The 3s don’t do easy, breezy and fun. Nada! Gutsy, deep and nervy seems to be the norm this year and the third game of the season gave us another nail biter for the ages!

Witney Swifts 2s 154/9 (Singh3-29, Hands 3-36) beat Oxford CC Men’s 3rd XI 153/8 (Way 35, Sheehan 29) by 2 runs

Set a modest target of 155 on a challenging up-and-down wicket, the 3s were rocked early on in the chase with Chandru Lakshminarayanan and Tom Norton back in the hut for not very many. The pitch was reminiscent of a typical day-4 subcontinent track with the scare of that unexpected roll-off-the-turf delivery requiring solid application from the top order. Appropriate to the match situation, Nick Hands and Harry Way got their tents out to occupy the crease in a mature rear-guard action that ensured that no more wickets were lost until the 21st over. The partnership was pleasing to the eye with some immaculate defence, singles nurdled both sides of square and loose deliveries dispatched to boundary, with Nick gracefully high-elbow-driving anything on or outside the off-stump and Harry savagely pulling anything remotely short off middle and leg.

Ben Abrahams joined Harry at the crease just after the drinks break and his jovial banter between deliveries was punctuated with some ferocious cuts and lusty drives between cover and backward point. But the highlight of the day once again was the gloriously lush and handsomely carpeted Marston green, which akin to a typical English language teacher, marked down any ambitious 4s down to 2s and every well-meaning 2 down to 1. Soon, a target of 150 loomed large, seeming more like 200+, with batters desperately sprinting between the wickets to gather precious runs.

After Ben’s departure and Azlan’s unfortunate run out with 10 overs left, the 3s now required a run a ball to make it 3 in 3. And in came the burly stand-in captain, Mark Sheehan, who, as always, missed the memo about singles & doubles, grafting & crafting, patience & poise, and all such platitudinal parallels relevant to other batting mortals. The Swifts were swiftly chasing balls all over the ground as Sheehan tore into the bowling. Harry’s anchor vigil was sadly curtailed whilst trying to up the scoring rate and the baby faced assassin, Muhammad Saqib joined the smiling assassin from down under, with the middle order pugilists looking determined to muscle every ball to the fence and finish the hit job. Saqqers perished attempting to avoid any last over jitters and the equation was tantalisingly poised with 7 runs needed off the last over, and finally 3 off the last ball with Sheehan on strike with all three results still possible. Never known to take half measures, Sheehan charged down the wicket to swing for the hills but the ball kept frustratingly low missing the toe of Sheehan’s willow, eventually emerging from the subterranean surface of the earth to painfully rattle the stumps, leaving the 3s short by 2 runs! It was an excruciating finish to what was otherwise a thoroughly professional performance by the 3s in the field, in the absence of the injured skipper, Ali Shah whose services were greatly missed, both with the bat and ball.

The first innings saw another impressive bowling and fielding performance by the 3rd XI with 35 overs of spin being bowled (!) with Simran Singh and Nick Hands capturing 3 scalps each with their clever, varying lengths, and Saqqers and Azlan keeping the batters honest with their disciplined bowling performance. The OCC postman, Alf Symons delivered the goods once again with a miserly uninterrupted spell of 9 overs for 17 runs and Harold Gandy surprised the opposition batters with his deceptive pace before unintentionally letting rip a second beamer! The catching standards were top class throughout with Sheehan grabbing 3 catches (nearly 4!) with his bucket hands and Rocket-Arm Ben easily guarding a third of the boundary perimeter with his full throttle sprints, eye-catching dives and accurate throws from the deep. And finally, this match report wouldn’t be complete without a special mention for Tom Norton who once again did what he does apparently in sleep every night, with his acrobatic leg side takes and lightening stumpings (one in this game too!), rapidly establishing his reputation as a 3s Wicket-keeping legend and a crucial ally to the captain, working the fielding angles from behind the stumps.

Onwards and upwards on to match no. 4 now as the contributions we have seen from all the players in the three games thus far give us a lot of hope for the season ahead. Witney Mills, here we come!