Match Report
Having had our two previous home games cancelled due to the inclement weather, it was refreshing to see fairer conditions on Saturday morning, as Wilcot welcomed Spye Park to the Old School Ground, on what would be a crucial bottom-of-the-table clash. Having been victorious in their previous fixture, Wilcot were desperate to get back to winning ways on their home turf.
Following a very wet Friday, the pitch looked like it was going to offer plenty of assistance to the bowlers, so when SP’s captain called incorrectly, Wilcot’s skipper was in no doubt about opting to field first.
Andy Smith and Billy Flippance were asked to open things up, and it was Andy who struck in his very first over when a shortish delivery scuttled through and dismantled the batsman’s stumps, making it 0-1. The slow outfield continued to assist Wilcot as SP struggled to get the ball off the square, and by the ninth over, the opposition were still only 10-1. As Billy came to the end of his first spell, a moment of trickery in the slips saw Wilson deflect an outside edge off his boot and up into the hands of MFG at slip to make it 26-2. With Doug and Magnus replacing the openers, Loft began to adjust to the slow wicket and some decent strokeplay began to up the rate. Doug’s canny in-swingers brought the next breakthrough as Mornement was adjusted LBW, whilst Luke Flippance’s introduction had an instant impact as Clucas was clean-bowled for 1, leaving SP 74-4. What was turning into a good period for Wilcot, became even better when Doug was rather ‘fortunate’ in forcing a false stroke from Loft, which saw a ball deflect off his back leg and onto the stumps, leaving the opposition 75-5.
This brought power hitter and SP groundsman, Simon Ellis to the crease. Comfortably one of the cleanest hitters in the division, Ellis made his intentions known with a straight six off only his second ball. Having scored a 35-ball hundred earlier in the season, Wilcot knew this was their man to get. Following drinks, Ellis continued his onslaught as two of Doug’s deliveries were sent into the canal, prompting a concerned voicemail message to be left on the captain’s phone by a ‘concerned’ barge owner!
Luckily for Wilcot (and the parade of barge dwellers) Doug soon had his man bowled, as Ellis was dismissed for a 23-ball 38. McLure, Bathe and Hues all fell in quick succession as Luke and Doug began mopping up the tail, however, the last wicket partnership of Preston and Morley blocked away, as Spye Park looked to reach their next batting point. With only 13 runs coming off the next nine overs, Andy Smith was reintroduced and promptly dismissed the stubborn Morley for 14, leaving SP all out for 129. Despite the low score, this had been a particularly tough pitch to bat on, and Wilcot were going to have to be patient if they were to come out on top.
The tried and trusted duo of Wilson Saraj and Mark Windsor made their way out after match tea to begin Wilcot’s run chase. Knowing that the Required RR was just under 3/over, the pair were instructed to see off the openers, Loft and Fennell. The Wilcot batsmen were watchful from the start, and the score had trickled to 12-0 off the first 10 overs. 118 off the final 35 was still easily attainable. With the score on 30 in the 17th over, Wilson was finally bowled for 12 as SP made their first breakthrough. The in-form Doug was next in, but after a few well-timed drives, the Australian was back in the pavilion after being smartly stumped for 2 (38-2). Charlie Allen (playing his first league game of the season) joined Mark and the pair began to up the RR after the drinks break, taking the score to 69-2 (29 overs). 61 needed off the final 16 overs, still no biggie! However, disaster struck in the 30th over, when Mark called through a tight single. Charlie sent the vicar back and in the ensuing confusion, Mark was run out for an excellent 40. This brought the captain to the middle, and with most of Spye Park’s bowlers bowled through, there were some loose deliveries on offer. However, Charlie soon fell for 10 to the outswing of Bathe (79-4), which triggered yet another Wilcot collapse, as the newly-promoted Billy Flippance, Ned Allen and MFG all fell in quick succession to leave Wilcot teetering on 91-7.
It was at this point that Wilcot’s batted woes looked destined to continue. However, there was still plenty of time left in the game, and as the experienced Andy Smith joined the captain out in the middle, Wilcot still needed 39 off the final 9 overs. As Andy held up one end, the captain put away some of the looser deliveries, and one key moment came when the returning opening bowler, Loft, was hit for 11 runs off his penultimate over. Suddenly, the game was Wilcot’s to lose, and with three wickets in hand, Wilcot only needed 13 off the final four. If only things were that simple!
Having turned to an inexperienced 13 year old for the 42nd and 44th over, the tight bowling was hard to get away as Wilcot failed to find the gaps in the field. With only 6 scored off the next 18 balls, Wilcot went into the final over needing 7 to win. With the captain (41*) on strike, Spye Park set a very defensive field. However, the next ball was a full toss, and controversially adjudged a waist-high no-ball as the captain pulled the first ball towards the leg-side boundary for 2. With the handy extra, Wilcot needed 4 off 6. With fielders packed into the leg side, the captain drove his next ball hard into the covers, only to find the safe hands of Fennell, as Spye Park made the crucial breakthrough. 4 needed of 5, and Luke Flippance, who had been excellent with the ball, could only guide his first shot to a fielder; 4 off 4. Thankfully, Luke found a gap with the next delivery and ran a single, leaving Andy on strike; 3 off 3 and still in our hands. However, Andy played around the next delivery and was clean bowled; 3 off 2. This meant young Magnus Scott-Donaldson was next (and last) man in, and under great pressure, the youngster was able to clip the ball away for a single. This brought Luke back on strike – one ball left, one run to tie or two to win. With the field brought in, Luke caressed the final delivery through extra cover and pushed the second as Wilcot sealed an incredible victory by the barest of margins!
This was a superb finish to a low-scoring thriller, contested by two evenly matched sides in a game that was played in excellent spirits. The 20 points gained here will be crucial to Wilcot’s survival hopes, as the team makes the short journey to struggling Ramsbury next Saturday.