This week the Cooks journeyed to the Dean Oval to take on Rushden Thirds, with two changes from the previous week, Adam Langley returning from holiday and familiar face Dave Patrick making his first start this term . Mark duly lost the toss and the Cooks were predictably invited to bat on a pitch that proved helpful to the bowlers. The Cooks top order struggled from the start and were soon 23 for 4 with all the wickets taken by Rushden’s bowler Lake operating from the Road end of the ground. Tom Robinson joined his skipper and with some enterprising shots they more than doubled the total until Tom fell for 16, soon followed by Will Tipler. Six wickets had now fell all at the Road end and all in clusters of two balls, two wickets, a strange occurrence to say the least.
Any thoughts of a respectable total now appeared to rest with Mark and new batsman Jack Harris. With the pitch still providing much assistance to the bowlers the batsman were content to take runs where they could but confidence soon grew and with the total passing three figures in the 30th over the Cooks pair were now giving the opposition something to think about. With a mixture of aggression and measured running between the wickets, 63 precious runs were added until Mark holed out on the boundary for 32. The responsibility now fell to Jack who did not disappoint, with the help of his last three team mates a precious 39 runs were added until Jack was last man out in the final over for a valuable 62, in only his third game for the seconds. Given the poor start 153 was a total that was a least defendable on a pitch that was keeping all the batters on their toes.
After tea the first ten overs only yielded 12 runs as opening bowlers Tony and Syd made the opposition struggle for runs, with Syd claiming the wicket to fall. Rushden’s second wicket pair appeared to be gaining the upper hand as the scoring rate jumped appreciably. The Cooks needed a break through and the Bird’s did not disappoint, Mark then Tony removing the defiant batsmen. Cogenhoe’s bowlers still had work to do, with Tony out of the attack. Mark now bowled in tandem with Jack, this pair bowled well never allowing the batsman to dictate, ensuring that the pressure on the opposition was rising, together with the scoring rate. Mark finished his spell with four deserved wickets and the finishing line was in site. Syd returned to the attack with the final two wickets, both caught by the agile Jack Quennell, to give the Cooks their third victory of the campaign.
The foundation of this win centred around the captain and Jack Harris, their contribution with both the bat and ball was the difference between the sides, on a pitch which at times played quite a few tricks on both sets of batsmen. Though some catches were spilled, the seconds continue with a great team ethic that on this occasion has helped them through, when the going gets tough.