Eynsham vs. Charlbury 19th May 2005

Eynsham 255-8, Charlbury 250-4. Eynsham win by 5 runs

Eynsham started their Friendly league campaign with a close win over Charlbury. Charlbury batted first and posted 250, losing only 4 wickets in the process. This was a tough score to chase. However, both Luke Bowles and Sam Cross batted well, each scoring over 20 runs unbeaten. All the players contributed valuable runs and at one stage Eynsham were cruising to victory. Matthew Hall and Nick Winstone made things a little more interesting by contriving a few run-outs with the result that the game went to the final ball before Eynsham’s win was assured.

Team: Luke Bowles, Liam Botcherby, Sam Cross, Reece Hill, Ellie Norton, Jack Buss-Keating, Mathew Hall, Nick Winstone.

Eynsham vs. Minster Lovell 25th May 2005

Eynsham 213-5, Minster Lovell 2422-2. Eynsham lost by 29 runs

Good cricket throughout by Minster Lovell (who were a year older than Eynsham) restricted Eynsham’s batting, and despite fielding and bowling well, Eynsham were unable to take enough Minster wickets to keep their score in check (losing only 2 wickets in 16 overs is excellent play). Eynsham only lost 5 wickets themselves but found it difficult to score against accurate bowling and tight fielding. Eynsham managed to compete throughout and if nothing else, it was a good lesson on how to play the game well.

Team: Jack Ryan, Luke Bowles, George Stoneham, Liam Botcherby, Reece Hill, Ellie Norton, Andrew Stratford, Sam Cross

Eynsham vs. Combe 26th May 2005

Eynsham 226-5, Combe 220-10. Eynsham win by 6 runs

Another match that went to the last ball. This time Eynsham batted first and showed the value of conserving their wickets. In the face of some accurate bowling only 51 runs were scored in their 16 overs. However, only 5 wickets were lost which still left a less than challenging target for Combe to chase. In the field, Eynsham excelled themselves. All bowlers took at least one wicket and the fielding was of a high standard. Although some of the Combe players scored freely, they gave up their wickets even more freely. They were still in with a good chance of winning in the last over but the final wicket for Eynsham gave Combe too much to do.

Team: Luke Bowles, Daniel Johnstone, Luke Barker, Nick Winstone, Rob Coe, Matthew Hall, Sam Cross, Andrew Stratford

Shipton-U-Wychwood vs. Eynsham 9th June 2005

Shipton 225-6, Eynsham 233-3. Eynsham won by 8 runs

A fine all-round performance from Eynsham inflicted Shipton’s first defeat of the season. Once again, preserving wickets proved to be the key here (dear reader, do you see a pattern developing? If in doubt, keep it out should be the motto for this team!). All players played well and the team play is more and more evident as the season goes on. There is no doubt that Shipton are a good side and to beat them on their own ground is definitely a feather in everyone’s hat. The bowling was tight against some good batsmen and despite runs continuing to flow, Eynsham kept taking wickets to peg Shipton back which eventually affected their confidence. Sam Cross and Andrew Stratford particularly impressed the Shipton coaches but all Eynsham’s players contributed. Luke Bowles and Liam Botcherby both took wickets at the end of otherwise ordinary overs, which showed determination. Daniel Johnstone kept well, especially considering it was his first time as keeper in hard-ball. Luke Barker, Rob Coe and Matthew Hall all contributed well with the bat (losing only one wicket between them) and were keen in the field. All in all a top display.

Team: Daniel Johnstone, Sam Cross, Luke Barker, Rob Coe, Andrew Stratford, Matthew Hall, Luke Bowles, Liam Botcherby.

Three wins and just one defeat represents a great start to the season. Even the defeat against Minster was tempered by a good win by the ‘soft-ball’ side against their Minster counterparts. Lets hope the good form and enjoyment of the game continues.

Phil Brown