After a dominant victory over 2nd placed Whitchurch last week, the 3s played host to 3rd placed Oakley, who had been comfortable winners in the reverse fixture. For the first time this season, there were only a couple of changes to the 3s side from last week, with Shakthi, Freddie C and Harry C not available, Laney and a pair of Pococks (Jack and Billy) joined the side.

As seems to be a worrying trend, the skipper lost his 3rd toss in his last 4 since he came back from the US, and Oakley unsurprisingly decided to bat first. We were incredibly fortunate to have Dibble umpiring for us on Saturday - thank you very much Dibble for your time and efforts!

1st Innings

Padmore and Gisele started proceedings off yet again, with the 3s keen to learn some lessons from the reverse fixture in which we conceded over 300 in the blazing heat. After a loose first delivery that flew away for 4, Padmore settled in nicely, beating the bat early doors whilst also challenging the stumps on a regular basis. From the other end, G started at her metronomic best, and kept things tight as usual. With both bowlers bowling well to the initial plans, it was little surprise to see G pick up an early wicket, as the first ball of her second over held in the surface slightly which caused a leading edge that G gleefully pouched - another caught and bowled (14/1 from 3.1 overs).

In at no.3 was batter J Carpenter, who was known to many for his all round exploits as a youngster at Oakley, but had spent the past couple of years playing in the lofty heights of SPL1. He had transferred back just in time for this game (just our luck eh), so we knew he had the capability of taking the game away from us very quickly. Thankfully for us, we have a superstar of our own, as on just his second ball, G bowled an absolute snorter that nipped back up the hill off the seam, bowling Carpenter through the gate, as the ball cannoned into the top of middle stump. Not much anyone can do about that, it was a delivery good enough to get most batters out. The team roared with delight with a huge double breakthrough early on, and G was on fire (16/2 from 3.4 overs).

Worth noting is some excellent ground fielding from Simmo that prevented a second run which got the no.3 back on strike - that standard of fielding was something we'd missed in recent weeks and thankfully, was a sign of things to come. No.4 Scarff (Oakley's top run scorer this year), was in next and almost fell first ball, as a flick off his pads dropped agonisingly short of Jack at catching square leg. The energy and noise in the field was clear to all, with Billy and Josh particularly throwing themselves around to great effect early doors, stopping surefire boundaries.

Padmore continued the pressure in an excellent opening burst of his own, with 6 consecutive dot balls to opener Brundle eventually telling as the batter chopped on (26/3 from 6.5 overs). No.5 Cheyney had top scored for Oakley in the reverse fixture, playing with some incredible fluency, so whilst the 3s were delighted with their excellent start, knew that this partnership could well dictate how the rest of the game panned out. Lizo was assured up to the stumps as G continued to give nothing away. Padmore (1-14) finished up his opening spell and was replaced by Henry T, who didn't quite find his run up or radar early doors as both batters looked to punish anything loose. Henry found his rhythm in his second over, as the ground fielding shone through again, with Simmo, Padmore, the skipper, Jack and Andy all making good stops to keep a lid on the scoring.

Oakley were 67/3 at the first drinks break with this crucial partnership starting to develop. Post drinks, both batters started to show more intent, which created a half chance, as a thick edge could only brush Lizo's gloves as he stood up to the stumps just after drinks. G (2-40) finished her 9 over spell with another testing over - what a gem. It was time for the spin twins, as Simmo replaced G and HT (0-27) was replaced by Jack P. Simmo was agonisingly close to striking in his first over, as an inside edge narrowly missed leg stump and the hands of Lizo. Jack had better luck as he got the crucial breakthrough in his first - the no.4 Scarff flicked the ball to midwicket and the skipper (finally) took a good grab above his head, much to the relief of all that had seen his 2x near identical drops vs Whitchurch back in late May (94/4 from 20.5 overs).

A few tight overs had absolutely got that wicket, as the 3s remained in a good position. It was rinse and repeat for Simmo, as he found yet another inside edge that somehow missed the stumps and flew away for 4 more. In response, the Oakley batters started to counter attack, as No.5 Cheyney brought up his well made 50 with a pair of boundaries, before Jack and Simmo settled back in and started to turn the screw. Simmo finally got his deserved wicket pinning the No.6 Bennett plumb in front (123/5 from 25.1 overs), before Jacko got the prized wicket of Cheyney for 58.

After the skipper had asked Jack to 'earn himself another over' with Laney and Josh both getting loose, Jacko darted one in that found the inside half of the bat and flew a few yards to the left of the skipper at midwicket, who made good ground before snaffling the chance, much to the delight of everyone in Odiham colours. The team once again roared with delight as Oakley were reduced to 127/6 from 27 overs, and the 3s in a commanding position. The tight bowling continued as Jacko, Simmo and then Laney gave nothing away as the oppo were rebuilding. Some more excellent fielding all round turned 2s into 1s and 1s into dots, as the pressure continued to build - Oakley were 134/6, meaning that both 15 over periods read as 67/3 each. The 3s had been relentless.

Laney's flight and guile had troubled both batters, before they started to hit out with just 7 overs remaining, finding a couple of boundaries. Simmo eventually finished his spell with figures of 9-1-29-1, a cracking spell at that, which could be his last this season with fatherhood on the horizon. Jack returned to the attack from the other end replacing Simmo, and it didn't take him long to get his 3rd wicket, taking a simple caught and bowled chance, dismissing the opposition skipper Jones for a well made 24. The no.9 only lasted 2 balls as he tried to hit the ball back to Oakley, but thankfully Henry Terry stood at cow corner, and calm as anything barely moved and took a good catch (175/8 from 39.5 overs).

Laney (1-23) got his deserved wicket, pinning another batter in front LBW, before Jacko wrapped up the innings bowling the no.10, to pick up his 5th wicket and maiden career 5-fer. Finishing with outstanding figures of 7.3-0-33-5, Jacko had broken the game wide open for the 3s and in tandem with Simmo and Laney, had spun a web on the opposition batters, restricting Oakley to 185. Only 4 boundaries were scored after the second drinks break - a mega effort all round, with the ball and in the field. Certainly the best fielding performance of the season.

2nd Innings

Teas were devoured (thank you Laney and Josh for getting those sorted), and it was soon time for the chase, as Andy and Lizo rekindled their opening partnership from last week. The first ball caused a little alarm as the ball popped off a length and took Andy's glove but thankfully fell short of the bowler. 4 leg byes got the scoreboard moving before another slice of luck as a booming drive from Andy flew above second slip, who got a good hand on it but the ball burst through and went for 4.

9 off the first over was a great start but we were all hoping proceedings would be a little calmer moving forward - that they were, as Lizo got off the mark with a nudge into the legside, before Andy found the middle of the bat with a trademark square drive. Glorious. The positive start continued in the 4th over, with two more Clouting boundaries, as he cut and drove the ball to the fence. Another boundary to each batter meant that the 3s flew to 40/0 from just 6 overs - a great start to what was a tricky total to chase.

Lizo (7) unfortunately chased a wide one and edged behind (41/1 from 6.2 overs), bringing Josh to the crease. Andy and Josh had shared a 133-run partnership the previous week so were looking to replicate the dose and break the back of this chase. Josh was off the mark with a flashy drive of his own that flew over the slips and raced for 4. The Oakley bowlers started to find their areas as the boundaries began to dry up, save for a flick each from Josh and Andy down the hill towards the pavilion. Oakley were fielding superbly in the ring and were making both batters work for every run, and had brought on the league's top wicket taker (their skipper) D Jones, and N Robinson, who was getting prodigious movement. With tight bowling, the 3s reached drinks at 62/1 from 15 overs, so were still in a good position with the required run rate sitting at just over 4.

A lovely Josh sweep to the boundary got the scoreboard moving after drinks, however it was clear Andy had started to feel the effects of some cramp in his calves. First one, then the other, Andy's movement became somewhat limited, even with the skipper bringing his rehydration salts drink out to him in the middle! Unfortunately Andy (36) fell soon after slicing a ball back to the bowler Jones (78/2 from 18.5 overs), but it was yet another vital contribution from Clouting Sr who was really showing his class since his return to Saturday cricket.

Billy P joined Josh at the crease, at a pivotal period of the game, with Oakley's best bowlers operating in tandem, and the 3s just under halfway to the target. The next 5 overs showcased some incredibly sensible batting from the pair, keeping out some very good deliveries, whilst also running well between the wickets. The solitary boundary in that period was a glorious extra cover drive from Josh - beautiful. After seeing off the first spell of the oppo skipper, it was a change of bowling that did for Josh (28) who was bowled by an absolute ripper that clipped the top of off stump, bringing HT to the middle (97/3 from 24.4 overs).

After his power hitting last week at Whitchurch, HT was into his flow quickly with an equally glorious cover drive to the fence, before Billy got into the act with a powerful pull shot. There was certainly some more intent from the pair as the second drinks break approached, with the runs starting to flow a little more. There was some positive running, and some classy boundaries, with Billy in particular showing his prowess putting away anything short off the seamers or spinners. After a 31 run partnership in just over 5 overs, HT (11) slapped the last ball before drinks to the man at cover who took a good catch on the second attempt (128/4 from 30 overs). Incredibly frustrating for HT who looked mustard but that partnership had continued to push the score along and put the 3s within 58 runs of victory with 15 overs to go.

Safi joined Billy in the middle to try to see it home - both batters rode their luck in the over immediately after drinks with Billy carving the ball just over point for 2, before the skipper inside edged his first ball past off stump to get off the mark. Billy fell for a very well made 27 a couple of overs later, as he got a leading edge and was brilliantly caught at mid on, who seemingly had run under the ball, before jumping to take a one-handed grab (139/5 from 32.5 overs).

It was Pocock for Pocock, as Jack replaced Billy, with less than 50 needed for another crucial win for the 3s. Jack confidently drove the ball to the midwicket boundary to get off the mark and calm any nerves of a lower order collapse, before Safi got his first boundary, punishing a full toss from the leggie. Oakley were gambling with spin from both ends but the skipper and Jack played both spinners well, either sweeping (Safi) or using their crease (Jack) to great effect. The runs were ticking down and victory was in sight before Jack (22) was pinned lbw by the oppo skipper in his penultimate over, but his contribution at a strike rate of just under 90 was vital in relieving any real scoreboard pressure at the back end (174/6 from 38.4 overs).

With just 12 to win and 6 overs to go, Gisele joined the skipper to get the team over the line. With plenty of time to get those final runs, G and Safi picked their moments before G nailed a cut shot for 4 to huge cheers from her teammates as it put the 3s within striking distance. A couple of singles followed before the skipper slashed a wide delivery over third man to the boundary to seal the win by 4 wickets, and duly celebrated with a fist pump to his teammates.

Wrap Up

Our most complete performance of the season against a very strong and well rounded Oakley side saw the 3s go back to back with victories over teams that are in a promotion hunt. Incredibly important contributions throughout the team in all 3 facets of the game, especially in the field where everyone was on their A-game. With the ball, G and Padmore were metronomic, before the spin trio squeezed and didn't let go, before Andy, Josh and Billy set the game up perfectly for Jack, Safi and G to finish things off at the end. It was a performance full of composure and excellent execution, everything you'd want in a team performance. It was also the highest successful chase for the 3s in nearly 3 years - another notch in the belt showing that this team can win in different ways.

POTM: Jack Pocock - 7.3-0-33-5 & 22 off 25 balls (3x 4s). Some excellent contributions throughout the team, but Jacko was the standout, with a brilliant spell of bowling that turned the game back in our favour, and got him career best figures and a maiden 5-fer to boot. A positive and composed contribution with the bat too was perfectly timed and got us close to the finish line. Some excellent energy and noise in the field which is underrated - a serious all round performance Jacko, well played sir, great to have you.

Back to back wins proved critical for the 3s as their relegation rivals Old Basing won again (against Whitchurch too!), so we must continue to put in these type of performances to ensure our safety. It's been a great couple of weeks, winning games in which we were underdogs, but we must not get complacent as the challenges keep coming. Next Saturday we travel to Ashford Hill who are sitting pretty at the top of the table, having only lost one game all season. We'll go there with confidence in our own abilities and give it our best shot. Until next time…