Published: Wednesday, 25th June, 2008 09:00
Honours even in derby showdown
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WOKINGHAM edged their top of the table clash at neighbours Finchampstead last Saturday but had to settle for the better of a hard-fought draw.
Batting first, they recovered from a shaky start to post an intimidating 267-8 from their 60 overs and Finch never really looked like challenging the total as they closed on 186-6.
Finch skipper Sam Taylor, who won the toss and put Wokingham into bat, admitted his side had endured a tough afternoon at the hands of their rivals but insisted his decision to bat second was the right one.
He said: “It was a funny sort of game. At one stage I thought we were on top but then they took the game away from us. They are a quality side and they played really well and deserved to come out on top.
“We put them into bat because it was quite wet early on. There was a bit of moisture on the pitch and the outfield was damp which didn’t help the ball.
“And when we had them at 60-4 the decision looked completely justified. Darren Augustus was bowling well and causing them problems.
“We were right in the game but then their middle order batted really well and we weren’t as disciplined with the ball as we have been in recent games.”
He added: “We ended up chasing a much bigger total than we wanted to but we still fancied our chances. Once we lost some early wickets though we had to make the decision to see out the overs and we did that relatively easily.
“We’re not overly disappointed with the draw but we know we didn’t quite do ourselves justice.”
After being put into bat, Wokingham lost the influential Dan Doran early on after he was caught lbw by Simon Hards. It was a big wicket for Finch who had claimed before the game that the visitors relied too heavily on their Aussie import.
Ruki Soza (27), skipper Martin Bushell (24) and Kwame Appiah (4) soon followed and the visitors were struggling at 67-4.
But Dan Reddyhough and Rahu Thava then produced a club record fifth wicket stand in the Home Counties League of 116 before Reddyhough eventually went for 61.
Tom Jones then came to the crease and he and Thava added another 53 runs before Thava was eventually stumped for an excellent 83.
Jones (24) and Ryan Hiscoe (17no) added some vital runs before the end as Wokingham eventually closed on 267-8.
Finch’s reply started badly as openers Russell Lane (0) and Scott Patterson (6) fell cheaply but Matt Jones (41) and Sam Cheetham (38) helped steady the ship.
But when they fell they were quickly followed by Augustus (10) and Nick Woodruffe (1) as the visitors again seized the initiative. However, Steve Bloyce (27no) and Matt Harper (15no) saw out the remaining overs to leave Finch on 181-6 at close.
Wokingham vice-captain Dan Reddyhough said: “Everyone was up for it. We were keen to show that we were a strong team and that we didn’t just rely on Dan and I think we did that.
“He was out early and when we lost a few more and were 60-4 we had our backs against the wall. But myself and Rahu dug in and made sure we didn’t do anything silly before lunch.
“We picked up the pace after the interval and started to knock the ball about. In the end I was gutted when I was out because after the start I made I wanted to go on and make three figures, but young Tom Jones came in and did a great job.
“At lunch 230 was our target so everyone was really happy to finish on 267.”
He added: “It was ironic before the game that they were talking about us relying on Dan Doran because they’ve brought Russell Lane in and he’s done a lot for them with bat and ball, so to get him out in the first over of their reply was great.
“That’s what we started out to do but, to be fair to them, they batted quite well after that. They didn’t play any big shots and although they lost a flurry of wickets towards the end Bloycey and Harps batted well to see them through.
“It was a bit disappointing not to win but it was a good game of cricket, played in a good spirit and we were still pleased to come out on top.”
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