Didcot 2s secured their first win of the season, beating Banbury 3s by 4 wickets.

Didcot won the toss and elected to bowl on a slightly damp green top. Tight bowling at the start by Ryan Higgins and Ian Firth created an early chance to snare their key man. It was duly dropped. Four or five on-drives later, it looked like it might be a long day until a quick single ended with a nasty calf injury.

Higgins and Firth bowled, and bowled, and bowled, and bowled. Firth outlasting Higgins and completing his 17 overs while Ryan managed just the 15. An excellent opening partnership of controlled swing bowling set Didcot up for a good first innings display. Firth removed Banbury’s other opener who had played nicely for 23 and ended with figures of 3-39.

Runs were hard to come by for Banbury as Kieran and Rory got to work. A wicket for Rory in his first over and two direct hits from Ryan and Ian (both fielding on the boundary) halted any progress Banbury might’ve made. A decent knock by their number 7 got them up to 156. Not a bad total given the circumstances, but one that ought to be chased down if the rain held off.

Things got off to a shaky start as Luke was bowled for nought. His older brother watched on, looking every bit as though he’d bowled 15 on the trot (Ian, on the other hand, looked remarkably fresh). Alan fell to the same fate as Luke several overs later for 11. Connor joined Rory at the crease and both scored freely in a partnership that threatened to take the game away from Banbury. Rory looked very assured for his 32 and seemed destined to make a half century before missing a straight one. Trudging off he told his teammates there were loads of runs out there, which begged the question why he hadn’t scored more of them. Mark fell shortly after and a game Didcot never looked like losing hung in the balance at 71-4.

But Connor was beginning to move through the gears, punishing every bad ball for 4 or 6. The skipper nurdled a few around the field in his latest attempt to find some form. At 155-4, it looked as though they would finish the game together. And they would – albeit from the other side of the boundary rope. A few missed scoops by Connor meant Banbury were given the chance to bowl an end-of-innings leg-spinner. After tapping a couple back, Sam hit a low full toss towards the bowler who tipped it onto the stumps to remove Connor for a brilliant 66. A couple of balls later Sam had gone for 32, hitting one straight to mid-on.

With Kieran having decided to pack up ready to go home, there was no one to come in. Bedlam in the changing room as Ian scrambled to put some pads on was met with a few choice words from the skipper who had managed to get himself and Connor out when needing just two runs to win. Ian eventually hit the winning runs in what was a comfortable victory but for a couple of hiccups. By far Didcot 2s’ best performance of the season and one they’ll hope to build on in the coming weeks.

Oh, and if you’re wondering who dropped that catch… Think: Law, Clark, and MacGill.

Everything’s rosy when you win.