In such a short game of 51 overs you might think there wasn’t much to write about (and you would be right) but it is probably worth mentioning some performance and comedy highs...
We fielded first on a very green track and an outfield that was best described as ‘rugby’ but considering the weather it was to be expected and in windy conditions Olney bowlers appeared to toil against a junior Stony XI. Some of the best bowling came from Joe Rice (10-3-15-1) who was eventually awarded with a well deserved wicket. A brief over of raw pace from Jon Hurley (5-2-7-3) was also worthy of mention but the theme of the day was ‘wickets-with-pie’ and unusually some consistently well held catches. The fielding standard was a little rusty however – reflecting the weather and the late season malaise, but notable efforts included Gary Browns dive over the ball on the boundary and Oli Knowles being smashed over square leg by their 3 foot 8 inch 10 year old. Stony Stratford 4 XI finished on 120-9.
A hearty tea was well received and Olney took to the field to put on a comfortable 20-0 before rain topped play. An abandonment followed shortly and so we retried to the Olney pavilion to celebrate the end of the season. A season the could have been much more but perhaps has done something to turn this team from a side content to avoid relegation into a side that should now be chasing promotion. There has been much improvement in the field this year with some great bowling by the under 18s and some good fielding. The old adage that ‘catches win matches’ has rung true all season – when we catch them we win and when we have dropped them we have tended to lose. A bit more steel in the batting will help – we haven’t scored over 200 all season and have lost a few games to margins of less than 25 – but this will come with experience and us putting a higher value on our wickets. But the biggest change has been that of team spirit and belief with competitive cricket played in the right spirit and hopefully enjoyed by all.