| Challow V
Shipton under Wychwood |
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Oxfordshire Knockout
Final
Played at
Kingston on 24/8/03
A
final against the cup kings of
Oxfordshire would normally have been a daunting thought in the minds of
the Challow side. But a fantastic performance the day before against the same
opposition would have given them heart. Blow for blow been traded in the league
and it would have been Shipton that would have had doubts creeping in due to our
combative performance on the day. In all of the previous rounds, all evening
games, we had won the toss, batted and racked up high scores. The worry now was
the start time. 10.30 in the morning, would temperatures in late August give a
hint of dew on a baked strip? 
Concerns
about this issue were unfounded as night time temperatures did not drop below
19C. Winning the toss again was a good start and Ashley had no hesitation in
batting. As in previous rounds a marvellous start ensued. Julian Penney and
Ashley once again were out of the blocks in dramatic fashion, Nobby, who's
running has been likened to a praying mantis trotting in treacle showed superb
judgement in the running stakes. 68 in 8 overs 
was
typical of every opening stand in the competition. Holznagel battered his way to
69 and with Barry James and Nigel Hill kept up a good scoring rate. A flurry of
wickets towards the end kept high spirits in check, but some big hitting from
Mike Konschel meant a final score of 158 gave the bowlers a decent score to
defend.
Shipton were as quick as us at the start, 58 off
the first 7 put pressure firmly back on the Challow
bowlers and with the initiative beginning to swing back to Shipton, Martin
Turnbull bowled a spell that turned the game conclusively back to Challow. His 5
overs costing only 19 runs, but most important of all 3 big wickets. 58 for 1 became
70 - 4. The game was won from here and despite a couple of minor recoveries 30
were needed of the last 2 overs with only 3 wickets left. 2 more wickets fell
for the addition of only a couple of runs and the game was ours.
A
inspired win - no surprises that the man of the match went to Ashley. It should
be noted that it was not just the final where his skill has shone through, he
has batted exceptionally in every round. However it was a genuine team effort
today, we batted, bowled and fielded as a unit, looked competitive and appeared
to enjoy the occasion.
Thanks to our opposition who were gracious in
defeat and our hosts at Kingston who did the final proud.
Scorecard to follow shortly
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A
final against the cup kings of
Oxfordshire would normally have been a daunting thought in the minds of
the Challow side. But a fantastic performance the day before against the same
opposition would have given them heart. Blow for blow been traded in the league
and it would have been Shipton that would have had doubts creeping in due to our
combative performance on the day. In all of the previous rounds, all evening
games, we had won the toss, batted and racked up high scores. The worry now was
the start time. 10.30 in the morning, would temperatures in late August give a
hint of dew on a baked strip? 
Concerns
about this issue were unfounded as night time temperatures did not drop below
19C. Winning the toss again was a good start and Ashley had no hesitation in
batting. As in previous rounds a marvellous start ensued. Julian Penney and
Ashley once again were out of the blocks in dramatic fashion, Nobby, who's
running has been likened to a praying mantis trotting in treacle showed superb
judgement in the running stakes. 68 in 8 overs 
was
typical of every opening stand in the competition. Holznagel battered his way to
69 and with Barry James and Nigel Hill kept up a good scoring rate. A flurry of
wickets towards the end kept high spirits in check, but some big hitting from
Mike Konschel meant a final score of 158 gave the bowlers a decent score to
defend.
