Oldlands 106 ao  lost to Cam110-8 by two wickets
CAM defeated close rivals Oldlands in a low scoring contest to keep alive their pursuit of second place in Division One of the Gloucestershire County League.
With regular captain Pete Hall unwell, Cam stand-in captain Adam Holloway had no hesitation in inserting Oldlands into bat on what looked a soft and difficult wicket to score runs on.
The Oldlands batsmen started slowly with openers Doug Walton and Brad Thomas taking time to find their feet and adjust to the conditions. Cam made the breakthrough in the 9th over with George Dolling finding enough movement to bowl Thomas for 9. Alasdair Longden then removed Steve Heaven after the batsman skied a catch into the legside to leave Oldlands on 24-2.
Change bowlers Ben Holloway and Ryan Western then sought out to further apply the pressure, with both bowlers keeping the runs to a minimum. Holloway in particular was very economical with five maidens in his nine over spell.
Having batted with great care for 15, Nick Grove then offered a simple catch to Western who made no mistake.
The following ball saw first team debutant Tom Hancock take his second catch of the day as he held on well to a firmly hit ball from Jim Wright, whose attempt to fire some impetus into the Oldlands innings backfired immediately.
The introduction of Alex Ballard to the attack brought about the important wicket of opening batsman Doug Walton who had batted astutely for 33 before he was caught well by Western at mid-off.
From there Cam ensured Oldlands stayed firmly on the back foot with the returning Longden picking up the wickets of Brookes and Pennington in quick succession.
Ballard then bowled Woolams for two before some lower order hitting from Pete Waite and Stuart Reeves saw Oldlands past the 100 mark.
That was as good as it got for Oldlands however, with Ballard having Waite stumped for 19 by wicketkeeper Jake Dolbear, before quickly removing the number eleven batsman two balls later to polish off the home side’s innings on 106.
In similar fashion to the first innings, Cam’s reply started slowly as the batsman looked to settle into chasing down the modest target.
It wasn’t plain sailing for Cam however, as they soon lost Stuart Newman to a contentious LBW decision and Mike Glover to a sharp caught and bowled by Waite. Adam Holloway soon followed his teammates back to the pavilion having made 17, leaving Cam in a spot of danger on 32-3.
This flurry of wickets meant Jake Dolbear and Ben Holloway were faced with rebuilding the innings and ensuring Cam grabbed back control of a game that was in danger of slipping away from them.
Both players showed grit and determination in an important partnership of 41, Dolbear batting with sporadic aggression while Holloway opted for a patient and risk-free approach to ensure he led Cam to within sight of victory.
With the total on 72, Dolbear fell for 22 as he attempted to take on the slow bowling of Reeves but only succeeded in picking out the fielder at mid-off.
This brought about a rush of wickets with Deakin, Western and Holloway all departing as Reeves and Pennington gave Oldlands a sniff of an unlikely victory. Holloway’s spirited knock came to an end as he was stumped by Woolams for 26.
With the score now at 89-7 Cam could easily have folded completely, but the remaining batsmen did not lose their heads under pressure with Ballard and Dolling taking singles where possible to edge Cam towards the victory post.
With only five needed, Ballard was well held by Walton who took a sharp catch close in.
Hancock successfully negotiated the remainder of the over before Dolling crashed successive boundaries, to the delight of his teammates, as he ensured Cam reached their target with two wickets remaining.
The win for Cam leaves them in 3rd, hot on the tail of 2nd place, while the result seals Oldlands relegation to Division 2 for next season.