the innings off to a solid start, adding 48 for the first wicket. It was a position from which Wooburn should have won comfortably, but a mini-collapse brought Redingensians right back into the match. Rogers scooped a half-volley to short mid wicket, where Jackson took a juggling catch. In the next over, Alan Cuthbert skied an on drive to mid on, and Paul Cuthbert was caught at cover, as Wooburn slipped to 48-3.
This brought together the experienced Jeff Morris and John Saunders. Morris went quickly for 7, but Saunders, now joined by captain Matt Curtis, took the attack to the bowlers. His 31 was crucial, holding the middle of the innings together. His departure brought Czakan to the wicket, and he managed to keep the momentum going, striking a couple of boundaries. Meanwhile, at the other end, Curtis had taken on the anchor role. With just 7 needed, Czakan was caught at first slip for 11, but Wooburn were comforted by the sight of Rob Smith walking out to join his skipper. These two took Wooburn past their target with no further alarms.
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