Good game, not such a good result.

A strong batting performance put the Village in a good position, playing away against an under achieving Flamstead side. Dan Potter (80) and Marcus Cara (68) were the mainstays on the way to compiling an imposing 235-5 off 49 overs. A welcome improvement on recent batting performances.This was the point at which the skipper decided the Village had enough to bowl at and made his attacking declaration. This was despite the knowledge that there would be only 10 men on the park, with Phil Smith having pulled a hamstring getting run out taking on a risky run.

The opposition opening stand of 70 set the tone for the innings. Flamstead always seemed to be ahead of the game, with plenty of wickets in hand as they attempted to chase down the total in the 51 overs made available to them. None of the Village bowlers seemed able to get control in the manner required. The score reached 185-4 after 37 overs and the home side were cruising when Majid Asif managed to take two wickets in an over and suddenly the win seemed possible once more.

However it was around this time that the Village were reduced to just 9 fielders, as Saahil Mehra had to leave the field having gone lame. He collided with the sightscreen in a committed attempt to save 4 runs. This made it even more difficult for the Village bowlers to exert pressure and robbed the skipper of a key bowler as well. Luck was not on the Village's side. 185-6 became 218-6 and the game was slipping away when George Leggett, on 1st team debut, chipped in with a couple of wickets. At 218-8 there was a chance of a wonderful victory but it was too little too late. The runs were knocked off with 2 wickets in hand and 2 overs to spare.

18 points was not a bad haul from the day but it felt like a dominant 1st innings performance had not been capitalised upon.