First game of the season against Hampton Hill at home and it is fair to say the team were very keen to get the season going.. A fine sunny day with some recent dry weather meant we had a lovely fresh pitch to play on with Wonersh Sunday XI batting first. Skipper Rupert Miller sent in Nick Woodroof and Brendan Mare in to open the batting, not quite sure what to expect from the competition bowling attack. The previous season's fixture saw a Wonersh win and we were sure Hampton Hill were looking not to repeat that again.

Nick faced the first bowler who brought some accurate paced deliveries which proved difficult to play and sadly, Nick was cleanly bowled in the first over. This brought last season's top scoring batsman to the crease, skipper Rupert Miller, to partner with Brendan at the crease. The Hampton Hill opening bowlers continued with their pace attack, which both batsman weathered well and started to play themselves in really well. Both Brendan and Rupert played some terrific strokes which would have resulted in an abundance of boundaries were it not for a very slow outfield. Hampton Hill introduced their first bowling chance in the 9th over with another zippy pace attack bowler. Brendan took to him really well and played some fantastic shots which clearly irritated the new bowler. This continued for a short time, but in the 13th over a sneaky slower delivery outsmarted Brendan with a soft hit resulting in an easy caught in the field. With Brendan dismissed with a decent 20 and Wonersh on 38-2, it was up to Rupert and new batsman Alex Webb to take the team forward.

Rupert began to get into a lovely batting rhythm playing some great strokes against a tenacious bowling attack. Unfortunately, new batsman Alex, was clean bowled and dismissed for 1 leaving WCC at 45-3. This brought the clubs latest debutant Jon Neal to the crease and he played a great part in supporting a continued in form Rupert to build a strong Wonersh total. Both batsman played solidly, with Rupert in particular really beginning to go after the bowling attack and ensuring Wonersh reached 102 before Jon was caught in the field by a tricky slower delivery by the Hampton Hill bowler for 11 runs. The same Hampton Hill bowler (Longley) delivered another tidy delivery to dismiss skipper Rupert for a well-made 69 runs, leaving batsman Theo Holohan alone at the crease for 106-5. This brought Tom Stevens (who score a century for his Wonersh debut against Hampton Hill in the same fixture last season) to the middle to join Theo and both were ready to take the teams total forward.

The Hampton Hill maestro (Longley) was not yet finished and dismissed Theo a few balls later with another outfield catch, leaving Wonersh on a precarious 110-6. Davey Slater came onto bat and was a great support for Tom who had clearly come on to impress, playing some beautiful aggressive strokes and taking the bowling attack apart. Davey was then dismissed by a lovely spinning delivery, leaving Wonersh on 137-7. Archie Lodge came on and the onslaught continued, with the pace of the game ramping up. So much so, that Archie came back for a second run which resulted in a brilliant dive to the stumps, which sadly fell just short and a runout to the Hampton Hill bowler, leaving the score at 160-8. No more wickets fell and at the end of the 35 overs, Wonersh had made a well earned and hopefully defendable total of 166 for 8.

The team then had its first tea for a few years, which was top class and a big thank you to Tom and the support he received from his family in preparing it.

Hampton Hill came onto to bat and Wonersh set to work immediately with a great pace opening pairing of Isaac Holohan and James Whitworth. Both bowlers kept the opening batsman on their toes with runs coming in short supply. So much so, that the frustrated pair tried to taske a single from a shot into the outfield... but they had taken on the wrong man! Alex Webb, with quick pickup and a world class throw, that was a direct hit ran the the first batsman out with HH on just 7. The runs (very) slowly started to come with the new batting partnership, starting to Hampton Hill to grow in confidence.

The opening bowlers finished their spells with Isaac Holohan ending with a very respectable 14-0 from 5 overs and James Whitworth also ending with a fantastic 14-0 after 7 overs. New bowlers Theo Holohan and Brendan Mare took over the attack and immediately made an impact, with Brendan’s first ball making the batsman play a big shot straight into the safe hands of Alex Webb in the outfield for the second wicket, leaving Hampton Hill on 35-2.

This brought on the Hampton Hill big hitter batsman (Shaan Sohail), who immediately went to work playing some aggressive strokes and hitting a few boundaries to bump up the oppositions score. This brought some determined bowling by Theo, who delivered a brilliant direct ball which decimated the middle stump and eliminated the Hampton Hill big hitter, leaving them on 63-3. The fourth wicket and final opening batsman fell to another stunning runout, this time by Theo leaving Hampton Hill on 87-4 with 10 overs to spare. The game was poised for a tight finish!

Wonersh struck again, this time with a fabulous delivery from Davey Slater who drew the batsman into a big shot, which landed up in the safe hands of Nick Woodroof in the deep. With the score now at 90-5, things were now looking promising for a first Wonersh win to start off the new season. Archie Lodge then came storming in with a brilliant attacking delivery, making the batsman play a cracking shot which made its way back directly to Archie, who took a brilliant catch and leaving Hampton Hill on 113-6. The final few overs saw Wonersh skipper Rupert Miller come on with his spin attack and it paid off with a great catch in the covers from Brendan Mare leaving the opposition on 116-7 with 2 overs to go. The final over was bowled by another tricky spinner, Nick Woodroof who closed off the innings with a tight over leaving after 35 overs.

A great win and a brilliant start to the season for Wonersh – ride the wave!