Wokingham hoping to take rivals down

Pete Phillips • Published 1 Sep 2009 09:00 0 Comments

WOKINGHAM'S Dan Reddyhough has admitted the fact they can relegate closest rivals Finchampstead will serve as a motivating factor in their end of season showdown this weekend.

Wokingham's five-wicket defeat against leaders Aston Rowant last weekend saw them finally condemned to the drop in Division Two West but they would love to drag their fiercest rivals back into the Thames Valley League with them.

The two sides meet in a crunch last day clash this Saturday, with Finch, who currently sit just six points above the drop zone, needing a convincing performance to avoid the drop.

Reddyhough conceded his side hadn't been good enough over the course of the season and would have to re-build in the Thames Valley League next summer, but admitted they will be desperate to finish a poor campaign on a high.

He said: "Finch had a good result against Basingstoke and are still fighting for their lives.

"They know they can't afford to slip up against us as Thame are just behind them.

"The Finch games are the ones that all our players look for when the fixtures come out at the start of the season.

"They're our main rivals and I can't deny that there's an element of motivation for us in the fact that we could send them down.

"But we have to concentrate on producing a good all round performance. We've just not been good enough over the course of the season and we have to take that on the chin.

"It's just not happened for us this season. It wasn't down to a lack of effort, maybe just a lack of application at times.

"We were light of runs at the start of the season and then when we found a bit of form with the bat in the final month, our bowling was a bit inconsistent.

"We were never able to put all the elements together on a consistent basis."

Last Saturday's defeat against table-topping Rowant summed up Wokingham's season in many ways as, despite some encouraging moments, they ended up well-beaten.

After being put in by Rowant, Wokingham posted 227 in their innings, with Kwame Appiah top-scoring with a fine 54. Ollie Miles impressed in only his third game for Wokingham's first team with a patient knock, while Paul Humphreys was the pick of the Aston bowlers with 6-72.

Wokingham struggled to make an early breakthrough in the Rowant reply as Tim Morgan (66) and Alex Jewell (64) set a solid platform.

Chris Watling then weighed in with a hard-hitting cameo to see Rowant to victory on 228-5 in the 50th over and finally condemn Wokingham to the drop.

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