After last week’s move into the top-half of the table, Banbury came crashing back to earth with an inept bowling display in a three-wicket defeat by Slough in the IC3 Home Counties Premier League.
After being inserted, hosts Banbury got off to a steady start as Chris Smith and Paul Taylor put on 80 in 22 overs for the first wicket.
The introduction of Tom Lambert into the attack split them as four wickets fell for three runs in 20 balls.
Ian Tew (79) and Marc Rorich retrieved the situation in a fifth-wicket stand which produced exactly 100.
But it took 34 overs as Slough bowled well to their field.
A late surge took the final total to 229-9 to set up an interesting chase.
Slough’s reply began rapidly. Opener Russell Lane hit nine boundaries in his 47 inside the first ten overs.
Off-spinner Jimmy Phillips bowled unchanged, collecting his first five-wicket haul of the season.
But the Banbury bowlers – Paul Taylor bowled just one over – were guilty of wayward deliveries, the batsmen finding the gaps with contemptuous ease.
The two Khans – Gheyas and Mohammed – hit half-centuries as the visitors found the boundary 35 times compared to Banbury’s 22, and they cantered home with nearly eight overs to spare.
BANBURY
C Smith c Naylor b Lambert…35
P Taylor c Aziz b Sher…39
I Tew c Sher b Lambert…79
R Kaufman c Naylor b Lambert…0
S Beck b Lambert…0
M Rorich b Lane…44
D Harding c Ward b Lane…0
P Hill c Aziz b Lambert…3
I Adams b Lane…2
O Murrey not out…7
J Phillips not out…0
Extras…20
Total (9 wkts, 66ovs)…229
Fall: 1-80, 2-80, 3-81, 4-83, 5-183, 6-190, 7-195, 8-197, 9-223.
Bowling: Naylor 8-2-31-0, Amin 7-2-19-0, Lambert 18-2-65-5, Akhtar 3-0-22-0, Sher 17-4-43-1, M Khan 7-1-16-0, Lane 6-0-24-3.
SLOUGH
R Lane c Smith b Adams…47
A Ahmed lbw Phillips…4
P Aziz c Smith b Phillips…30
G Khan c Rorich b Phillips…54
S Naylor st Harding b Phillips…3
B Sher lbw Phillips…1
M Khan b Phillips…53
A Ward not out…34
T Lambert not out…5
Extras…3
Total (7 wkts, 46.3ovs)…230
Fall: 1-45, 2-57, 3-101, 3-113, 5-123, 6-184, 7-199.
Bowling: Phillips 23.3-1-109-6, Adams 11-2-68-1, Murrey 9-0-37-0, Taylor 1-0-1-0, Hill 2-0-13-0.
¯Banbury 9pts, Slough 25