Result: Lost by 5 wickets
Match Report:
Aston Rowant provided a very attractive replacement venue for Ascott Park, who were unable to host us this year. The premier league pitch looked good for batting so the Stragglers had no hesitation in sending the Amateurs into the field. Losing a wicket in each of the first two overs gave cause for retrospective hesitation, however, Savage and Perry dug deep and got the innings back on an even keel.
With the opening bowlers (relatively) safely seen off, Paddy lost his wicket against the run of play, which made way for fellow school master and Guest David Gibson. Perry had played very sensibly at three to get things stabilised and showed glimpses of brilliance with a lofted on-drive. But he was sadly also removed.
Gibson played the innings of the day. Using his feet well, he went either a long way forward or a long way back to turn good-ish balls into bad ones, making fifty in no time. A lapse of concentration saw him bowled, which brought together Melhorn and Hobley, who negotiated the period before lunch.
Stragglers resumed on 130 for five with the game very much in the balance. Hobley enjoyed some success to make a bright 47, but wickets began to fall at the other end as the used pitch began to show its age. With a well-timed shot increasingly hard to come by, Pollock-Hill provided some entertainment before the innings came to a close on 189, perhaps thirty runs adrift of par.
Last year’s matchwinner for the South Oxon Ams, Ed Phillips, scored quickly but a beauty from candidate Charles Fidler forced him to chop on. A full and straight one from Vila found a pad shortly after and sent the players into tea two balls earlier than scheduled.
After refreshments, Rousseau, (the Aston Rowant overseas, so often the thorn in the side of the Stragglers), soon looked comfortable and triggered the introduction of the spinners. Offie Chapman found some turn and nearly had the South African caught at backward point by Melhorn, who made an excellent diving effort at one spiralling over his shoulder.
That drop would prove costly as the tall left hander added another 85 to his tally in quick time, taking the game away from the Stragglers, despite an excellent spell from Rob Pollock-Hill.
The Stragglers were buoyed when the returning Fiddler removed Rousseau five shy of a century, but with only twenty runs to play with, the loss was sadly inevitable. Had catches been held, things would surely have been different, but the game was enjoyable nonetheless and the bar was open for a post-match libation, which went a long way towards restoring morale.
Our thanks go to Barbara Egglesfield for keeping score and to the South Oxfordshire Amateurs for hosting the game this year.
Team Batting First: Stragglers of Asia
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score | |
| 1
|
Suckling C (G) | LBW | Rousseau | 0 |
| 2
|
Suckling M + | Ct Phillips | Humphries | 0 |
| 3
|
Perry I | Ct Wildman A | Wildman E | 15 |
| 4
|
Savage P | Ct Phillips | O’Day | 15 |
| 5
|
Gibson D (G) | Bowled | Foster | 57 |
| 6
|
Melhorn J | Bowled | Foster | 11 |
| 7
|
Hobley M (G) | Ct Parry | O’Day | 42 |
| 8
|
Fidler C (G) | Ct O’Day | Foster | 2 |
| 9
|
Chapman H (C) | Ct AN Other | Foster | 4 |
| 10
|
Vila T * | Ct Rousseau | O’Day | 14 |
| 11
|
Pollock-Hill R | Not Out | 13 | |
| Extras: 16 | TOTAL: 189 all out |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Rousseau | 6 | 3 | 46 | 1 |
| Humphries | 6 | 4 | 42 | 1 |
| O’Day | 19 | 2 | 41 | 3 |
| Wildman E | 8 | 2 | 44 | 1 |
| Foster | 10 | 1 | 44 | 4 |
Team Batting Second: South Oxfordshire Amateurs
| Batsman | How Out | Bowler | Score | |
| 1
|
Parry M | LBW | Pollock-Hill | 16 |
| 2
|
Phillips E | Ct Fidler | Fidler | 22 |
| 3
|
Randya R | LBW | Vila | 12 |
| 4
|
Kulkarni S | Ct Gibson | Fidler | 0 |
| 5
|
Rousseau H | Ct Suckling M | Fidler | 92 |
| 6
|
Hutton C * | Not Out | 24 | |
| 7
|
Wildman A + | Not Out | 16 | |
| 8
|
Humphries J | Did Not Bat | 0 | |
| 9
|
Foster C | Did Not Bat | 0 | |
| 10
|
Wildman E | Did Not Bat | 0 | |
| 11
|
O’Day S | Did Not Bat | 0 | |
| Extras: 8 | TOTAL: 190 for 5 |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets |
| Vila | 8 | 2 | 25 | 1 |
| Fidler | 10.1 | 0 | 48 | 3 |
| Chapman | 5 | 0 | 36 | 0 |
| Pollock-Hill | 10 | 1 | 45 | 1 |
| Hobley | 3 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
Scorer(s): Barbara Egglesfield