Davis expects a response after Dean’s 141-run defeat
Greg Davis is expecting to see an improved showing from his Cookham Dean side this weekend after they slumped to a 141-run defeat against one of the league's promotion favourites, Stoke Green.
Dean have picked up only 15 points from the first couple of weekends, however, this was really the start of the campaign after last weekend's washout cancelled every game in the division.
Dean blooded plenty of young talent last season but endured a challenging - up and down - campaign. Davis will be hoping his side can find more consistency this season, however, the early indications are they might struggle to match the likes of Stoke Green and Boyne Hill for promotion.
At Ricketts Field, Dean elected to field first, but this handed the initiative to their visitors who went on to score 217 all out with Hashim Hussain (34), Rizwan Nadeem (32), and Simranjeet Singh (40) all picking up notable figures.
Davis was happy with their efforts at the changeover, but less than impressed by the hosts' application with the bat. They managed just 76 runs before being skittled, with Jamie Odell (7-23) their tormentor in chief. The captain admitted afterwards their efforts with the bat had been second rate.
Shahzad Asghar, Dhananjai Singh, Kieran Devereux, Davis, William Dempster, and Matt Dempster all departed without registering a run.
They'll face another tough test at Boyne Hill on Saturday.
“I thought we bowled really well, and fielded as a unit really well, but the second half didn’t reflect our ability at all,” said Davis.
“Games like that happen at least once a season but it’s a bit of a shame that it’s happened already.
“It’s worth noting that Jamie Odell did bowl a serious spell. I haven’t seen him bowl that well over all the years that we have played against him. Credit where credit is due.
“We’re stricken by injuries and unavailability with GCSE’s and exams, stuff like that right now. We will be of better strength over the next couple of weeks once people are around a bit more and those early season injuries have subsided.
“We move on next to a Boyne Hill team that look pretty strong this year, but we’ve got plans in place this week to work on a lot of things and I expect to see a much better team performance.”
Davis added: “Before our injuries came through thick and fast, we had an ambition for the title and that still is our aim. In one of our previous title-winning campaigns, we lost the first three games and still went up.
“We’re in a very competitive league. There are some big names, ex pros, ex first class cricketers playing.
“It will be another tough game against Boyne Hill, but we want to pick up our first win of the campaign.
“We’ve also got the Village Cup this weekend and we often do fairly well in that. It’s been a Berkshire winner for the last five or six years.”
Dean also travel to Wraysbury for round three of the Voneus Village Cup this Sunday (May 21).