It was a long 2 years of wait, but finally on a gloomy English day the gods looked down and smiled upon the 'Wood, blessing them with their first league win since August 2002. Once again they were treated with a complete lack of respect by the opposition, sent in to bat in the false hope of having them skittled and be back home before Coronation Street.

Early on this seemed like it would be the case, teetering at 14-3 after Downing, Watson and Osman were all sent packing. However a solid partnership of just under 100 by Bone and Wedlake steadied the ship, and set the platform for a very long batting lineup. Unfortunately Bone went in typically unorthodox fashion right before drinks, and his partner perished soon after to continue his run of unconverted 50's. Fortunately some brilliant hitting and running from skipper Hodgkinson and Welsh (the small twin brother of Bone) ensured Luton would have to chase a competitive 188.

A catch was taken 2nd over into the widely renouned bucket hands of Downing and it was game on. Apparently there must be a coaching manual at Luton Library called 'How to play the cut shot to every ball you face' because some of the following strokeplay was some of the more bizarre seen on the Common in recent memory (at least since Martin Russell had batted anyway).

These annoyingly effective batsmen were soon removed, then came the turning point. A ball from Wedlake spat off a length towards throat level, where it seemed to all present that it was then gloved straight in the air to complete a vital wicket. The batsman, who had slapped a quick 60, hung around complaining it struck his forearm but was wisely sent packing by the umpire. The 'Wood then truly believed they could do it, and a late flurry took them so close they could smell it. 2 great catches from the skipper and Osman (who took his one handed when 2 would surely have sufficed) put Luton 9 down and 30 short. 3 boundaries off the 1st three balls of a Wedlake over swung the balance, until a moment that will surely go down in the great moments of cricket history. A ball was hit solidly out to the boundary where Hodgkinson A stood, and as the ball reached him the batsmen took off for a dicey 2nd run. A clean pickup, pinpoint accurate throw and a nerveless take and removal of the bails had the batsman well short, which kicked off massive celebrations in the outfield. The relief was evident, and it was rich reward for a team now playing good cricket within a great team spirit.

Big credit must first go to captain Hodgkinson, who has lifted a sinking ship and pointed it towards survival in Div 1, with his own unique style of overused cliches, lack of bowling changes and big warm fuzzies. Also on the day to the two bowlers who bowled through the 44.4 overs for 5 and 4 wickets respectively, although the century runs against the Kiwis name was not quite the 100 he hoped for! Also a pretty good fielding display, led by great catches to Hodgkinson R, Osman, Botterill, Wedlake & Downing, plus a brilliant ground fielding display by John 'bucket hands Shafe who saved 20 vital runs all on his own.

The long wait only made the taste of victory sweeter, especially for the Kiwi who shook the ever growing monkey off his back and could finally give the finger to all ridiculing emails recieved in 12 months. Finally also a big full credit to Johnny the ginger express, who felt so proud of the effort he more than joined in the festivities later on. Well done John, and great win fellas! Watch this space for more victory reports to come.