Defeat suffered in 3rd round of Chess Valley league games

An away game at the impressive Watford Town venue on a glorious sunny day.

Despite what the WTCC skipper claimed, the home side had 1/2 a team of 1st XI players from Div 2 of the Herts league. The 8 division difference between the respective 1st XIs was apparent early on as the hosts Tanzanian international opening bowler ripped the heart out of the Village batting order.

10 for 4 became 37 for 6 and the game was heading for an early finish. However, skipper David Overton batted very well before being last man out for 59 in the 45th and final over. A creditable gritty knock from Hinal Gajjar and an excellent obdurate double figure score from George Downes helped extend the innings way beyond the home side's expectations. 132 all out (with only 10 men!!) was the end result.

The home side all came out with attacking intent but wickets fell regularly to give the Village the sniff of a very unlikely victory. At 74 for 5 it looked like game on but another Tanzanian international and the old head in the WTCC line up saw the hosts home comfortably enough in the end, overhauling the total in the 22nd over with 6 wickets down.

There were a couple of notable catches. Lee Crocker took a skier and Chalky Cara took an unbelievable running catch at mid wicket. Dave Overton bowled well, finding plenty of bounce and troubling some decent batsmen. George Downes also bowled well and picked up a couple of wickets towards the death.