Following the previous match against Eynsham a furore of emails erupted on the old boys email list questioning the quality of the current crop of OUCCC players. In fact the claim that a win over Eynsham could be considered one of the best wins ever was thought ludicrous. In addition the assertion that Chalky and Tony were our best batsmen, Tony our saviour with the ball, and Chalky our best fieldsman led many of the old boys to reconsider their retirement. With these words echoing in their ears the 'young guns' were determined to put on a good show against the University Offices. With all the ability of a single man Captain Q correctly identified an ominous damp patch on the wicket and put the Offices into bat. Still steamed up from last week Jason took the new ball, charged in from the northern end, dropped short onto the dry spot, and was hit for 6 by their opener. Demonstrating the full range of Bumby balls, 2 overs and 19 runs were considered enough for a spell. Quentin meanwhile was working on his sledging by suggesting to the oppo that this wasn't a Jack Cox match so it would be silly to open the innings with competent aggressive batting which could lead to an excessively large total. Luckily Wiesner bowled superbly in unfavorable conditions while Captain Q correctly identified that my slow leg cutters were made for damp english wickets and the runrate quickly dried up. When their excellent opener 'Boon' was dismissed for 60 by a fantastic stumping from Q the rest of the Offices' scores went something like 4, 2, 4, 6, 3, 0, 9, 3, 1, 1. James, Stanton and Dganta all bowled well to pick up two wickets each. Another low target of 107 all out off 29 overs.
With a few extra super brownies fueling the bodies we began our run chase with good aggression thanks to the batting of Junaid. However when three quick wickets fell in with the score at 17 the pressure increased. The wicket was proving to be very slow and the classic miss-timed drive to mid off was causing problems even for Junaid. A innings of determination was called for and after his bowling effort Jason was the man for the job. With the patience that the old boys would have approved off he ground out a much needed 26 to see us through to 78/6 off 20 overs. A similarly paced 14 not out from Watto saw us through safely to the total after 29 overs.
It a sad day when the only people left drinking at the bar at 7:30pm after an early finishing home match is Captain Q , Sam the one pint wonder, and the ENTIRE opposition. I worry that the inaugural ladies day has adversely affected the sides priorities when it comes to Sunday evenings.
Finally the core of the current OUCCC side has played together for the last three years, many of whom will not be returning next year. With two games to go in the season our record stands at: Played 41, Won 33, Lost 8. With a win rate of 80.5% Pretty good in anybodies books.....
SD
Fines: Not staying for a drink beyond 7:30pm: Scriber, Wenderoth, Smith, Watson, Wos, Juniad, Das, Sohaib, Shields 0.5
Dropped catches: Smith, Wos 0.5
Late arrival: Junaid 0.5
Leaving before the match had finished: Junaid 0.5
Conceeding 1/5 of the oppositions total in 2 overs: Wenderoth 0.5