Fair Oak cruised into the semi-finals of the Southern League Twenty20 Plate with a convincing home win over local rivals Trojans on Sunday afternoon. Fair Oak CC President John Perry oversaw the club’s junior competitions and presentations in the morning, leaving the way clear for the T20 match at 2pm. Oaks batted well, Matt White cracking 64 off 45 balls and Joe McNeeney 56 not out off 46 in an impressive total of 166 for 5.
Trojans’ best bowling stats came from Lewis Maton and Dan Tavender, who took two wickets each. Trojans, needing more than eight an over, never really got to grips with the run chase. They finished on 101 for 9, only Maton showing up well with the bat by making 30.
Oaks had the luxury of using some part-time bowlers, and regular 2nd XI keeper Dan Wheble caught the eye by spinning his way to 3 for 24. Kannan Manoj took 2 for 12. On Saturday Fair Oak I were denied a much-needed Southern Premier Division 2 victory at Gosport Borough when persistent rain put an end to a run chase that looked well within their grasp.
Oaks’ bowlers had excelled, particularly their spinners. Rhys Oxley took the new ball, and caught-and-bowled Ollie Lunt off the first ball of the match. Oxley’s ten overs yielded just 18 runs.
Five more batters were to fall to spin, Monty McKenzie taking the honours with 4 for 24. Ephraim Royle scored 29 and Jacob Harris 34 as Gosport staged a partial recovery from 1 for 2 to 89 for 6. But a couple of wickets from regular new-ball paceman .