Washington Cricket Club - 40th Anniversary Year

Fiery batsmanship from the middle order gave Washington the edge in this tightly contested match at Oxford on Sunday. Set 219 to win, Wash were in the doldrums after 20 overs at 64-3;  however, fine fifties from Chris Davies (61) and Tony Burt (69 not)  injected momentum at the crucial moment, and Wash got home with four overs remaining.

The afternoon was cloudless and hot, and the Magdalen College ground looked a picture.  Both captains would have batted first, if only to save their team-mates from the broiling sunshine: unfortunately for the Wash, the home skipper called correctly.

Things began brightly, however. Matthew Holt (1-35) grabbed a wicket in his first over – courtesy of a nice slip catch from skipper Shawn Hill – but thereafter Hetairoi recovered steadily. Peter Kloss (0-37) didn’t find his usual swing, and the flat track robbed Hill (2-35) of the bounce that can make him such a devastating prospect. 

The sluggish wicket meant bowlers had to be patient and wait for the batsmen to make errors. As a consequence, it was the spinners who looked most likely to succeed and Burt (1-25), and Taran Persaud (1-56), who bowled ten excellent overs of slow, carefully flighted off-spin, enjoyed extended spells.

Hetairoi declared at tea, and the Washington top order found batting tricky.  The home side fielded three juniors (aged 11, 13 and 15) all of whom were brought into the attack at an early stage:  their slower pace was ideally suited to the conditions and Washington’s top order collapsed as batsmen pushed for runs. 

Young Jamie Oliver was the chief beneficiary, having Donald Campbell (16) and Paul Irons (1) both caught in the gully, and bowling Matthew Cragoe (12), in a devastating three over spell. 

Wash badly needed to regroup, and a partnership of 52 between the stylish Chris Davies, who batted brilliantly for 61, and Grattan McCoach (10), gave them breathing space;  however, with overs running out more was required. 

The turning point came when Burt was joined by Hill;  suddenly the batsman seemed able to get hold of the bowling and Burt, in particular, set about the attack with ferocity.  The pair had added 70 in six overs before Hill holed out at cover; his departure allowed Hetairoi no respite, however, and Kloss (12 not out) joined with Burt to see Wash home.

It all left Shawn Hill with a big smile on his face. ‘I thought we did really well today’, he said afterwards: ‘nice ground, very nice opposition, but the important thing eas to win – and we dug deep and pulled it off.’

Washington:  Hill*, Campbell+, Cragoe, Irons, Davis, McCoach, Birt, Kloss, Holt, Persaud, Self.

Man of the Match:  Tony Burt for a fine batting performance to cap a very decent bowling spell.