Banbury 4th’s were back on the winning track after a 6 wicket victory over Oxford & Bletchington 3rd’s at Oxford on Saturday.
Oxford & Bletchington won the toss and decided to bat a very hot & humid day. Despite an early breakthrough by Adnan Iqbal, the home side had progressed through to 88 for 2 before Justin Lambden got a key breakthrough. From here, there was a steady progression of wickets which eventually saw the home side bowled out for 144.
The whole team stuck to their task and bowled and fielded very well in the hot and difficult conditions. The best bowlers for Banbury were Adnan Iqbal, who bowled fast and straight to finish with 4-36 of 13 overs, and Mark Pallett, who bowled his usual economical spell to finish with 3-29 off 10 overs.
After tea and some welcome respite from the heat, Banbury began their chase but runs were hard to come by initially with some tight bowling from Oxford & Bletchington. Although Ian Thomas hit a couple trademark blows, some early wickets had Banbury in a little trouble at 48-3 after 14 overs. However, Richard Lambden and Adam Wirth, playing his first league game for Banbury, combined brilliantly to share a 95 run partnership to see Banbury home by 6 wickets. Richard Lambden was out with the scores level for 67 while Adam Wirth finished unbeaten on 24.
The win kept Banbury in 5th place, only 2 points behind 4th placed team, but 38 points off the 2nd placed team.