Bladon Banished

The annual fixture against old foes (and friends) from Bladon in Oxfordshire was competitive until the 20th over of the Cubs reply when Ketan... but I get ahead of myself..

Bladon won the toss and elected to bat. They were pegged back in the first ten overs as Gunning and Gadsby opened economically. The introduction of Fairhurst and Patel seemed to suggest to the Bladon batsmen that the shackles were coming off and this was the moment to score more quickly. Wrong! The first change pair shared six wickets in ten overs to leave Bladon reeling at 82 for 7. Cameron Bullock continued the pressure with five overs for just eight runs, while Ryan finished with two overs and two wickets for four runs. A sound team bowling effort also included a wicket for Oscar bowling a very decent spell of off spin and left Bladon all out for 166.

The Cubs response was led by Martin and Vabs, on Sunday debut, who laid a solid platform for the chase before both falling in quick succession, followed by Steve Bullock as well. Ryan and Nick Clarke steadied the ship with a partnership of 29 before Clarke and Gadsby fell quickly (that was never LBW!) which brought Ketan to the crease. And a couple of overs later it was all over. Ryan carried his bat for a very good 27 not out while Ketan's 89 came off about 30 balls (a plea to scorers - please record all the dot balls against the batsman) including eight 4s and six 6s. A great knock.

Bladon's Latin motto translates as 'Never let the truth get in the way of a good story' so no doubt the dramatic turnaround in the game will be forgotten as the fixture passes into myth and legend.