Match report by Matt Miller
A youthful Banbury XI lost to Ascott-under-Wychwood CC by 2 wickets in the last over of a very tight game at White Post Road on Sunday afternoon.
Hoping the rain would stay well away, Captain Freddie Crook won the toss and batted first. He and Murray Scott then put on 87 for the first wicket, in 17 overs, before Murray was bowled for a well-made 36. Freddie continued to play intelligently and retired on 50* soon after, leaving Kieran Churchill and Tom Finlay to build on the strong start from the two Banbury openers. The pair ran really well between the wickets, making the most of the huge outfield (courtesy of Rich Holmes!) with a couple of all-run fours. Tom, in particular, played his shots confidently from the outset, scoring all around the ground, and retired on 52* with a few overs left. With Kieran making a very solid 29, Banbury reached 189 for 3 from their 35 overs. A good effort on a wicket offering a bit for the bowlers.
R Moss (6-0-21-0) bowled with pace and accuracy at the start of our innings, and was the pick of the A-u-W attack, with honourable mentions for K Harvey, who turned it square in the last few overs and was unlucky not to take more than 1 wicket, and J Fowler who bowled his full allocation of 7 overs after cycling to Banbury from Coventry. Now that is commitment.
Banbury took the field with some confidence, and also then picked up some early wickets. At 20 for 4 off 9 overs, and then 64/5 off 17 overs, the odds definitely favoured us. But two really good unbeaten half-centuries from S Barnes and O Chapple turned the tide. After they both retired, the A-u-W lower order kept them in the hunt, despite accurate bowling and committed fielding from Banbury’s youngsters, and some big-hitting from the returning Barnes (72*) saw the opposition home with just 3 balls to spare. A great chase and a well-deserved victory.
Opening bowlers Archie Holmes (6.3-1-22-3) and Fahad Zahid (7-1-24-2) were probably the stand-out bowlers for Banbury. But our two U13 seamers, Will Rorich (5-0-35-1) and Charlie Pearson (5-0-24-0) were excellent in the middle overs, and leg-spinner Joe Miller (7-0-43-0) kept his nerve well towards the end of the innings. Bar a couple of dropped catches, the fielding was very good throughout, and Dan Shevket’s wicket-keeping continues to improve and impress.
Thanks very much to the A-u-W lads for making the trip to WPR on Father’s Day, to Dave Finlay and Rich Holmes for manning the scorebook and scoreboard all afternoon, to Greg Pearson for umpiring, and last (but not least) to ‘senior pro’ Gary Crook for passing on a some of his cricket knowledge to the young Banbury side when it was needed (and still being the quickest fielder on either side).