Charlbury CC - Banbury Indoor League Champions 2008

For the first time in the clubs history we have won the top division of the Banbury Indoor League which is a fantastic achievement and well deserved. Charlbury were the only side to score over 100 runs in each of their innings, picking up maximum points in each of their six victories.

Congratulations to Rob Garrett, Craig McCallum, Ashley Rump, Andy Timms, Ian Widdows, Bimalka Liyanarachchi, Craig Moss and Andy Glass the eight players who made this possible.

Charlbury vs Great Tew - Tues 5th Feb 6.45pm

Charlbury got off to a great start in the first game of the new indoor season scoring 17 runs from the first over and with more runs coming in the second over Charlbury got off to a flying start. Both openers Ashley Rump and Ian Widdows looked comfortable and were scoring easy runs and with some wayward bowling from Great Tew the score soon mounted. The fifty mark was passed in the fourth over and Charlbury looked set for a big score and in the fifth Ashley passed 25 and retired. A couple of quick wickets then fell, but the scoring rate continued as Craig McCallum and Andy Glass continued to punish the bowling. After 8 overs Charlbury had reached 79-2 and with only two overs left Charlbury made their push for a big score. A couple more wickets fell, but the runs came thick and fast and with Ashley returning to the crease Charlbury pushed past the hundred mark and ended their ten overs on 105-5.

Great Tew got off to the worse possible start as Craig, bowling quick and straight, clean bowled the opening batsmen for a duck second ball and then Ashley ran out the new batsmen last ball of the over to leave Great Tew 9-2. Things then went from bad to worse as the Great Tew batsmen were unable to score against the very accurate Charlbury bowling and when Craig got the third wicket the Great Tew innings was in disarray at 19-3 off just three overs. The Tew batsmen tried to stabilise the innings, but with overs running out and the runs not coming something would have to give. After six overs Tew were 48-3, but some poor running in the seventh over brought another wicket and the end was soon in coming as the remaining Great Tew batsmen tried in vain to score the required runs before finishing all out for 69 off 8.5 overs.

Charlbury vs Preston Capes - Tues 12th Feb 7.35pm

Charlbury again batted first and got off to a reasonable start with 23 runs coming off the first two overs, but at the expense of Ashley Rump who was run out for 12. The runs came at a slightly slower rate this week as the Preston Capes bowlers found a good line, but Rob Garrett and Ian Widdows pushed runs when available. Ian was caught in the fifth over leaving Charlbury 39-2. Andy Timms joined Rob at the wicket and they began to push the quick singles. Andy's usual hard hitting game came out when he smashed the ball back over the bowlers head for a six and his demise did little to slow Charlbury down as Craig came to the wicket and began scoring quickly. After 8 overs Charlbury were 75-3, but with Rob and Craig pushing the ball around and some panic setting in with the Preston Capes fielders Charlbury managed to finish on 107-3.

Preston Capes got off to a flying start with 20 runs coming off the first two overs, but Charlbury got some hope in the third over with a neat stumping by Ian off Craig for the first wicket. The runs continued to come at pace with only Bimalka Liyanarachchi managing to slow the Preston Capes batsmen down any and after five overs they had reached 55-1. A slight slow down in the Preston Capes batting brought Charlbury back into the game, but with wickets in hand Preston capes always looked favourites to win. Charlbury managed to take it to the last over and even pick up a second wicket courtesy of a run out by Craig, but with only two balls remaining the batsman hit a six to win the game with 112-2.

Charlbury vs Banbury A - Tues 19th Feb 8.25pm

Charlbury were deducted one over for not being ready to start on time, but this mattered little to the way in which the batsmen attacked the Banbury A bowling. Rob Garrett and Craig McCallum pushed quick runs from the off and Banbury A were soon feeling the pressure as Charlbury reached 29-0 off only two overs. The runs continued to come due to some fantastic running and wayward bowling contributing many wides. The fifty mark was passed in the fifth over without loss and Charlbury looked set a big total as both Rob and Craig neared 25. Banbury A had no answer to Charlbury's batting and it took a run out in the seventh over to remove Rob for 24. Andy Timms came to the wicket and immediately pushed quick runs to give Craig the strike. Craig retired in the next over hitting the bowler for six to bring up his 25 and the hundred mark was also passed this over. The last over was carnage for Banbury A as Charlbury hit every ball into the wall and ran, with the bonus of a wide 22 runs cam from this final over giving a final score of 123-2.

Banbury A got off to a terrible start as second ball a wicket fell, hit roof, to Craig and then fifth ball a run out left them 8-2. The Banbury A batsmen continued to try and score runs and for a couple of overs succeeded, but wickets in consecutive overs left them 53-4 after five overs. Banbury A could not afford to take any risks with only two wickets left and so the run rate began to shoot up and after 8 overs they had reached 85-5 needing 39 runs for victory with only two overs left. The task of winning the game looked impossible, but the last batsman had other ideas as he hit Bimalka for four consecutive sixes meaning Banbury A only needed 13 runs off the final over to win. Rob brought himself onto bowl and with five runs coming from the first two balls Banbury A looked favourites. Only one run cam from the next two balls meaning Banbury A needed 7 runs to win off two balls, but next ball it was all over as the non-striker backed up too far and was run out leaving Banbury A 118 all out.

Charlbury vs Hinton - Tues 26th Feb 9.15pm

Charlbury got off to a cautious start with only 18 runs coming from the first two overs from openers Rob Garrett and Craig McCallum. The run started to come from some powerful straight drives for four as Craig started to punish the bowling. The runs mounted quickly and in the fifth over Craig reached 25 and retired as Charlbury reached 52-0. Ashley Rump came to the wicket and was quickly scoring runs. Charlbury looked to be heading for another big score as they took easy singles and pushed boundaries. Rob then reached 25 and retired, but a couple of quick wickets slowed Charlbury down. At 93-2 off 8 overs Charlbury were well set and even another wicket did not slow them down as the runs came easily and with Craig returning to the wicket Charlbury finished their innings on 121-4.

Hinton started their innings well with runs coming with ease, although this was more down to the Charlbury bowlers struggling to find their line and bowling wides. The runs kept coming and Charlbury found wickets hard to come by, as after five overs Hinton were 54-0. When the wickets did come they came quickly with a run out and Craig Moss taking a catch off Ashley's bowling leaving Hinton 56-2 off six overs. Two more wickets came in the next over from Rob Garrett as Craig Moss took a second good catch and then Craig McCallum ran out the new batsman with a direct hit. Hinton were now struggling to bat their overs out and even more so when Ian made a brilliant stumping down the leg side. The end came soon afterwards as Rob clean bowled the last batsman to leave Hinton 68 all out.

Charlbury vs Cropredy - Tues 4th Mar 6.45pm

Charlbury got off to another quick start against the reigning champions with both openers Rob Garrett and Craig McCallum plundering the runs. The runs came thick and fast as Charlbury raced to 36-0 off only three overs. The fourth over was terrible for Cropredy as Charlbury plundered 20 runs from it and with a six off the last ball Craig retired on 25. Ashley Rump came to the wicket and the run rate continued at pace as Charlbury looked set for a huge total. A couple of overs later Rob reached his 25 and retired and bow Charlbury were in the box seat with two players able to come back in. A wicket fell, but this just brought Ian Widdows to the wicket and he quickly savaged the bowling hitting two sixes and a four off just one over. At 93-1 off 8 overs Charlbury were in prime position and even with a couple of run outs the runs continued to come at pace as Charlbury finished their allotted 10 overs on 123-4.

Cropredy also got off to a quick start and looked to be up with the run rate, until Bimalka clean bowled one of the opening batsmen leaving them 21-1 off two overs. More runs came in the third over as the Cropredy batsmen ran for everything, but this was not without its perils as the Charlbury fielders got closer to hitting the stumps. The fourth over was great for Charlbury as two batsmen were run out by direct hits, including a cheeky kick of the ball by Andy Timms that hit the stumps. Suddenly every time Charlbury threw the ball it hit the stumps and Cropredy were struggling. Two more run outs in the fifth over just about settled the game as both Craig and Ashley had direct hits, leaving the Cropredy innings in disarray at 51-5. The end soon came as first ball of the sixth over with Ashley completing another simple run out leaving Cropredy 52 all out.

Charlbury vs Banbury - Tues 11th Mar 7.15pm

Charlbury got off to their slowest start of the season against the leaders Banbury scoring only 13 runs in the first two overs. Runs were hard to come by as the Banbury bowlers bowled a tight line and length and with two quick runs outs Charlbury were 42-2 off five overs. Rob Garrett and Andy Timms steadied the ship for Charlbury and started to find runs slightly easier to find, but then just as it looked like he might retire Rob was run out for 23. Ian Widdows then joined Andy and with the overs running out they began to put pressure on the Banbury fielders by running for everything. After nine overs Charlbury had only reached 85-3 and looked like not reaching 100 for the first time this season, but Ian had other ideas as he drilled one to the boundary for four then lobbed one over the bowlers head for six. Charlbury lost two wickets to run outs in the last over, but managed to push the score up to 105-5.

Banbury got off to a terrible start as first captain ran out an opener in the first over and then Bimalka ran out the new batsman first ball of the second over leaving Banbury 15-2 off two overs. The Charlbury bowling was tight and not giving away the extras that blighted the Banbury bowlers and when backed up with some excellent fielding Banbury began to struggle. A third wicket came in the fourth over when Bimalka held on to a low hard hit return and when Bimalka also took the fourth wicket the game seemed to be heading Charlburys way. Ashley came onto bowl and second ball he took the fifth wicket to leave the Banbury innings in tatters at 56-5 after 7 overs. The remaining Banbury batsman tried to play some shots, but this just brought about his downfall as he hit one straight down Craig's throat as Banbury were all out for 58, meaning that Charlbury were top of the table with one game to play.

Charlbury vs Sandford - Tues 18th Mar 8.25pm

Charlbury batted first in the last game of the indoor season needing victory to secure the title and they got off to a magnificent start scoring 35 runs from the first two overs. The runs kept coming as both Rob and Craig blazed away at some average bowling, but a sharp piece of keeping got Craig out stumped. Rob carried on his merry way scoring easy singles and again retired having scored 25. The runs continued to come from the bat of Ian Widdows, with an all run two and another lofted six. As the innings progressed the wickets began to fall to run outs as the Charlbury batsmen ran for everything and after eight overs they were 94-4. Rob had now returned to the wicket to join Ian for the last couple of overs and they easily pushed the score passed the hundred mark, but both got run out in the final over to leave the final score on 111.

Sandford got off to an equally fast start and even the loss of an early wicket caught off Bimalka's bowling by Rob didn't slow them down any. After three overs Sandford were 47-1 and Charlburys dream of winning the league looked doomed to failure, but this team never know when they are beat and despite some poor fielding early on they kept shying at the stumps. This persistence paid off when Ashley ran the second batsman out, but there was no let up in the run rate as Sandford piled on the pressure and after five overs the score was 68-2. The sixth over started well for Sandford with a batsman retiring after hitting a six, but finished well for Charlbury as first Andy Timms with a direct hit ran a batsman out and then next ball Rob took his second catch of the innings off Bimalka. Ashley then came on to bowl and as the batsmen tried to take a quick single he swooped on the ball and ran out another batman leaving Sandford 85-5 off seven overs. The last man at the wicket couldn't take any chances as he played out Bimalka's last over for only one run meaning Sandford needed 26 runs from the last two overs. The ninth over started with the batmen picking up a quick single, but Charlbury being alive to what the batsmen were trying to do spotted it next ball and ran out the batsman leaving Sandford 88 all out and Charlbury as champions.