05-06-2011 - Away - BYCL - Henley vs Finch

Eagles Back to Winning Ways

After the disappointing display against Kidmore End, the pressure was on the Eagles to produce a much improved performance and get their BCYL season back on track.  With the toss won, the Eagles chose to bat first on a wicket that should allow them to build a challenging total for the opposition to chase.

From the outset, and despite an early (but debatable) wicket, the positive and intelligent cricket of openers Adam Telford and Will Edwards got the Eagles on the front foot and set the tone for a great batting performance.  From 14 for 1 after three overs, Will Edwards and Owen Powell moved the score to 58 before Owen was bowled for 28 (from 20 balls, including five fours) in the ninth over.  Soon after this Will retired, scoring 30 from 27 balls including four boundaries, but the run rate did not slow and was pushed to over 7 per over thanks to aggressive batting from Sam Jenkins (20 runs from 20 balls – four boundaries) and Thomas Tinsley (an impressive 27 off 15 balls, including six fours).  With the score at 123 for two after 15 overs, Henley did their best to reduce the run rate and with three quick wickets in two overs for just three runs seemed to have started a fight back.  However, a solid partnership between Jarryd Wallace and Mac Thomalla for the final three overs enabled the Eagles to finish on 145 for 5.  A challenging total for Henley to chase, but it would still need a professional display in the field to ensure victory.

And that is just what the Eagles delivered, with a fielding performance in marked contrast to the previous fixture.  Consistently accurate bowling was supported by a truly clinical display in the field.  With Nick West taking two wickets in a row in the opening over, Henley were immediately on the back-foot.  Noah Smith also claimed an early wicket and the opening spell saw Henley at 10 runs for 3 wickets from 6 overs.  Henley dug deep to try and stay in the match, but could do nothing against the strength of the Eagles bowling.  With wickets from Sam Lawton-Davies, Sam Jenkins, Jarryd Wallace and Mac Thomalla (2), the opposition was reduced to just 80 runs for 9 for their 20 overs.  The lack of runs for Henley was not only thanks to the quality of the Eagles’ bowling, but also their athleticism in the field with a number of boundaries saved and by never allowing Henley to exert the pressure they needed to increase the run rate.  A comprehensive 65-run victory, erasing the memory of the previous loss to Kidmore End and clearly demonstrating the level of performance the Eagles can achieve.

Statistics

Finchampstead won the toss and elected to bat
Result	Win
Umpires	Steve West
Scorers	Nick Tinsley
Score
Finchampstead CC Scored 145 for 5 in 20
Henley Scored 80 for 9 in 20