Leighton's opportunity to take over top spot goes begging

Leighton Buzzard missed out on their chance to close the gap to the top of Cherwell Division 2 by losing to Buckingham 2nds on Saturday, who took over at the top of the table.
Dan ScottDan Scott
Dan Scott

With leaders Bledlow going down by 40 runs to bottom side Oxford and Bletchingdon Nondescripts, the door was open for either Buckingham or Leighton to take over at the top, but it would be the home side who would take advantage.

Stand-in Town captain Dan Scott lost the toss and we re put in to bat, but they were soon in trouble as both openers fell cheaply with just seven runs on the board.

This brought Tom Scott and Mark Burfoot to the crease and together the pair set about repairing the damage.

The pair put on 63 before Burfoot was unfortunate to be bowled for 23.

Captain Dan Scott then came to the wicket to join his brother and the pair were soon into their stride as they began to take the attack to the Buckingham spinners increasing the scoring rate.

It wasn’t long until Tom brought up his 50 it was a fantastic effort in his first game of the season.

Dan Scott was also batting with authority and was looking set for a 50 of his own until he picked out the boundary fielder to be caught for 45.

This sparked a mini collapse as Tom Scott was dismissed soon after for 65 and all other batsmen found it difficult to hit the boundaries required in the last 10 overs.

Only Dave Roberts (20) showed any sort of form as Town ended their innings on slightly under par 192.

Buckingham’s reply began well, as the opening batsmen put on 30 for the first wicket, until the partnership was ended when Tom Pope ripped O’Dell’s middle stump out of the ground.

Dan Scott, then chipped in with a wicket, in the next over leaving the hosts 31-2.

Town then struggled to find another break though, and were not helped by three dropped catches, as Buckingham batted themselves into a commanding position at 95-2.

It was the introduction of spinner Francis that was the catalyst to Town finding their way back into the game. He bowled with great control and was a constant threat as he worked his way through the middle order with three wickets.

But Town were unable to dismiss opener Brunning (82), who was holding the innings together and pushing his team towards victory.

With the rain now falling, and the score at 171-7 the game was in the balance, but some calm batting from Buckingham was enough to see them over the line in the 46th over, for the loss of seven wickets.

The result means Leighton slipped to fourth in the table, 15 points behind Buckingham, who take over at the top of the table. Next Saturday, Leighton host Great and Little Tew, who sit second from bottom of the table.