Catching up on a few missed weeks…

3rd XI Match reports have been on hiatus since early June as the skipper went travelling to North America for a few weeks, switching village cricket for soaking in the World Cup live and in living colour (an incredible trip I might add), but whilst I was out there, I had been closely following along with the 3s matches, even watching one game on the Frogbox whilst sitting in a cafe in Beverley Hills (priorities amirite?). A big thank you to Lizo for skippering the side whilst I was away, and to Dave for all of his support too.

Since that last match report, the 3s had been on a difficult run, winning only 1 in our last 6 matches, with comprehensive defeats to St Marys Bourne, Ramsdell, and Herriard (shout out to Nathan Hobson for a frankly ridiculous 130 off 71 balls in that losing cause), before a much needed victory away to Sherfield (more shoutouts, to Rich Padmore for his 5-47, and James Blackwell for a brutal 58 off 33 balls).

Following that victory, the skipper returned from his travels, and the tough run continued with two narrow defeats, firstly away to Old Basing, falling just 7 runs short in a high scoring thriller chasing 289, before Alton came to Long Sutton and were the better side, beating us by 3 wickets in another closely fought game (a final shoutout to G for a magnificent opening spell of 9-1-12-1).

The underlying feeling was that as a collective we were getting closer to finding our feet in this league but still were falling short in 2 of the 3 disciplines in each game. We needed to rectify that quickly, as on Saturday morning, we sat in the relegation zone with 6 games remaining, the next 3 of which were against the top 3 sides in the league.

And that extended intro takes us to Saturday, as we travelled to 2nd place Whitchurch who boasted 4 of the top 10 run scorers in the league, and had quite comfortably chased numerous big totals this season. On what was another hot day, Safi lost the toss (again), but much to the delight of his teammates, we were put in to bat, on what looked like a good track - worth noting that the clubhouse-side boundary was incredibly short, in addition to two fairly short straight boundaries, and a 'glass' outfield. A big score was required for many reasons.

1st Innings

Andy Clouting and Lizo opened up for the 3s as Whitchurch opened up with a combination of pace and spin, keeping things tight early doors. J Dancer (whose 70-odd not out helped Whitchurch win the reverse fixture) was lightning fast behind the stumps, keeping both batters firmly in their crease. A couple of singles got each batter off the mark before we saw the first signs of the rapid outfield, as Lizo flicked one round the corner and the ball accelerated past the lad on the 45 to the boundary. It was a good battle between bat and ball, as some late swing almost did for Andy but he jammed down his bat just in time, before finding his first boundary in the 5th over.

A change in bowling saw Andy cut loose with a couple of cracking drives through the offside, both finding the fence, before the first wicket fell. Lizo (10) was bowled by a full swinging delivery that caught the inside edge and cannoned into middle stump (31/1 from 8.1 overs). Josh P joined Andy in the middle, promoted to No.3 after a run of good scores for the club. Another series of tight overs followed with the bowlers bowling wicket to wicket and not giving much away, aside from a couple of wide deliveries that flew to the fence. Josh and Andy had remained patient but knew they needed to up the rate to start to build towards that big total.

A brace of 4s in the 14th over from Josh signalled that intent, including a trademark 'Joshy P flick' off his pads (when will they learn…). Josh went one better in the 17th over, lofting a glorious 6 straight over the bowler's head, as Whitchurch continued to keep fielders in the ring. To this point, that strategy had proved effective, limiting both batters' ability to rotate the strike, however once the ring was pierced, the ball would fly to the fence. The 50 partnership came in the 19th over, as Andy found his 4th boundary through the legside, before both batters hit a brace of boundaries in the 20th (Josh) and 21st (Andy) overs respectively. Both batters were driving the ball nicely, and punishing anything over-pitched, whilst also guiding the ball behind square well, whilst keeping out the good balls in between.

Whitchurch responded by turning back to spin which briefly slowed the scoring with the offie Longstreet bowling consecutive maidens, as the skipper and teammates watching on were eager for the two set batters to start to kick on with plenty of wickets in hand. The pressure was short-lived however, as Andy brought up his 50 in the 25th over, by rocking back and launching a short ball over square leg for 6. The intent from both batters certainly started to show, as they started to push the fielders in the ring by running well between the wickets and still finding that boundary each over, bringing up the 100 partnership in the 27th over. This was just the 3rd 100 partnership for the 3s this season, highlighting some of our struggles this year, but Josh and Andy were setting a superb platform here.

With drinks fast approaching and the oppo starting to tire in the field, Andy hit his second six, this time over the longest part of the ground, before Josh played two glorious late cuts and another trademark flick to reach his 50, and ensure 29 runs were brought up across the 29th & 30th overs. The foot was on the gas.

At 164/1 from 30 overs, the launch pad was set, and the message was clear at the second drinks break - foot to the floor, it's time to go - let's get to 300. Whitchurch responded by bringing back their opening bowler and unfortunately for Andy, got a wicket with his second ball. He found the edge of the left-hander's bat, and the keeper J Dancer took a superb catch up to the stumps. Andy fell for an excellent 68 (off 85 balls, 11x 4s, 2x 6s), ending a brilliant 133 run partnership between himself and Josh (164/2 from 30.2 overs).

A slight shuffling of the batting order had both Shakthi & Freddie C padded up and ready to go and play their natural games (see ball, hit ball), with quick runs the aim of the game. It only took Shakthi 3 balls to get going, thrashing a 4 through the infield - Shakthi's cameo (12) was brief but effective, as he was bowled (184/3 from 34.1 overs), bringing Freddie C to the crease. Freddie has had a tough return to O's colours, including getting a rough lbw decision the previous Saturday, but was keen to make his mark. He did that pretty quickly, punishing two short balls to the short boundary, before launching a rather large six to the opposite side, as his teammates got excited by the prospect of seeing him hang around for a few overs.

Unfortunately wickets continued to fall as Josh (62 off 89 balls, 11x 4s & 1x 6s) fell just a couple of balls later, getting a leading edge that went straight back to the bowler, a slightly underwhelming end to what had been a top top knock, and yet another vital contribution from Joshy to this 3s side this season (201/4 from 35.5 overs). Henry Terry strode to the crease and got into the act very quickly, flicking his second ball over midwicket for a glorious 6. Freddie (16) holed out the next over (214/5 from 37.4 overs), trying to clear the boundary once more, as the 3s lost 3/30 in 3.4 overs - the run rate was moving in the right direction but wickets were falling.

Safi joined HT in the middle for what proved to be 4 overs of carnage. Safi's second ball rolled and was agonisingly close to off stump but somehow evaded the stumps and the keeper and flew for 4 byes. At this point it seemed that one of the oppo's opening bowlers was struggling with an injury so couldn't finish his spell, and with just 7 overs to go, HT and Safi decided to target the change bowler and the short boundary. They did so to great effect, with 19 runs coming from the 39th over, with a combination of flicks, sweeps and hoicks peppering the leg side boundary.

From the other end, HT took down the other opening bowler, firstly hitting a six over long on that didn't quite come out the middle, before finding the sweet spot the next ball and launching that one into the adjacent field - massive. The flow of runs continued as the pair each found a boundary in the 41st over, bringing up the 50 partnership in just 19 balls. The skipper didn't let HT have all the fun though - facing his opposite number, Safi edged a cut to third man for 4, before launching a six of his own over long on and then hoicking another for 4 more. The partnership ended in slightly comical fashion, with a mix up and a call of 'no' from square leg causing Safi to not come back for two, only to see Henry barely a metre behind him. HT was out for a superb 40 off just 19 balls (including 4x 6s), with a lightning partnership of 67 in just 4.1 overs providing the perfect acceleration as we approached the end of the innings (281/6 from 41.5 overs).

With Harry C coming in at 8, we knew we batted deep, however that didn't seem apparent to the oppo. After Safi swept and slapped his way to another couple of boundaries, the field was brought in completely for Harry. After a slightly puzzled but amusing conversation between Harry and his skipper, Harry took down the bowling with 4 boundaries of his own in the penultimate over, on both sides of the wicket. The kid can bat. A tighter final over saw just a few more runs added before Harry (20) was bowled off the final ball of the innings, with Safi (44*) at the other end.

Walking off having posted a score of 312/7 from our 45 overs, the team were absolutely delighted with their work. A magnificent platform set by Andy and Josh, before hitting across the board from the rest of the batters saw us pile up comfortably our highest total of the season.

2nd Innings

After BYOTs were devoured, the game plan was set for the 2nd innings as the 3s were in a great position to get a vital win in our quest for survival. In the first innings it had become apparent that a couple of Whitchurch's gun batting lineup were not playing, however we knew our opponents were still more than capable of scoring big runs, so could not be remotely complacent.

Gisele and Padmore continued their successful opening partnership with the ball as G took the first over and was on the money immediately, with J Dancer taking strike. An in-out field was set, in an attempt to protect the boundaries early doors. Dancer did find his first boundary, imperiously flicking the ball past Safi at midwicket - if you can't tell, the author thinks this lad is a class player. G bowled a maiden before a huge moment - Padmore bowled a beauty that nipped back in off the seam and castled the batter J Dancer for just 8. Considering he'd seen Whitchurch home in the reverse fixture, and that those couple of bats were missing, we knew it was a massive wicket (9/1 from 3.3 overs). G and Padmore continued to keep things tight with boundaries hard to come by, whilst also being backed up by some excellent glove work from Freddie, in addition to some superb ground fielding from Josh and Andy C, who both wore a couple each. The pressure continued to build and eventually paid off as Rich found the stumps once more, castling the number 3 (25/2 from 7.4 overs). A near perfect start with the ball for the 3s.

The no.4 Hoare came to the middle and immediately showed some positive intent, powerfully hitting G down the ground for 4. That intent continued as the boundaries started to flow in the 11th and 12th overs, with the outfield still proving to be lightning fast and the pitch yet to show any demons. That signalled a change in bowling from both ends, as Harry C started well by beating the bat on 3 occasions in his first over. HT didn't quite start as tightly, as a couple of loose deliveries in addition to a couple of misfields saw 3 boundaries off HT's first 3 balls.

Both batters were putting pressure back on the O's as they ran hard between the wickets and were quick to punish anything loose. The first drinks break came and went, and Harry continued to look threatening from the far end, somehow not finding the edge of the bat in the 17th over. Frustratingly our sloppiness in the field reared its head again in the 18th over with 2 further misfields that flew away for 4, as Henry, who certainly had started to find his rhythm, couldn't stem the flow of runs. At this point Whitchurch were actually ahead of us on the 'worm', as doubts could have started to creep in with both batters looking set and scoring quickly.

Thankfully HT snared a quality caught and bowled opportunity from a ball that just held in the surface a touch, to make the crucial breakthrough (106/3 from 19.1 overs). At this juncture if H Schooling was playing (hope the recovery goes well H!), he'd have been in charge of rallying the troops after a sloppy/flat period but without him, it was down to the skipper to do the same. We were still in pole position to win this game but needed to sharpen up, liven up and act like we were on top. The message was received by the team, as the noise levels rose in the field, whilst Josh P replaced Harry (0-21) for some left arm action. He struck with just his 7th ball, as another delivery stuck in the surface, looping back to Josh who took a comfortable caught and bowled, crucially getting out the other set batter, ensuring the 3s were now well on top (120/4 from 22.1 overs).

Simmo replaced HT from the other end and went one better than Josh, striking in his first over, pinning the no.6 dead in front (133/5 from 23.2 overs), as we started to turn the screw. Josh looked threatening with every ball, and Simmo was giving nothing away, and it wasn't long before Simmo got his second. A flighted delivery was lofted down the ground and was seemingly heading for six before Andy C ran around and took an excellent catch at long on (146/6 from 25.2 overs).

Simmo was bowling beautifully in tandem with Josh, who himself could do no wrong on this fine Saturday. Having been a victim of a caught and bowled himself earlier in the day from M Dancer, Josh returned the favour and took his second c&b (and the 4th of the game), certainly saving the best till last. A full delivery was firmly driven back low to Josh's left, and he dived and took an absolute ripper, one handed, to send the opposition skipper back to the pavilion (154/7 from 26.4 overs). The bowling partnership of Josh and Simmo had taken 4/34 in 4.3 overs, firmly placing the victory within our grasp.

Nothing comes easy in this league however, as there was always going to be more resistance, with one of Whitchurch's youngsters resolutely played out the rest of Josh's 5 over spell (2-31) - admittedly, he should have been back in the hutch in Josh's final over but the skipper dropped a flat chance to his left. Shame Josh can't field everywhere eh. Simmo (2-26) too had bowled a super 6 over spell but couldn't quite dislodge the no.5 or no.9, so the skipper turned back to his opening bowlers.

G, who had done a mega stint sweeping on the boundary in the sun, came back to grab her first wicket of the day, as the ball was hit high down to long on, and Padmore took a smart catch (179/8 from 32.3 overs). G (1-37) finished another metronomic 9 over spell, before Padmore joined the attack too - he was inches away from striking instantly as the ball somehow missed off stump with just his second delivery. HT (1-45) returned from the other end to bring pace from both sides in an attempt to wrap this game up, before Padmore got his third, breaching the stubborn defence of the young no.9 (194/9 from 37.5 overs).

The 40th over brought the end of the game, as Padmore found the middle stump yet again, to finish with excellent figures of 9-1-34-4, as Whitchurch were bowled out for 200, with the 3s winning by 112 runs.

Wrap Up

A magnificent victory for the 3s, away to 2nd in the table, particularly satisfying after a tough run of results, and much needed in the context of the season too, setting up an exciting last 5 games where at least a couple of wins are needed to give us a chance of survival in Division 4. A win over a strong side such as Whitchurch should give the team every confidence to turn over any team we face for the remainder of the season. A brilliantly brutal batting display put the team in a brilliant position, before a good bowling performance all round helped close out what was in the end a comfortable victory.

POTM: Josh Poole - 62 off 89 balls (11x 4s, 1x 6s) & 5-0-31-2, including 2x catches of his own bowling. A superb all round performance from Josh who relished the responsibility of batting at 3 for the first time this season. His 133-run partnership with Andy set the game up for the side, and then his bowling partnership with Simmo allowed us to take control with the ball. Top work Joshy.

Hopefully that long report was worth the wait - next up the 3s head back to Long Sutton to host Oakley, who have won their last 5 games since a loss away at Whitchurch. They sit 3rd in the table and will be a tough test, but the 3s will take a lot of confidence from Saturday into next week. See you then.