Woodbury's first league visit to the west region of the county ended in disappointment, as they lost a close-fought game against Whitchurch Wayfarers by two wickets.
Invited to bat first on Whitchurch's picturesque ground, runs were hard to come by as Woodbury scored only eleven runs in the first ten overs, and it was no surprise that the first wicket fell to a run out as Tim Greenslade and Jeff Cooper tried to up the pace, with Cooper the hapless victim. Greenslade went on top score with 33, but with no partnerships over 30 there was never any momentum to the innings. Adam Olesky scored a quick-fire 21, but the home team's tight fielding and smart catching applied the pressure and Woodbury were bowled out for 119 with seven balls remaining. Shane Daymond took four for 16 and Neil Olivier two for 36.
With the pitch becoming more uneven, Woodbury knew that early wickets would get them in the game, and James Taylor and Neil Richards obliged, reducing Whitchurch to 17 for three. In the only significant partnership of the game, Ewan Smith (29) and Nigel Barriball (39) added 57 for the fourth wicket, chancing their arm with the short boundary and often spooning the ball into space. In a key moment, Barriball was dropped on the boundary by skipper James Kavanagh with the score on 50, having earlier completed the reverse dismissal with a good falling catch. Taylor (three for 39) and Mark Davies (three for 22) took three wickets for seven runs, and with the scores level and tail exposed Woodbury sniffed the unlikeliest of ties. Unfortunately, Taylor overstepped on the front foot and Woodbury were left to rue the missed opportunities as the home team passed the total in 25.5 overs.
Whitchurch Wayfarers 17pts, Woodbury 5pts.