Cumnor III v Long Marston II
Won.  Cumnor 172 all out (Metcalf 57)
           Long Marston 129 all out (Howarth 3-16, West 3-30).

After having lost the toss, Cumnor were surprisingly inserted on a good looking pitch and a ground which had survived the deluges pretty well.  Messrs Ricks and Metcalf saw us off to a good start, but when Ricks was stumped and Munsey followed relatively soon after, it required a sensible stand between Metcalf and West to take Cumnor to relative prosperity, reaching 3 figures without losing another wicket.

Jack Metcalf in particular fashioned a fine innings, playing straight and timing the ball well.  He thoroughly deserved his maiden league 50, which was to prove comfortably the highest score of the match.  The loss of West was followed by a mini collapse.  Dan Hill and Mark Haigh held things up just long enough for square leg umpire Ricks to calculate by how much their combined ages fell short of the length of his “distinguished career”, but the loss of Hill saw the Cumnor innings decline steadily.  Simon Howarth, confused by the fact that Cumnor had unexpectedly batted first, managed to remove the last 2 wickets by virtue of some appalling running, and we closed at 172 all out, apparently short of par.

Long Marston opened confidently and, with Mark Haigh pulling up lame in his fourth over, things looked bleak.  Bobby removed the dangerous looking opener lbw, but the opposition were scenting victory at 80-odd for 1.

Enter Mr West to snatch 2 wickets in 2 balls, and when another fell to the first ball after drinks, Long Marston began to look vulnerable.  Howarth located his best line and length for the first time this season, and the scoring rate ground to a halt.  However, the decisive breakthrough eluded Cumnor until Howarth switched ends to accommodate the return of Bowerman.

The skipper’s tactical move paid immediate dividends as Howarth bowled opener Roberts for a dogged 44, and removed the next man in the same over.  Marston began to play for a draw, but straight bowling from Bowerman and a suicidal run in an attempt to keep the strike took them to 9 down with 2 overs remaining.

The last man played and missed at his first ball, but Dan Hill kept his head, realised that he was out of his ground and hit the stumps with the throw.  Full marks to the square leg umpire for his sportsmanship giving a clear, but close, decision, and Cumnor were home by 43 runs.  

An excellent team performance, with everyone contributing to a fighting victory which leaves us well in contention in a very tight race at the top of Div 7.