The 1XI arrived at Shrewton early excited about the season ahead! After a good warmup they were put into bat by the opposition. Despite the hot conditions and a benign pitch Jonathan Hawk and Dylan Kettle plugged away early on, both bowling tightly bringing some loose shots from the batsman, apart from a poor drop by the skipper the first 15 overs were quiet with Shrewton 59-0 at drinks. The O’s thought nonetheless that they were up at this point due to the flat pitch and the phenomenally small boundaries.

After the break Tom Wiltshire made the important breakthrough leaving Shrewton 67-1 and their talisman back in the hutch. From there the O’s turned the screw, with quick short spells from Dylan Kettle resulting in figures of 3-24 and some tight bowling from Tom Wiltshire (2-44) and Scott Mcgaughrin (2-28) left the home side in a tough spot at 108-5. Up stepped the Vice Captain Ed Ikin to ensure that the O’s finished the innings well on top, returning remarkable figures of 3-4. This left Shrewton 124 all out, bonus point secured!
In response the O’s got off to a great start with league debutant and overseas Gareth Sharp and Kyran Mun navigating the early overs leaving the O’s 41 without loss after 8 overs. Some phenomenal keeping from the Shrewton keeper kept them in the game with 2 of the fastest stumpings ever seen. Nonetheless the O’s saw themselves home 3 down, Kyran Munt with an important 30 and Ed Ikin (39*) and Liam Doran (18*) seeing the side home.
An impressive start ahead of a very exciting season for the club!