The turning of the tide?

The first round of games in an unfamiliar and unsuccessful first half of the season, came to a conclusion with the visit of Chipperfield Clarendon CC. The visitors were invited to bat first having lost the toss. The wicket, as usual was still drying from yet more overnight rain. Majid Asif (1-58) shared the new ball with David Overton (4-35) and both bowlers made scoring difficult. Pressure eventually told and the young left hand opening batsman nicked one behind. At which point the run rate began to climb dramatically, as Andrew Oliver batting at No.3 immediately took toll on anything on a length or fuller, dispatching Majid into the trees and cow field on several occasions. Young Oliver (62) was swinging at most balls in his half and rode his luck on a few occasions, on his way to a swift half century.

At the other end, wickets began to tumble and once the stubborn opener, Cameron Samson, was dismissed, No's 4 & 5 both departed without scoring. Dave Overton, by now in his second spell and bowling his off spinners, spun one through the gate of the attacking No.3 and all of a sudden, an innings of much promise was beginning to disintegrate, teetering at 110-6. There followed a period of slow but steady re-building from the Chipperfield lower middle order and a stand of 40 got the innings back on track. However, Naz Asif's figures of 1-10 in 8 overs and Andy Potter's analysis of 1-17 in 9 overs, shows the stranglehold the Village attack had on the innings once the attacking No.3 departed. The fragility of the tail was clearly a concern for the visitors, as the necessary acceleration never materialised and too many overs were used up. The Chipperfield innings petered out to 167 all out, with a flurry of late wickets, and Joe Sheridan (3-25) was the main beneficiary.

The Village reply started in typically bright and breezy fashion with the usual positive intent from Naz Asif (37) and cultured shot making from Daniel Potter (49). It was a stop start affair however, as the innings was twice interrupted with brief rain showers, which meant that the 47 overs available to chase the target was reduced, first to 43 overs and then to 41 overs. Curiously, league rules dictate that the target to be chased remains the same, irrespective of any 2nd innings overs lost.

The opening stand of 56 settled most nerves and put the Village well ahead of the rate, irrespective of any overs lost. Momentum was carried forward by Marcus Cara (14) and Jay Nandha (33) who both scored freely before getting out in cheap fashion. The Village have struggled with off spin and slow bowling in general, on the turgid paced, sticky wickets encountered this season and this particular game was no exception. The only bowler to really trouble the home side was the wily, experienced off spinner. His return of 4-25 in 12.3 overs, once again exposed the weak spot in the somewhat frail Village batting line up right now. Despite the relative collapse from 125-2 to 157-6, the result was never really in doubt. The modest total was overhauled in 38.3 overs with 4 wickets to spare. Phil Smith and Joe Sheridan the unbeaten batsman at the end.

A straightforward victory but not an altogether convincing one. A more confident Village side from past season's would have made less heavy weather of the chase. Nevertheless a corner has been turned with a Win, after failing to record a league victory in the whole of June. If lingering aspirations of a promotion push remain, the Village 1st XI will have to go on another long run of victories, similar to previous years but will need to play a lot lot better than they have in recent weeks, in order to do so.