Date: 1st May, 2010.
Venue: Woodcote.
Toss: Stoke Row won the toss and elected to bowl.
Result: Woodcote (23) claimed a winning draw over Stoke Row (9).
Pitch: Green, and damp to start with due to the overnight rain.
Weather: Beautiful during the Woodcote innings, before clouding over during Stoke Row’s reply. Rain fell as the final three deliveries were bowled!
Highlights: Sam Fletcher’s surprise success with the ball (8-0-42-4), Will Macdonald’s match-saving unbeaten 98, and Chris Young’s 39. For Woodcote, James Wheeler (55) and Jezz Mayo (49) shared a century opening stand, Ryan Van Heerden snared (5-23) on debut and Titch Vickers gave a magnificent wicket-keeping performance, including one electric stumping. Stoke Row bowling 45 overs in 2 hours 35 minutes (including drinks break).
Report: Stoke Row produced a magnificent rearguard effort to secure a losing draw against a highly motivated and highly skilled Woodcote side in their first game of the season.
Having won the toss, Stoke Row captain Rich Ashton elected to bowl first on a wicket that was dampened by overnight rain, albeit under bright blue skies and a perfect setting for the opening day of the 2010 Berkshire Cricket League season.
Under such a backdrop, and with the wicket doing less than perhaps anticipated, the Woodcote opening pairing of James Wheeler and Jezz Mayo made serene progress, although Wheeler enjoyed his fair share of good fortune as his usual impeccable timing proved a little awry. Although Stoke opening bowlers Dion Sampson and debutant Alan May bowled tidily, the hosts were quickly into their stride and stood at 58-0 after 12 overs.
The introduction of spinners Will Macdonald and Darren Clark initially made no difference to the impressive scoring rate (Wheeler hit one ferocious straight six of Macdonald), although they did create a series of chances, and Wheeler was amazingly dropped four times in rapid order. However, a sharp run out of Mayo, and the following dismissal of Wheeler, caught at slip by Macdonald off Clark, slowed the Cote progress and at 25 overs the score stood at 125-2.
Yet old Maharajah Titch Vickers (27) played an impressive innings in his first outing in the pivotal number 3 position for Woodcote, and Steve Henderson combined to push the scoring rate along until the sudden introduction of Sam Fletcher. Coming on in the 29th over, the medium-pacer found lavish swing movement to snaffle a quick-fire four-fer, aided by a run of excellent catches, most notably from Ashton and Christopher Young.
Useful contributions from Jonny Clark, Stefan Gordon and Mike Stroker helped further the Woodcote march however, and they closed their 45 overs on what appeared a par score of 233-8.
In reply, Stoke Row suffered an early setback as Charlie Stockings chased a wide Clark delivery off the final ball of the first over and only succeeded in edging to keeper Vickers who took a regulation chance. Shortly after, the BCL select keeper produced a moment of magic to stump Rich Armstrong off the debutant seamer Ryan Van Heerden and leave Row in tatters at 16-2.
Things swiftly went from bad to worse for the visitors as Van Heerden ran amok, dismissing both Sam Fletcher, caught driving, and Sam Boughton, trapped leg before, to leave the Maharajas in all sorts of trouble at 42-4 at the close of the 12th over. When Pete Roberts had Darren Clark leg before, and Steve Henderson induced an outside edge from captain Ashton’s defensive prod, a heavy defeat was on the cards with Stoke standing on 70-6 at the close of the 23rd over.
Yet amidst the carnage the irrepressible Will Macdonald bestrode the Woodcote Recreation like a colossus. Displaying a wonderful combination of talent and mental strength, he surveyed the destruction at the striker’s end but proved unfazed, until he finally found an erstwhile colleague in the face of Christopher Young.
Belying his usual inclination to try and hit every ball out of the village, let alone ground, Young displayed a new-found maturity which may be attributed to his recent engagement, or an operation on his knee which has saved his career. Either way, it appears that the wild years of the past may be long gone and a more rounded cricketer may be emerging.
Despite a succession of bowling changes under the inventive auspices of Wheeler’s captaincy, the duo held firm for 19 overs, until the re-introduction of Van Heerden ended Young’s wonderful innings of 39 in the 41st over. Amazingly, in a game which never lacked for drama, the same bowler struck with the very next ball, when trapping Josh Browne in front of middle stump. Stoke Row 158-8 with 24 balls remaining.
Yet Macdonald continued his personal crusade, and, surviving one chance when dropped at point with 11 balls remaing, he, in conjunction with May, saw out the innings to ensure that, for the first time in their history, Stoke Row avoided defeat in their first Premier League fixture. His unbeaten innings of 98 was one of the highest order and secured Row 9 points, whilst newly-promoted Woodcote claimed 23 in their return to the top flight.
In other results, the table very much reflected 2009, as Grosvenor went straight to the top on the back of a 35 run win over Peppard, whilst Mortimer West End nestled into second place with a tight ten run win over Crown Wood – Ken Allsobrook’s (6-34) overcoming Ravi Godbole’s herculean 79. Sulhamstead sit in third place after pipping Harlington by two wickets in a nail-biting low scoring thriller, and Sandhurst, for whom Graham Sanders made an ominous 112* claimed a dominant winning draw over Woodley.
Next week sees the top two of Grosvenor and MWE clash, whilst Woodcote host Harlington, Stoke Row travel to Sulhamstead, Sandhurst welcome Crown Wood and Peppard will look to bounce back to winning ways as they entertain Woodley.
