Banbury 4th XI v. Twyford 2nd XI
Horton View
16 May 2009
Match Report by Andrew Jones
Banbury 4th’s hosted Twyford 2nd’s at Horton View, and despite difficult weather conditions, a full match was played with Banbury going down in a thriller by 2 wickets.
Banbury won the toss and elected to bat on what looked like a good wicket. This was soon proved wrong as Banbury were reduced to 2 for 10 after 4 overs. However, a fantastic 3rd wicket partnership between Richard Lambden and Ian Thomas of 113 restored faith and put Banbury on target for what looked like a huge score. However, with a questionable LBW decision going against Thomo on 42, a batting collapse ensured with Banbury losing regular wickets, including 3 in 3 balls as R Wade from Twyford secured a hat trick (the unlucky scalps were Tom Bradbear, Clark Berry and Josh Megson to the hat trick ball!). In the end, it all came down to Richard Lambden, and once he was out for a very good stroke filled 81, only a brief cameo from Justin Lambden with 12 not out got Banbury to a score of 179 all out in the 43rd over.
With Twyford’s turn to bat, Banbury felt confident, although Paxo’s brief stint at the crease had a resulted in a thigh strain which reduced Banbury’s bowling stocks. Banbury started well, with Josh Megson sending the 2 opening batsmen back in his opening spell with a couple of searing yorkers. This was followed by a fantastic catch by Tom Bradbear standing up to Paxo (yes, the skipper battled on for 4 overs) at which point Twyford were 3-42. However, after Megson and Clark Berry’s opening spells, Twyford battled away, with K Massey producing some huge shots of Paxo, Jonesy and Justin Lambden, including losing 2 balls in the local back gardens!. From here it looked tough for Banbury, and at 4-136, Twyford looked to be sailing. But, there was another twist as Clark Berry came back to remove the danger man K Massey for 78 and a further wicket in his last over. This, coupled with a run out and Justin Lambden’s 2nd wicket, reduced Twyford to 175 for 8.
With Josh and Clark Berry out of overs, it was up to Jonesy and Justin Lambden to try and finish them off, but, trying as hard as they could, just couldn’t get the breakthrough needed and Twyford got home by 2 wickets.
It was another great effort by the young guy’s, particular the bowling effort from Josh, Clark Berry and Justin Lambden, with some very solid batting from Richard Lambden and Ian Thomas. We just need the other seniors in the top 6 to start scoring some runs and we should be back on track with a few wins under our belt.