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| Darryl Brown made a well-constructed 89 |
With the Brakspear Ground bathed in sunshine and temperatures hitting 32°C on the hottest day of the year so far, Horspath skipper Will Eason chose to make first use of a flat batting pitch after winning the toss.
However, Horspath's innings got off to a rocky start with Tom Coleman being bowled by Tom Nugent without scoring with just five on the board. Robbie Eason, fresh from his century for the MCC against Reading Blue Coat School the previous day, had made seven when he got a bottom edge as he attempted to leave a Nugent delivery, and presented Henley captain Michael Roberts with a catch in the slips to make it 28-2.
But O'Connor and Brown then set about repairing the damage, showing good application against an accurate Henley attack. They took Horspath to lunch at 101-2, with O'Connor unbeaten on 49 and Brown 35 not out.
O'Connor completed a patient half-century after the resumption, and the Horspath opener had moved on to 58 from 152 balls with six fours when he was caught and bowled by Matt Rowe after putting on 90 with Brown for the third wicket.
Brown passed fifty for the third time this season as he attempted to increase the tempo with Stephen Green. They added 74 for the fourth wicket, before Horspath's overseas star fell to a catch at long off by Nugent off Euan Woods for a well-constructed 89. His runs came from 134 deliveries and included ten fours and a six.
With the overs fast running out, Green and Kyle Hopper took Horspath past 200 before the former was caught at deep square leg by Charles Homewood off Tom Scriven for 41 off the penultimate ball of the innings. Hopper finished unbeaten on 18 from 17 balls as Horspath closed on 227-5, while Nugent picked up 2-14 for Henley with off-spinner Woods returning figures of 1-63 from 19 overs.
On such a benign pitch, Horspath's total looked below-par, but they enjoyed an early boost when Will Eason accepted a low return catch from Roberts when the Henley skipper had made eight with just 17 on the board. However, the visitors' joy proved short-lived as Rowe and Scriven were untroubled in taking the reigning champions to tea at 83-1.
Horspath needed a swift breakthrough after the interval, and they got it with Henley adding just four more runs when Scriven was adjudged lbw to Belcher for 33. But that was to prove Horspath's last success as Rowe and Richard Morris proceeded to share an unbroken stand of 144 for the third wicket to steer Henley to victory.
Rowe went to fifty with a powerful straight drive for four off Brown, while Morris completed his half-century with a lofted four to the extra cover boundary off Belcher before hitting the next ball for a six over long on. While Belcher varied his flight nicely as he toiled away from the road end, Will Eason rang the changes at the other end, but it was all to no avail and Rowe, who made 123 at Horspath last season, notched up another ton for Henley with a single to deep extra cover off Hopper.
It was left to Morris to seal Henley's victory with a four to the mid-wicket boundary as the hosts coasted home at 231-2 with 3.1 overs to spare. Rowe was unbeaten on 103 from 171 balls, which included 13 fours, while Morris hit seven boundaries and a six in his 71 not out off 73 deliveries. Belcher finished with 1-86 off 21 overs, while Will Eason picked up 1-21 from his opening four-over spell.
Despite the defeat, Horspath remain in eighth place in the table.
Posted by: Russ