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 (17th
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 25th
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.
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