Decisive Moments

Magic Moments were something that Perry Como sang about, or for the slightly younger, Quality Streets TV AD.

We had some of these today - a Katharine catch that will live forever in our minds.

But I'll talk about decisive moments, there were a few.

3 balls into the match, the opening pair for Rothley tried stealing a single, not to Jodie they don't - a direct throw and we had our first wicket of the season.

The 2nd batting pair were starting to tally up some singles but Linda and Jo took 2 wickets in three balls across a couple of overs to wrestle that momentum back in our favour.

The final wicket we took was simply breath taking - Anna bowled, they batter had an almighty swing, it went sailing into the off side, Katharine had plenty to do - firstly the sun, shining brightly in the sky, secondly, she was having move, quickly, sideways, whilst still tracking the ball, and thirdly, she actually had to catch the thing. That she did and one of the best catches in the history of WSB was snaffled. The umpire may have forgotten impartiality at that point and started to celebrate.

Every bowler contributed - how Rachel didn't get a wicket is beyond me - we must invest in some wider stumps as she beat the batter several times without the stumps being hit - her 4 overs went for 9 runs. Jo was equally as restrictive - her four overs went for 7, including 20 dot balls. TWENTY - some of us don't manage that in a season!

Rothley set 255 for victory.

A shakier start to the reply than some would have wanted, Lucy showing her ability to hit the ball a fraction of a second before it hits the stumps on the leg side having mixed success. Despite losing a couple of wickets, both Lucy and Anna ran well between the wickets, were decisive and moved us forward.

The same trend continue with Jo and Sarah, solid and kept things moving forward - we were on 211 when they arrived, 232 when they departed.

Jodie and Linda did exactly what Jodie and Linda do - ran well between the wickets, kept rotating that strike and put fielders onto the back foot. A further 15 runs were added, and this was with a couple of wickets falling. Special mention for Jodie's "first four in professional cricket".

This meant Rachel and Katharine had to find 8 runs in their four overs. Again rotation was the name of the game as we crept ahead in the final over, all we had to do was be sensible - first ball Rachel powers for four, second ball a wicket falls and that puts us just 1 runs ahead, enter Katharine and her ability to manage the situation, a wide and then 4 of the best forward defensive shots we've seen and Fleckney start the 2026 season with a win.

It's a victory that puts us top of the table,,,, okay, it's because it's the only match loaded on play, BUT it's still a true statement.