The 2011 season 

First up opponents Bradley on 16th April had suffered defections during the close season and were not expected to be as competitive as in 2010.The bowlers proved irresistible with debutant Matt House taking out 3 of the top order for just 13 runs whilst 15 year-old Jack Davison cleaned up with 3 for 5 in Bradley's 81 all out. Ten quality fours crossed the rope and brushed away any cobwebs from the bat of Paul Spragg in a debut 50no and a 9-wicket win. The visit to Shires Lane brought another 3 wickets for Matt, settling nicely to new surroundings; with 3 each for Jack and Steve Filkin. Embsay made 137 but Jack Hainsworth rattled 66no in a 4-wicket success.

The first major test for our new-look line-up was failed miserably. Cullingworth completely dominated our encounter with Gareth Marshall 89 in top form in a 247-6 score. David Robinson showed high class control to return 5-28 as our batting crumpled to 71 all out. Beckfoot isn't the best hunting ground for Oaks and another below-par batting performance brought just 132, hampered by 4-21 from Mick Baines. Matt led a spirited response from the bowlers with his first 5-for with 6-55 only to see tail-ender Colin Dibb see Congs home by 2 wickets.

The season seemed to be an echo of 2010 with 2-0-2 start but there was still 18 matches to go.

The wobbly was still evident with only a 4-wicket Wynn Cup win over Division 3 Skipton CI, thanks to 58 from Drew Duffy. The feel-good returned after a surprisingly easy 9-wicket win at home to Champions Crossflatts, led by 5-24 from Matt and 47 from Spraggy, both of whom were taking to the Cure Hill strip like ducks to water. Across the water at Haworth Mr Hyde re-appeared as the batting again failed in the face of tight bowling from Aussie Reece White 3-2 and 66 all out was a dismal return. Jamie Rowell 50 ensured an unbelievable 10-wicket win for our 118-year rivals.

So 3-0-3 with 16 to go, all was not lost yet.

Matt House 6-29 helped brush aside Cononley by 7-wckets whilst our own Gold Coaster Corey Goostrey added 3-6 to 3-18 from Steve Filkin to dismiss Sandy Lane in the Wynn Cup by 10-wickets. The mini-roll continued with a 6-wicket margin over Ingrow in the 20-20 led by skipper Joel Gallagher with 56 and back-up from Jack Ellis 4-17. A fourth 5-for for Matt House confirmed his classy season alongside 89no from Robert Hopkinson, who shared a 133 stand with Michael (56)  in a clear-cut 132 run win against Cowling. The same two players also led the way against promoted Barrowford, this time by 116 runs. 6-0-3 and 13 to go. A tricky away fixture at the other promotion team Thornton was overcome by 5-wickets after Jack Davison bamboozled their batsmen with 5-38. Mo Adil 43 led his Haworth Road challengers to 153 at Cure Hill that was thankfully restricted by 5-51 from Corey, now getting used to bowling in English conditions. The target was reached thanks to a maiden century from Paul Spragg with 116 in the 3-wicket win.

So the half-way stage was reached with an 8-0-3 record and Oaks still in contention in a strong top four with Culingworth, Haworth Road and Crossflatts.

Michael Scarborough led the dismissal of Bradley by 104 runs with a welcome 82 whilst nephew Jack chipped in 4-46. There was to be two meetings with Embsay in the one week-end and both went to Oaks by 5 wickets. Michael made 77 and Jack grabbed 5-51 for the league points whilst in the Cup a 3rd successive half-century from Michael (57) was backed by 5-38 from Steve Filkin as belief grew that maybe we could snatch the title. A mid-week 20-20 comfortable 8-wicket win over Long Lee was headed by a stunning 64no from a team total 83-2 by Jack Hainsworth.

The following week would certainly test that hypothesis with the trip to Royds View Terrace and the return with Cullingworth. And what a match it turned out to be, one dominated by batsmen. Jack Hainsworth continued his fine form and his 103 was supported by Michael's 53 in a 128-run 3rd wicket stand and a  245-3 score. Not for the first time it was Steve Welch with 95 as the main Cullingworth protagonist in a tense finale which finally ended in a fabulous Tied match on day when most suffered from the poor weather.

The return with Bingley Congs gave Oakworth a real boost particularly in the run-rate stakes as a whapping 303-7 was met by only 81 from the shell-shocked Congs. Paul Spragg scored 80 and Jack Hainsworth 73 and shared a 150-run 2nd wicket record partnership as confidence surged through the team. The match at Champions Crossflatts was to prove significant as Oaks scored just 150 in the face of top bowling from Anwar Saeed 7-48. Paul again top-scored with 57. But what happened next would probably play a major part in the final Championship shake-down. The Crossflatts batsmen looked to be cruising to victory despite a cracking 3-17 from junior Lewis Wrathall. But the seemingly below-strength Oaks bowling line-up defied the odds with an amazing spell from Greig Hudson 3-18 to clean up the tail, the last four batsmen all making ducks. Amir Ayub 84 was a cornerstone for the home side and the match amazingly ended as a Tie, Oaks second in 3 weeks. With six matches left Oaks record stood at 11-2-3 and they were neck and neck with Cullingworth and Haworth Road.

Skipper Joel Gallagher perhaps sensing a first Championship under his leadership led the way with 78 against the potentially dangerous Haworth side who made 165-8, contained by Matt's 4-47 with Damien Rowell making 83. Joel's knock was superbly supported by Paul with another 73 in a 134-run partnership for the 2nd wicket in our 168-3. Jack Hainsworth smashed a rapid-fire 70 in 91-0 as Cononley were crushed by 10 wickets, skittled by Steve Filkin 5-12. But the title chase had a real twist as outgoing Champions Crossflatts turned over Cullingworth to leave Oaks in the driving seat, 4 points clear.

The Wynn Cup Final was arguably a distraction to Oaks title ambitions but I guess no-one could have predicted what happened at Gargrave. Oaks opponents Foulridge were mid-table Division two side and Oaks started as over-whelming favourites. Michael Scarborough returned to bowling action and his 5-18 coupled with 3-19 from Jack Davison looked to have done the job and captured the Cup for Oakworth as Foulridge subsided to just 110 all out. What happened next will go down in the annals of the Craven & District League. The early loss of 2 wickets left Oaks at 29-2 but no-one thought it other than a hiccough along the way to silverware. Kafeel Ishtiaq and stalwart David Spokes each bowled superbly to undermine Oaks batsman. Ishtiaq returned 4-15 and Spokes an incredible match-winning 4-7 as Oaks completely fell apart to 45 all out!

Six days later Oaks put that shock behind them with a 49-run win at home to Cowling. Rob Hopkinson scored a vital 61 and Jack Davison completed the task with 4-36. This consolidated oaks position at the top and with 3 matches to go Oaks stood at 14-2-3 and in command. A real team performance at Barrowford brought home another 3 points after David Flounders 5-21 had Oaks all out for just 128. The Red Rose boys though managed just 81 in reply, Matt House 3-12. Paul Spragg led the batsmen at home to Thornton-in-Craven with 62 despite 5-49 from young James Laycock in our 189 all out. Our bowling hero was Adam Smith with 5-24 in the 92-run win which clinched our first Craven & District League Championship since 2006.

The final match at Haworth Road was a dead rubber and Jack Davison led the batters for a change with 41 in our 169-8; Mohammed Jamil 4-26. Matt House again starred with the ball with 5-33, his fifth 5-for, but couldn't prevent a defeat by 3 wickets. Our season concluded at 16-2-4, just 1 point ahead of Cullingworth with Haworth Road in third place.

Our fifth Craven & District League Championship was amongst the most savoury as we had battled hard in the second half of the season taking 8 wins, 2 ties and the one defeat in that last match dead rubber.

Tallying the season's statistics Paul Spragg emerged top batsman with a magnificent 701. Precocious youngster Jack Hainsworth had 532 with Michael Scarborough still in the mix with 481. Captain Joel racked up 371 and Rob Hopkinson 355. Sadly Drew Duffy' return fell to 190, a real disappointment after such a good 2010. New young contributors were Adam Smith 154, Lewis Wrathall 100, Brannan Lawn 84 and Ben Fothergill 65. So a final team batting out-turn of 3,483 runs for the loss of 140 wickets was gained at a rate of 24.88 per wicket lost; down 3% on 2010. For the bowlers 188 wickets cost 2,889 runs at a hugely improved rate of just 15.37 per wicket. This was a massive 25% improvement on 2010 and clearly the fundamental source of Oakworth's Championship. It led to our most dominant season since 2003. Matt House was the leading bowler with a terrific 53 league wickets at just 10.25 runs apiece, such that he won the League Bowling Prize in his debut season. Opening partner Steve Filkin in only his 2nd Season proved the perfect foil taking 41 at 16.59. The leg-spin at pace from Jack Davison continued to cause problems for batsmen and his 36 wickets at 13.61 gained him the Don Green Memorial Trophy from the CDCL. But there was another unsung hero of the 2011 Championship and that was Warren Knowles whose consistent uncomplicated wicket-keeping took his tally for the year to 32 victims (29 caught, 3 stumped) to shatter the club record set by Tim Walsh at 29 in 2008. This was also good enough to bring the League wicket-Keeping Prize to Oakworth. In support, promoted mid-season, Adam Smith added 20 wickets to his 154 runs and Corey Goostrey chipped in another 11.

On Oakworth's renowned batting strip only Robert Hopkinson, Michael Scarborough (on 199 appearances) and Steve Lilley (1994-99) have career averages over 40 but the class of Paul Spragg served notice that he would join them with a staggering 507 runs at Cure Hill at average 101.40 !!! The 150 run partnership between Paul Spragg and Jack Hainsworth against Bingley Congs shattered a 63 year old record for Oaks in league matches. The Oakworth table at the CDCL dinner was pretty laden with trophies. The two not mentioned above were for Lewis Wrathall as the league's best fielder under the age of 21. But for the first time Oakworth claimed the prestigious Margaret Coe Trophy for the best club [total 1st & 2nd teams points]

Having moved last winter to strengthen both batting and bowling, Oaks will face a different set of challenges in 2012. Firstly they will attempt to retain the Championship, something they have not done since 1915. Secondly with the 2nd Xl promotion to Division Two the club will be looking to effectively field two First Xls and that will require real strength in depth. If anyone can do it..........