Once again this summer Waltham
were pleased that the BBC couldn’t weather forecast
their way out of a paper bag and the promised deluge
failed to materialise. The match began in glorious sunshine
at Oak Meadow with visitors Welford
Park winning the toss and asking the
Saints to bat.
As openers Neil ‘Can’t Believe
I missed the straight one’ Wilkinson and Ziggy ‘Colander
Hands’ Kiani made their way to the middle there was
a little apprehension among the ranks for a batting
line up that had yet to fire this season. When Wilkinson
was bowled for 1 there were a few anxious glances, but
Chris ‘Footsie’ England joined
Kiani and the pair began to build a solid foundation.
Ziggy ‘But I Called for It’
Kiani played in typically expansive fashion mixing sublime
drives with outrageously unorthodox swipes, while at
the other end England built his innings with his tried
and tested formula of working the gaps in the field.
There was concern all round when England used his foot
rather than his bat to a full delivery and proceeded
to collapse in a manner that would have made a sack
of Maris Piper proud, but the Waltham vet was soon back
to his feet and battling on. The pair put on an excellent
92 partnership with the assistance of 12th Man ‘Bill’ Extras (24) before Kiani was caught
off Lokesh for 34.
The fall of Kiani led to a wobble
in the Saints progress as within a few overs the home
side fell from 97 for 1 to 106 for 4. First Matt ‘Golden
Arm’ Andrews was trapped LBW second ball to Allison,
then England was bowled by Lokesh
for 38. With the good start in danger of going to waste
Waltham needed a steadying partnership
which is exactly what they got from skipper Matt ‘Half
Century Hero’ Connor and Mike ‘Leprechaun’ Thompson.
The partnership got off to
an inauspicious start as Thompson succeeded in offering
up numerous chances that weren’t taken to suggest to
all present that there was a significant, if previously
unknown, Irish lineage in his family. Welford were to
rue not taking one of their chances though as the pair,
assisted ably by ‘Bill’ Extras, moved the score on steadily
in a partnership of 82.
With the final 10 overs upon
them, Connor was itching like a flea-ridden Flynn to
push to scoring rate on, and Thompson perished as he
sought to put the ball back over the bowler’s head,
only to be caught at mid-on for a creditable 40 from
42 balls. Chris ‘Ducky’ Burge made his way to the middle
and played an aggressive cameo of 17 at better than
a run a ball, with Waz ‘Camp Hop’
Javed adding a further 10.
At the other end Skipper Connor
raced onto a maiden half century with a selection of
uncharacteristic shots which peppered the boundary and
brought him to a well deserved 51 not out from the final
ball of the 42nd over. The milestone brought Waltham
to 238 for 6 and a declaration which would give the
bowlers 3 additional overs to dismiss the visitors.
Javed and Thompson opened the
assault on the Welford batting line up bowling a tight
line and missing the edge on numerous occasions, but
despite keeping the run rate down were unable to find
the break through wicket they so desperately required.
England replaced Thompson at the Royal
Oak end and after a handful of fruitless
overs finally made the breakthrough taking a good catch
off his own bowling to dismiss Bucknell for 22.
As so often preached by skipper
Connor, one did indeed bring two and a third was not
far behind. The remaining opener Jergens attempted to
fend off a sharply bouncing delivery from Andy ‘Li-Ping
Salmon’ Smith but succeeded only in looping the ball
into the waiting hands of England
at slip. Then Edwards unwisely chose to take on the
arm of Matt ‘Have I mentioned that I once got a 6fer?’
Nebbett from the boundary and was well run out for 4.
Waltham were in buoyant mood with Welford on 51 for
3 and sought to press home their advantage. Further
wickets though proved tough to take. Matt Andrews bowled
Carbury for 20, then had Lokesh well caught by a running
Nebbett as the Welford batsmen began chasing batting
points. He was unlucky not to take a third when he unwisely
deferred a catch to Kiani who quickly forgot his performance
of the previous week and shelled a dolly. Fortunately
for Saints though Andrews reacted quickly and ran the
batsman out in the ensuing chaos.
The Saints rang the changes
regularly in the bowling department as they sought for
a breakthrough, but this was to be the last wicket to
as Brook (27* from 33 overs) and Harrison
(8*) successfully blocked out the remaining overs. The
closing overs were not without their chances though
as the edge was missed with regularity, and the times
it was found, by Nebbett in particular, the ball somehow
evaded everything in the packed slip cordon. Welford
finished the day on 152 for 6 from their 48 overs to
leave their hosts frustrated that they hadn’t managed
to close the game out. Despite missing the win skipper
Connor will be pleased with the general performance
of his side after a poor showing against Knowl Hill.
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