Speak Cricketish #6

FERRET

On Monday night we brought to you the bunnies of cricket. Those poor souls in the lower order who, knowing their batting limitations, stare down the wicket like a rabbit caught in a car headlights. Yes, we brought you the Rabbit.

Tonight we bring you another animal of the cricketing world. The Ferret.

Ferrets are bowlers who enjoy getting amongst the rabbits in the lower order. Sometimes, skippers even select specialist ferrets from his bowling line-up to dislodge the rabbits in the tail end.

The ferret enjoys the discomfort of the poor rabbit. Not all ferrets are quick bowlers but all of them know how to polish off a tail end. And enjoy it.

A good example of a ferret in recent Tigers games was Chris Ellis. Having not taken a wicket amongst the Stuffed Beavers' top order batsmen, our Chris was set loose on the tail end and ended up with figures of 4-0-18-3.

Nice ferreting amongst the Beavers' rabbits, Chris!

Tigers ferret Chris Ellis

4-0-18-3 v Stuffed Beavers ... not a wicket from the top order

Speak Cricketish #5

GONE PLANE SPOTTING

Also known as 'Gone BA' or 'Gone British Airways', this is the term given to a batsman who leans back, looks up and lets swing. Its unsophisticated and usually a shot reserved for the lower order ... but not exclusively. 

In a run chase, for instance, it has been known for even recognised batsman to go plane spotting (see James Harrison, below).

The point is, the batsman ends up looking at the sky as if keeping an eye out for passing aircraft.

Example: 

Chris Grain and Mark Westaby, sat in the pavillion, are watching the Tigers' tail enders chase down ten runs off the last over. The Tigers batsman, who shall remain nameless, opens his shoulders and attempts to launch the ball with his head tilted back and an almighty swing.

"What was that shot then West-a" says Chris Grain
"Ah, he's gone plane spotting skip' comes the reply   

Tigers' James Harrison uncharacteristically goes plane spotting with his mate from Audley Ducks CC. Gone all BA there, James? 

Speak Cricketish #4

RABBIT

Someone who can't bat. Usually a term for bowlers who make up the tail end of the batting order (numbers 9, 10 and 11).

The term probably comes from the tail-ender's wide eyed look of terror as the bowler runs in. A little like the look a rabbit takes on when caught in a car's headlight's. 

He looks like he knows what he's doing but this is Tigers big bunny, Baz Floyd trying to disguise his fear as Witney RFC's Simon Copperwheat charges in to bowl

Speak Cricketish #3

DEREK

Simple cricketers rhyming slang, a Derek is a term used for a single (one run).

The name is derived from Derek Pringle, the Essex and England all rounder who played his first class cricket between 1978 -1993. 

Derek Pringle ... single. Simple!

So, if you ever hear Tigers skipper Chris Grain shout, 'Up on the Derek then Tigers' it means he wants the fielders to come in close enough to the wicket to stop the batsman pushing a quick Derek.

The lads from Witney RFC are all up on the Derek for Tigers batsman Robbie Mills

And Steve Dobson and Tim Lowe go for a quick Derek in the Tigers' last league game against Swinbrook

Speak Cricketish #2

STICKY DOG/ABI TITMUSS

A Sticky Dog (or an Abi Titmuss as it is known as in some circles, probably because they are one of the same) is a damp soft pitch.

Batsman generally hate a Sticky Dog. If the pitch stays damp, the ball comes onto the bat too slowly for them. If the sun dries it, the bounce of the ball becomes unpredictable. It's just not good to bat on.

The use of covers for the wicket in the professional game means that few pro's have to contend with a Sticky Dog but most village cricket teams simply don't have covers. So, even if the sun comes out after rain, they'll have to put up with batting on a Sticky Dog (or even an Abi).

And there endeth your lesson in Cricketish for tonight.

  Chris Grain pulls through mid-wicket despite batting on a right sticky dog at Swinbrook*

*Should point out that the Sticky Dog here was NOT caused by lack of pitch cover before the game but constant rain throughout it 

Speak Cricketish #1

WESTON

Not just a mare but a Super-Mare! 

This is when a member of the team has had an absolute shocker of a game ... you know the sort of thing ... out for a duck, dropped two sitters and bowled 0-55.

So the next time you hear a Tiger say 'I had a Weston', you know they've not had a good game.

Des Gayle having a Weston with the bat

Lowe scores high but Swinbrook's total is out of the Ambush's reach

Tigers v Swinbrook CC

Back row (l-r): Stewart Moss, Tim Lowe, Hass Olympia

Front row (l-r): Steve Dobson, Mark Westaby, Huw Neyroud, Stuart Duff, Tom Juszczak, Ed Juszczak, Chris Grain (capt), Cameron Newton-Grain

The last West Oxon Midweek league game for the Tigers saw us up against the in-form Swinbrook at Witney Cricket Club last Wednesday (17^th July). Now, two weeks ago, Swinny were set 194 by Uffington CC over at Swinbrook and they chased the runs down, so the Tigers would have their work cut out for this one.

On saying that, this was possibly the strongest batting line-up the Tigers have ever fielded, so we’d make sure it wasn’t all plain sailing for our visitors.

Having won the toss, skipper Chris Grain decided the Tigers would chase the runs and told Swinny’s Nigel White his team could have a bat first.

And Tiger, did they have a bat!

Swinbrook openers Le Good and Morland got stuck into the Tigers opening bowlers straight away, hitting Cam Newton-Grain and Stuart Duff for 27 off their opening salvos. Those first two overs would set the tone for the entire game.

Le Good and Morland continued to plunder runs from Newton-Grain and Duff, quickly amassing a partnership of 58 from just 26 balls. Then, just as it seemed the two would take on the Ambush by themselves, Morland didn’t quite get enough height on a lofted attempt at another boundary and Steve Dobson wasn’t about to let him get away with it. Joy in the Ambush as Morland departed the crease caught Dobson bowled Duff for 31.

The new batsman, Grant, joined the aggressive Le Good in the middle and carried on where the openers left off. They must have got so used to hitting boundaries that their calling went off kilter. As Le Good drove Ed Juszczak out to the ever-sharp Stewart Moss, the pair opted for an optimistic single. A quick throw to the keepers end and non-facer Grant was smartly run out by Huw Neyroud. Swinny now 89-2 but how much batting did they have left in the pavilion.

Well, a lot as it goes. Young Ryan Hunt, memorable in the game at Swinbrook for reasons I won’t go into here, accompanied Le Good at the square and quickly began to carve a crafted and mature innings. Surprisingly mature for him, in fact.

Swinbrook batsman flicks that one away as his team amass a huge total

But, in another overly optimistic piece of calling, Le Good fell foul of another Moss and Neyroud fielding masterclass. The opener run out for 53 with Swinbrook on 108-3.

And, with the new pairing in the middle adding just one to the Swinny total, new batsman Jamieson would become the next batting casualty of the night, bowled by the Tigers’ bowler-of-the-moment Ed Juszczak for a duck.

Up next for the visitors was Mark Read. Those Tigers who played in the away leg of this fixture may have been a little concerned by the appearance of Mark in the middle after he hit us for a spectacular 80 over there. But, with Ed Juszczak finding wickets easy to come by these days, the new bat would have little luck here at Witney tonight. Attempting to hit Juszczak hard and high, he top edged it and looked on in dismay as the reliable Mark Westaby got under it to take the catch. Read despatched for just 3 tonight and Swinny faltering a little on 115-5.

Tigers Ed Juszczak on target again with two wickets for just 25

Whether he received skippers instructions from Ranscome, the incoming bat, or just took it on himself to flog the bowling we’ll never know. But the departure of Read sent Ryan Hunt into run-scoring overdrive. After a steady start, the boundarys started flying off his bat. Ranscombe meanwhile happily played the steadying role until another calling mix-up resulted in his departure as the third Swinbrook batsman of the night to be run out. Ranscombe had hit just 8 but the Swinbrook score had moved on to 146-6.

There couldn’t be much more batting left now Tigers, could there? Don’t you believe it.

The new batsman, Lord, was in no mood to hang around and immediately began piling the misery on the Tigers bowlers once again. Hitting a quick-fire 25, the number 8 bat was finally caught behind in a Combe CC double-whammy. Bowled Westaby, caught Neyroud. A little of what Cairns Fudge have to look forward to when they meet Combe in the Telegraph Cup final on 25^th August. Back to now though, Tigers celebrations were muted as a glance at the scoreboard read 176-7. The Tigers batsman were being set an almighty challenge.

And the runs didn’t stop there. Number nine, Lewis Stayte, joined his mate Ryan Hunt and continued the punishment of the Tigers bowling, grabbing himself 18 before the overs finally run out. Hunt finished his innings on 30 not out and Swinbrook had set the Tigers batsman a mighty target of 199 to win.

Call it the confidence of youth but if the Tigers openers, Tim Lowe and Steve Dobson, were daunted by Swinbrook’s massive total, they didn’t show it. The pair immediately set about replicating the Swinbrook style of aggressive batting and quick singles as bowlers White and Walker struggled to contain them.

Careful Tigers, these boys take fielding seriously

But, as the Tigers on the pavilion steps relaxed to look forward to a run-fest, disaster struck with Steve Dobson on 13. Mistiming a drive off Nigel White, Dobson watched as the Swinbrook fielder took a comfortable catch. Well, he wasn’t going to drop it Steve-o, was he? These guys warm up before going out to field.  Tigers 18-1. Dobson’s departure a body blow but still plenty more batting to come.      

Swinbrook skipper Nigel White ready to let loose

Time for fielding hero of the evening, Stew Moss to take to the crease. Stew regards himself as a ‘stayer’ rather than an aggressive batsman but he clearly appreciated the sheer speed at which the Tigers would need to score runs tonight and switched style accordingly. Some excellent calling and beautiful stroke play from he and Tim Lowe and the runs started ticking over quite nicely again. But, just as it was with Steve Dobson, the pressure of the situation must have got to our Stewart. A good length ball from Walker and Moss lofted a drive straight to point to give the most comfortable of catches. Stew gone for 10 and Tigers in trouble at 45-2.

Stew Moss drives away for four as the pressure mounts

New batsman Hass Olympia doesn’t need much of an excuse to demonstrate his swashbuckling batting style and he got down to business straight away. Running with perfect understanding of each other, Hass and Tim Lowe added another 34 to the scoreboard before being bowled by Stayte as he tried to play across the line. Olympia out for 14 and the Tigers dream of catching the Swinbrook total looking as likely as snow in July as they lurched to 79-3.

The swashbuckling Hass Olympia leathers that away to the boundary

Time for in-form skipper Chris Grain to regroup his faltering Ambush and get them back on track. There’s nothing quite like watching two craftsman at work when batting and the young Tim Lowe and not-quite-as-young, Chris Grain, didn’t disappoint. Despite the heat of the evening and the pressure of the run chase, both batsman played their shots with a balance of elegance and aggression, putting on a partnership of 57 before Lowe finally succumbed to tiredness. An uncharacteristic lofted shot off Morland and Tim was caught and on his way back to the pavilion. But not before he’d wrestled the highest individual score of the season from the Tiger he’d just left back at the crease.

Tim Lowe drives on his way to a superb 69

A fantastic innings of 69 and the Tigers now on 136-4.

Young Huw Neyroud can bat a bit as the Combe CC scorebook will no doubt tell you. But, the overs were dwindling fast and the pressure to score quick runs just got too much for the Tigers wicket keeper. With just one to his name this week, Huw had his stumps rattled by Morland to become the Swinny strike bowler’s second wicket of the evening. The Tigers at 139-5 but with just two overs remaining as Mark Westaby strode out to join his skipper at the middle.

And so, the two put on another 14 and walked back to the pavilion undefeated individually but not having made the Swinbrook total. Chris Grain with another superb innings of 35 not out and Mark Westaby unbeaten on 5. Averages Tigers, averages!

Tigers fall 45 runs short of Swinbrook's total. Our batting tonight would have probably won us the game most weeks, but that's 20/20 for you.

'No red ink for us this week then West-a'

'S'what its all about skip ennit'

All in all, a great game played in a wonderful spirit by two competitive sides.

The Tigers complete their six league games with just the one win against Uffington. But we can all be really proud of what we’ve achieved against some excellent opposition this season. We’ve represented our charity SpecialEffect perfectly and played in such a way that our more experienced opposition had to take us seriously. Well done Tigers, we salute you!

And lastly, another massive thank you to Tim's dad, Geoff Lowe, for another brilliant display of scoring tonight. You make doing the match report so much easier Geoff. Cheers.

Click for Swinbrook batting and Tigers bowling

And click here for Tigers batting and Swinbrook bowling

Beavers dreams of a win turn to Ashes at sweltering Swinbrook

Stuffed Beavers CC

Back (l-r) Danny Fitzgerald, Rob Watkins, Amit Popat, Dom Hogan, Paul Simpson

Middle (ends): Phil Burgess and Kevin Antonio

Front: Neil Morton, Ian Brookes, Jamie Atkinson, Bob Gall

Laying at the front: Nige Gurney

SpecialEffect Tigers CC

(l-r) Tom Juszczak, Jack Frowde, George Fagg, Paul Fagg, Stuart Mason, Tim Lowe, Chris Ellis, Ben McPherson, Cam Newton-Grain, Chris Grain, Ed Juszczak and Baz Floyd

Prior to the match report for Sunday’s friendly 20/20 against Stuffed Beavers, let me tell you a little about our opponents. The Beavers are a long established cricket team made up mainly of a group of friends who met at University. Their skipper, Nige Gurney tells me that the unusual name that many of the Tigers found a tad amusing, comes from their old mascot at Uni which was … a stuffed beaver.

The Beavers love their cricket and even travel to the other side of the world every year to play in the Chiang Mai Sixes Tournament in Thailand.

So, there you go. Its always nice to know a little about the teams that travel from far and wide to glorious West Oxfordshire and this year we’ve managed to root about to learn a little about the Beavers.

Okay, so Swinbrook Cricket Club kindly stepped in to host this year’s fixture between the Tigers and the Beavers and what a belter of a day it was. Beautiful sunshine, thirty degrees heat and the potential to Cook quite easily, a church Bell off in the distance and the celebratory noise from a radio as England struggled home to beat the Aussie’s in the first test at Trent Bridge. A perfect day for a game of cricket.

Chris Grain, fresh back from being mozzie food in Sardinia, returned to lead the Ambush for this one and was keen to carry on the Tigers’ winning streak. Winning the toss was a good start. The Tigers would bat first.

George Fagg, one of three Tigers debutants today, opened the batting with the well-established and gifted Tim Lowe. But the Beavers’ bowlers were celebrating early on as Fagg lofted one to the safe hands of Bob Gall off the bowling of Neil Morton. Fagg took the walk back to the pavilion with just the single to his name.

Debutant George Fagg

Only one to his name but a fantastic fielding performance

With the in-form Chris Grain and Tim Lowe in the middle, the Tigers might have been forgiven for sitting back and watch the runs stack up. As is so often the way with the Tigers, things just didn’t pan out the way one would expect. Beavers’ Rob Watkins lured Tim Lowe down the wicket for a big shot and when the ball rapped the opener on the pad let the umpire know he thought he was a gonner. To Tim’s dismay the umpire agreed and, for the second time this season, the big man grudgingly strode away from the square lamenting an lbw decision. The wicket left the Tigers in trouble at 13-2.

Chris Grain on his way to another captain's innings of 37

Our debutant overseas player, Kiwi Stuart Mason joined Chris Grain at the crease, supporting the Tigers’ skipper as he once again steadied the ship. In his first game on English soil, Stuart chipped in with 8 before being removed by the guileful Kevin Antonio. Attempting to drive back past the bowler, it was Kevin himself who snapped up the catch to send Stuart back.

Debutant Kiwi, Stuart Mason chipped in with 8 and another excellent fielding performance. Good arm Stu'!

Chris Grain was next to go for an excellent 37 as he tried to play across the line to Phil Burgess. The ball kept straight and went through bat and pad to bowl the Tigers skipper middle and off. Supported by Chris Ellis however, the two had moved the score on to a more respectable 69-4.

As the afternoon grew hotter, so did the bowling. The wickets starting to tumble again as the game began to swing back the Beavers’ way. Ellis caught at fine leg for eight as he tried to pull off the bowling of Dom Hogan. And he was followed quickly by his partner in crime, Ben McPherson who departed for 5 after being bowled by Rob Watkins. The Tigers 70-5 and reeling again.

But Paul Fagg and third debutant Jack Frowde were ready to take up the fight again as the pair staged an aggressive comeback. As the pair set off at a quick Trott, Paul Fagg cracked two fours before being bowled by Neil Morton for 12. And Jack Frowde smashed two big sixes on his way to 13. Frowde became Rob Watkins’ third Tiger skin of the day, bowled as he attempted another boundary beater. The two had eased some of the pressure, moving the score along to 94-7.

 Debutant Jack Frowde. Two huge sixes and a brilliant fielding performance

Baz Floyd’s dismissal for one after being bowled by Kevin Antonio evoked an amusing note in the scorebook by Geoff Lowe. ‘Inside edge onto foot then onto stumps. Of all sad words of thought and pen, the saddest are these, it might have been’. Another farcical dismissal for Floyd. He could write the Darwin Awards book of ridiculous cricket dismissals as a follow up to his bestseller 'My tragic life trying to play cricket'.

Ed Juszczak and Cam Newton-Grain made the last stand for the Ambush. That was until Cam became Kev Antonio’s third wicket of the day, dollying back to the bowler with a brace of runs to his name. Ed had added a useful seven and the Tigers were all out for a competitive 117.

To the sound of someone singing Richie Valens’ La Bamba, really badly from the nearby Swann pub, Bob Gall and Rob Watkins strode out to start the Beavers’ run chase. And a good start they made too. The Broad shoulders of Gall being put to good use as he hoisted a couple of big sixes, one a piece off the Tigers’ strike bowlers.

It was when Tigers’ nerves were beginning to jangle that Newton-Grain drew first Beaver blood, bowling Watkins for 8 with an absolute jaffa. But the Beavers had made a good start with 29-1 on the scoreboard.

Gall continued his onslaught on the bowling but finally fell to the crafty Ben McPherson. Bowled for 22, Gall’s dismissal came at 37-2. This was going to be tight.

However, within a few balls, the game moved back in favour of the Tigers as Tim Lowe took a superb two-handed catch at first slip to dismiss the dangerous Neil Morton off the bowling of Ben McPherson for just one. 39-3.

Dom Hogan gets that one away down mid wicket

Dom Hogan was joined by Phil Burgess in the middle and the partnership was beginning to look like a threat to the Tigers as the opening bowlers finished their spell. However, the pendulum would swing Tigers’ way again with Ed Juszczak’s first ball. Hogan trapped leg before wicket for ten. 56-4.

With Ian Brookes playing a useful support role to Phil Burgess, the pair added another 13 before Brookes was bowled by Chris Ellis for 5. 69-5.

Beavers' Phil Burgess driving his way to a superb 29

And now the wickets really started to tumble as Ed Juszczak spearheaded a Tigers onslaught on the Beavers’ batting. Jack Frowde took an excellent catch off the bowling of Juszczak to dismiss Kev Antonio for one. Juszczak was in the action again ten runs later when he bowled Danny Fitzgerald for six. The Beavers were starting to teeter but the big-hitting Burgess was still at the crease.

With the score on 87 and the game still in the balance, Juszczak struck again for his fourth wicket of the day. And it was the wicket that might have ended Beavers’ hopes of the win as Phil Burgess was bowled for 29. Great that Ed's wife Karen was at the game to see the four wicket haul, And'erson Ross of course.     

  Ed Juszczak, Tigers top bowler today with 3-0-19-4

Chris Ellis would take out Ramos, bowled by a slow, short pitched ball that kept low and then used himself as a battering ram to knock his own fielder out the way to catch Paul Simpson off his own bowling. Finn pickings for the tailender as he walked for a duck.

The Stuffed Beavers all out for 90 and the Tigers grab their third win on the bounce by 27 runs. Now I know it’s a cliché but cricket was the winner in this game. That and spending a beautiful summers afternoon in the field with a great bunch of blokes. Thanks to every Tiger and Beaver who turned out for this fixture and made it a thoroughly enjoyable day.

And while we’re on the subject of thanks, I’ve got loads more of thanks to say. To the brilliant Geoff Lowe (Tim’s dad) for scoring and to my dad for manning the bar. Massive thanks also to Claire Newton (John Grain’s wife), Chris Grain and Franca, Chris’ mum and my sister Dons for helping provide the tea.

Lastly, thank you to Nigel White and Swinbrook CC for hosting us for the afternoon and to Stuffed Beavers for a fantastic donation to our wonderful charity, SpecialEffect. Cheers guys.

Click the image above for Tigers batting and Beavers bowling

And click here for Stuffed Beavers CC batting and Tigers bowling

And if anyone can tell me how I can work into the text the remaining two players of England's victorious 1st test winning side (Pietersen and Bairstow) I'm all ears ;-)

Young Tigers taste victory at last as the Ambush break the White Horses

The victorious Ambush that faced Uffington CC

Back (l-r) Stew Moss, Baz Floyd, Tim Lowe, Mark Westaby, Zubair Olympia

Fron (l-r) Cam Newton-Grain, Huw Neyroud, Steve Dobson, James Grist-Perkins, Hassan Olympia, Pete Bartlett

A murky but warm night at West Witney CC and the youngest ever Ambush found themselves hunting Uffington’s white horses on home soil for their penultimate midweek league fixture of the 2013 season.

Uffington CC

Old Tiger, Baz Floyd, still standing in as skipper for the holidaying Chris Grain won the toss and told his young Ambush to limber up their bowling arms as he sent Uffington into bat.

Always keen, the Tigers’ young guns accepted their skipper’s challenge and immediately formed a tight cordon as Newton-Grain and debutant Zubair Olympia were offered first shots at Uffy’s openers Jones and Godfrey.

But the powerful batting duo weren’t about to let the young upstarts have it all their own way and immediately set about breaking Floyd’s aggressive fielding cordon, smashing boundary after boundary. And, as a battered Newton-Grain and Zubair Olympia finished their opening spell without drawing blood, it looked as though Uffington might repeat the home victory of three weeks earlier.

 A change of pace brought no immediate change of fortunes for the Ambush as Jones and Godfrey continued to maul James Grist-Perkins and Hass Olympia. But it was Hass who drew first blood for the Tigers. Luring Jones into big shots in the hope he’d give a catch in the deep, Hass’ bowling figures paid a heavy price before the big-hitting Jones finally made his mistake. When he did finally top edge one, it was Hass himself who got under the ball to take the catch off his own bowling. The aggressive Jones should have been delighted by his contribution of 59 in a partnership of 106.

Three of the Tigers' finest

Pete Bartlett, Hass Olympia and Mark Westaby

And Hass was involved again as Steve Dobson claimed the wicket of the opener, Godfrey, as his first for the Tigers. Mistiming his shot, Godfrey skied it and Hass was only too happy to take his second catch of the evening. The opener eventually despatched for an excellent 44.

But with Uffington skipper, Daniel Painter, at the crease and the scoreboard still ticking over nicely for the White Horses there would still be plenty of work to do for the Tigers if they were going to give themselves a decent target to chase down.

Dobson didn’t have to wait too long for his next wicket as Uffy’s Fillery became the first duck of the evening. Clean bowled without troubling the scorer in the slightest. For the first time in the evening, the match began to swing in favour of the Tigers.

And when Cam Newton-Grain returned to bowl from the Burford Road end to bowl the Uffington skipper for 16, the Tigers were delighted at having their opponents at 137-4. Interestingly, Newton-Grain’s would be the only wicket tonight for the trio of Tigers heavy artillery as fellow speed merchants Zubair Olympia and Pete Bartlett worked hard without claiming wickets on this occasion. There’ll be plenty more games for you to find those elusive wickets fellas.

This was evening where youngsters would shine and Uffington had their own in the form of the diminutive E. Greatrix. Playing cut shots that many older batsmen would be proud of, the young man from Challow continued the Uffington run accumulation. But as the quest for runs became desperate in the final over, he would see his partner Taylor run out by bowler Tim Lowe as he failed to make his crease after being sent back by young Greatrix. And he’d also his brother become the third Uffington duck of the evening as batsman turned bowler, Lowe, bowled him.

An Uffington total of 155 and it would be a tough run chase for the young Tigers.

The big total forced Floyd into a last minute change of openers as Stew Moss elected to drop down the order to make way for the naturally aggressive Steve Dobson. And as Tim Lowe and Steve Dobson took to the crease with the swagger of youth, absent skipper and batting supremo Chris Grain would have been proud of them as they took the fight to Uffington.

Batting with the urgency that the Tigers’ situation required, the openers balanced nippy running between the wickets with controlled aggression for their boundaries as they kept up with the run ate set for them.

It would be Steve Dobson who’d fall first as he went for a big shot off Fillery and found himself caught in the deep for 41. The openers had given the Ambush a solid foundation of 69 on the scoreboard but still plenty more to do for the remaining batsman.

With his opening partner back in the pavilion, Tim Lowe continued his assault on the Uffington bowlers with the reliable and hard-to-remove Stewart Moss happy to play along. But with the score on 94 and the game still on a knife-edge, Moss uncharacteristically played around a straight ball from Fillery and was bowled for 7.

Tim Lowe who together with opening partner 

Steve Dobson laid the foundation for a Tigers win

Now Hass Olympia has quickly become a favourite amongst younger and older Tigers alike. He goes about his work cheerfully and often spectacularly accepting every challenge put in front of him. And tonight would be no different. After an excellent bowling and fielding performance, he was looking to round a good night’s work with the bat.

He and Tim Lowe added another 16 before big Tim fell to the same fate as his opening partner, this time a victim of the Uffington skipper. And, like Steve Dobson, Tim Lowe had added a crucial 41 to the Tigers’ run total.

Hass Olympia took up where Lowe and Dobson left off, grabbing quick singles when he had to and boundaries where he could. Mark Westaby joined him but was bowled by Taylor for a quick eight, followed by keeper Huw Neyroud who was run out for 6. Cam Newton-Grain, hoping to grab some late glory as the target dwindled along with the overs, was sent packing for a duck as he went for a big drive off the bowling of Taylor.

And so it would be left to another popular young Tiger, James Grist-Perkins, to settle the matter. With just three balls of the innings remaining and four needed for a Tigers victory, James despatched a straight one back past the bowler to secure the first Tigers victory of the league season. He would finish with the winning four to his name whilst Hass Olympia improved his batting average further with a fantastic 37 not out.

A fantastic game and a spectacular Tigers performance against excellent opponents. Its what the West Oxon Midweek League is all about isn’t it.

Congratulations and thanks to every Tiger who joined the Ambush against Uffington CC. You really put in a shift and got what you deserved. 

Tigers, we salute you!

Click below for Uffngton batting and Tigers bowling performance

And click here for Tigers batting and Uffington bowling

Scoring courtesy of the numeric and totally decipherable Geoff Lowe. Thanks Geoff!