Amersham continued their recent excellent form with victory over relegation threatened High Wycombe II. Following the blueprint of recent victories, Amersham elected to bat first upon winning the toss, but were initially restricted by fine seam bowling from Wycombe captain Woodruffe on a wicket affording lavish lateral movement to the new ball. A defiant 80-run partnership between Chris Fleming (43) and Luke Jackson (62) formed the backbone of the Amersham innings; both batsmen adapting their usual free-scoring methods to the demanding conditions. Chris Sowden (39 not out) then shepherded Amersham to a competitive total of 192-7 with a responsible innings. Knowing that Wycombe had to win to keep their chances of avoiding relegation alive, Amersham opened with spinners Nick Moore and David Atkinson in an effort to restrict the early scoring. This tactic succeeded dramatically, as only opener Robbie Jones was able to accumulate freely against the persistent Amersham bowling and committed fielding. Once Jones (50) fell to Atkinson - acrobatically caught by Andy Viney on the long-on boundary - Wycombe wickets fell regularly as the required run rate climbed. Moore showed that he left none of his renowned cunning in Canada as he celebrated his return to the first team with a five wicket bag and Atkinson was as miserly as ever with his top-spinners. Both were aided by the cool nerves of the Amersham fielders under a succession of high catches. With the last wicket pair defending for the draw, Amersham took the new ball and Tom Dixon sealed victory by yorking Woodruffe. |