With captain Tennant ruled out of the game through childcare issues, Ben Barker took the reigns as the Narks travelled to Stoke Green for the penultimate traditional fixture of 2019. While the opposition warmed up with high catches and throws to warm up the keepers gloves, Kelly, Wheeler, Sidders, Wright, and Barker ventured over to the net for a game of soft hands cricket before Barker ran off to lose the toss and put the Narks in the field. Elliot Scott and Ben Barker took the new ball while the Stoke Green openers set about their duties in a typically aggressive manner. Despite an early breakthrough with a good catch from Ben Sidders in the deep, Wooburn were staring down the barrel of a 300+ total after 6 overs. Barker turned to spin to try and make a change and he was rewarded when Kelly trapped the other opener in front of middle stump to send him on his way. This, as it turned out, could have been a very painful wicket as the left-handed number 4 duly dispatched anything and everything over the rope, over the trees and almost into the pub car park on the other side of the road. Having dented the roof of a passing Audi, Simpson duly fired one straight back to Kelly who somehow clung on to dismiss him for a rapid 33. This, however, did not stem the flow of runs and Stoke Green went in for drinks with a comfortable 172 to their total. Farnon struck after drinks, taking 2 quick wickets with a skied catch snaffled by Matt. O’Reagan and a quick stumping from a tactical wide. Tom Wright took his 5th wicket of the season shortly afterwards with Ben Barker making considerable yards to take a good catch at mid-on. With his short burst complete, Kelly replaced wright with Stoke Green wobbling slightly at 176-6. Some tight overs from Kelly and Farnon, caused Khan to chip the ball to Tom Wright at Long on who somehow kept a hold of the ball despite falling backwards over the outfield. A further piece of fortune fell Wooburns way as Mughal missed a full toss and was duly bowled by Kelly, bringing in McMullan at number 11. Ben Sidders came on for Farnon and tied up an end before Kelly took his 5th wicket of the innings, trapping McMullan in front of the stumps for 2 runs. Wooburn headed into the tea break with their target of 210 looming large above them. A conservative start left Wooburn 9-0 from 3 before the first runs were scored from the bat. An early drop of Tennant seemed to shift the momentum towards Wooburn while Barker started to kick on from the other end. Barker passed 50 shortly before drinks with Tennant batting well at the other end. Tennant and Barker, to their credit, dispatched any bad balls coming their way, while the fielding was less than inspiring from the Stoke Green side. Wooburn headed into drinks with a healthy total of 126-0 with another 31 overs available to score the remaining 85 runs. As Tennant and Barker returned to the battlefield, the Stoke Green boys huddled up, their frustration and concern evident. And with that in mind, they duly dismissed Barker, the first ball after drinks for a very useful and well-received 61. Rhys Wheeler strode out to the middle to take guard. Some concerns had arisen as he had spent the previous 25 overs trying (and failing) to swat wasps with his batting gloves. This, however, did not seem to have a negative impact on Rhys as he manouvered the field which had come very tight to him since Barker’s dismissal. Tennant moved past 50 and looked in excellent touch. A run out scare however nearly dashed his hopes of a hundred, however, the Not Out decision from square leg, which was hotly argued by the Stoke Green opening batsman was upheld and Tennant lived to fight another day. Khan returned to the attack and bowled a beautiful spell, dismissing Tennant for 91, Wheeler for 29 and Farnon and Bushnell for Ducks. An element of panic set in in the Wooburn camp as once again, it appeared that the Narks would fail to see out a winnable fixture. However, boundaries from Matt Ingham and solid defence saw Wooburn over the line and into the bar a full 25 minutes before Stoke Green emerged from their post-match huddle. All in all, a great team effort with catches taken, runs scored and bowlers backed up in the field. #BarkerIN
