Scorecard

Oxford Downs v Cryptics Cricket Club on Sun 07 Jun 2015 at 14:00
Cryptics Cricket Club Won by 3 wickets

Match report On a bright and sunny day in Standlake the Cryptics descended upon the beautifully manicured ground with huge enthusiasm and much excitement. In what was the first of a series of failures skipper for the day, Turner lost the toss on a perfect batting strip with a lightning fast outfield to match. Quite correctly the Downs opening pair were asked by their skip to strap on the boards and get out into the middle.

Ward and Fox shared the new cherry and probed the openers with some well controlled bowling and a considerable level of swing. For their part the Downs boys were happy to punish any wayward efforts. It was not until the effervescent Simons was introduced that the first line of defence was penetrated. Bowling with great pace and gusto he persuaded Dawes to flick down the leg side where wicket keeper Harris treated us all to his full wingspan and pouched a simply superb catch.

Simons (1for 41) continued to bowl with great verve and there was a great battle with Wildman (37) which ultimately saw the batter survive but he had a bruise to the head from a bouncer to treasure for his efforts. The Cryptics skipper dropped two chances in the gully (both of which would have been caught by a cricketer with a modicum of talent or hand eye co-ordination) off the blade of List (68) to deny Simons further reward for his fine spell of bowling.

Cameron (2 for 40) and Gunasakera (1 for 34) were introduced which saw the scoring rate drop further and control was awarded to the fielding side. Cameron extracted considerable turn and bowled a long spell. Yes, he was dispatched into the nearby new builds disturbing the Sunday sun-bathers but the batters never really played him with any confidence. At one point Fox was seen circling under a high ball (that would have surely threatened the drone had it been hit an hour earlier) to no avail. Nevertheless Cameron claimed the scalp of Elwood and another to end the innings with much to be pleased about.

Gunasekara went about his work in a professional manner; his seaming deliveries toyed with the batters emotions and delivered his artisan craft with great variety in pace and not without guile. His wickets were well deserved and he (like all others) was surprised when two catches were held in the outfield. Particular mention must go to Former President Lewis for snarling a beauty at point. The Fox (3 for 44) returned to snaffle some more pray eagerly to finish with fine figures that reflect both his skill and vigour. It was he that terminated List after a solid and well-crafted stay before the Downs pulled the plug on their innings.

And so it was that the Cryptics retired to the pavilion to enjoy their sandwiches and a rather fine collection of professional cricketer’s footwear from the good and great, past and present. As Clarke and Walker strode out the general feeling was that with a fair wind the target of 180 in approximately 35 overs was well within the reach of our deep batting line up (on paper).

The openers were doing their job very merrily until Clarke received a sickening daisy cutter that went underground before emerging to disturb his poles. This brought Harris (49) to the crease and so began a beautiful union that stretched on to 107 runs as both batters cut, pulled, drove and dabbed with aplomb. Harris was happy to test the drone space whilst Walker (42) preferred the carpet; both were a delight to watch.

As is often the case in this beguiling sport a seemingly impregnable position of 122 for 1 was soon transformed into a shaky foundation of 137 for 6. It was a real surprise to see Harris depart to a fine catch by Elwood in the covers. There was further shock as Walker fell bowled Ling (1for 29). The engine room of the middle order were all sent packing by young south paw Sam Collins who finished with much deserved figures of 4 for 51.

With Cameron (27*) and Simons (19) at the crease and seemingly large number of runs were required with a much smaller number of overs available. There was hope in the middle and nervousness on the side lines. With considerable control, expertise and maturity the pair ran well in a suitably poised partnership that brought us within a sniff of victory.

With one over left Cameron spun on his heels, swivelled his snake hips and sent his blade through the line of an off spinner from Ling. As the ball sped toward the deep square boundary Dalrymple leapt to his feet with glee as a sweet sweet victory was completed.

Well played all.

Oxford Downs Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 7 wickets
0
179 (0.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Cryptics Cricket Club Cryptics Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Cryptics Cricket Club Cryptics Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 7 wickets
0
183		        
Stuart Turner  
Chris Fox  
Matthew Baggs  
Rob Walker  
Ross Cameron  
Chris Ward  
A.N. Other  
Edward Clarke  
Andrew Lewis  
A.N. Other  
A.N. Other  

Oxford Downs Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.
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