Quokkas – Friendly – Home

Wantage won the toss and elected to bat. OT and Circus stepped up to open the batting for Wantage and got off to a very good start with 16 runs off the first over, and subsequently 41 off 4 overs. Alas it wasn’t to last with OT being given LBW (I’ve lost count how many times this season I’ve been LBW – just too many). After the fall of the first wicket there was a top and middle order bating collapse with batsman 3, 4 and 5 all being dismissed within the space…continue reading →

Uffington – Home – OCA League

Some dodgy recent weather led us to believe that a full game looked unlikely, with showers promised throughout and a thunderstorm due between 6 and 7pm in the evening. Regardless, we managed to get started on time, with a bit of swirling rain greeting us for the first few overs, but that was about as bad as the weather got until 8pm that evening. Ryan and Duncan opened the bowling, both keeping an incredibly tight line, forcing the batsmen to wear a few on their bodies, and poke unconvincingly at some stuff outside…continue reading →

Brill – Home – OCA League

After another good cup win our next opponents were the positively titled Brill. A side who had an identical league record to us, with 3 wins, and 1 loss to Cairns Fudge. After a difficult selection week for Colin, with 17 people available, we eventually lined up with a strong XI, hoping that the weather would hold out for a full game. Colin lost the toss (time to retire the “lucky” coin) and we were put in. Our usual opening partnership took to the field against some accurate bowling from Kavanagh and Green,…continue reading →

Chesterton – Home – Steve Dixon Cup

A return to home turf saw the return of some decent weather as we contested the second round of the Steve Dixon cup. Our visitors were Chesterton, flying high in the League but short of several first team regulars for this match.   The opposition captain called wrongly at the toss, so Colin elected to bat on a typically good-looking Wantage track in the middle of the square. NiB and Benjy opened the batting against the bustling seam bowling of Price and the mixture of very straight deliveries interspersed with off cutters from…continue reading →

Eynsham – Home – Friendly

Olly continued his run as Sunday captain by losing the toss, unusually doing it on the boundary rather than in the middle, since both Captains had already checked the middle. Wantage were made to field, and as we went out Olly just about remembered to check how many overs we would be playing. The answer was 40, which was to prove his first mistake of the match, as we’ll see later. Stewie, back from his trip around the world and therefore full of South American cricketing inspiration opened the bowling and kept a…continue reading →

Great Horwood II – Away – OCA League

After last week's defeat, we were keen to get the show back on the road. And on the road we went, all the way to that well-known part of Oxfordshire that lies between Buckingham and Milton Keynes. Eight hardy souls met at the home of cricket, including Colin, who had to trek down from Oxford because he'd forgotten to collect a match ball. Barry took Chaz, Mongo and almost everyone else's kit, while Grant, NiB and Timmy were shoehorned into the back of Colin's Astra while Duncan stretched his legs at the front.…continue reading →

Crowmarsh – Friendly – Away

The Wantage team arrived at Crowmarsh keen and ready to put on a display for some special foreign guests (a Scotsman and an American) along with the usual Zimbabwean crowd. After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Timmy and Putty opened and put on a display of how dull cricket can be. After a few runs at the start they allowed Crowmarsh to bowl three consecutive maidens, a tedious 22 dot balls. This did, however, see off some dangerous bowling that might have taken the wickets of lesser batsmen. There were two…continue reading →

Steventon – Friendly – Home

Weather: fine but breezy Upon arrival (at about precisely 13:46) I was surprised to see Steventon geared up, ready and waiting (game wasn’t meant to start until half 2) – it turned out that they knew the club bar would be open! Unusually the toss never happened – the away skipper not wanting to bat first and Wantage wanting to bat first – skippering so far so good. The away skipper’s aspiration to field first was motivated by an apparent lack of batting amongst his compatriots – shame, but he wasn’t kidding! Wantage…continue reading →

Cairns Fudge – Home – OCA League

And so to intriguingly named Cairns Fudge (y’know, Chris Cairns… and fudge!) who we recognised as one of the leading teams in the division after their fourth placed finish last season. So when Colin won the toss and put them in, we were feeling confident when we had them 15 for 3, Duncan taking 3 good wickets, including a catch behind, a catch to gully and one that slipped through to take middle stump. The Fudge fourth wicket partnership though, began to dominate, and Small played some powerful shots through square cover, using…continue reading →

Cassington – Away – OCA League

The early afternoon goings-on are a bit of a mystery to me, as I only turned up 20 minutes in, so someone else could fill you in on those. We were playing at the extravagantly titled Cassington Oval, which was our first away trip of the league season. Going on what I can comment on, I can safely say that Ryan and Chaz opened the bowling and kept it pretty tight, with runs at a premium for the Cassington openers. Chaz eventually found an opening, forcing a sharp, low catch at short cover…continue reading →