Yes! Yes! Yes! - The Village bandwagon rolls on...

Bottom of the table Sandridge IIs were the hosts for this weekend's match. A pleasant looking village outside St Albans was matched by the ground, the rest of the facilities and indeed the opposition themselves.

The home side were disappointed to win the toss and after much deliberation decided to bat first. As uaual, facing tight opening spells from Dave Overton and Saahil Mehra, the oppostion top order found runs very hard to come by. However, contrary to the normal pattern, the wickets were also slower to arrive this week. Dave went wicketless and Saahil picked up only 1 victim in their respective first spells. So, it was over to the change bowlers to do most of the damage this week.

Majid was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 5-18 from his 11 overs. Andy Potter, getting a rare bowl in the absence of Cooky, also picked up a middle order wicket. Saahil and Dave came back on at the end to pick up 1 each, so only Marcus Cara was left with zero in the wicket column this week. The 1st XI really need a spin option though, so Marcus' darting off breaks are certainly worth persisting with. If he can cut out his 1 or 2 short balls an over, he may prove to be a useful bowling resource as the pitches dry out and harden.

One of the Sandridge openers proved to be as sticky as the wicket itself. He had only limited shots, scoring almost exclusively through square leg and mid-wicket but he played with patience and skill to bat for more than 40 overs and was easily the highest run scorer in the match, when he was dismissed for 58 as the 8th wicket to fall. It was largely due to his efforts that the Village were kept out in the field for the full 53 overs for the first time this season. By which time Sandridge had amassed 147 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. It was a little strange that the home side's tail chose to block out the last 2 or 3 overs rather than have a last minute dip. On another day, this could have proved costly for them.

147 doesn't sound like a difficult chase but the Village top order found batting tough in the opening overs. It was soon apparant that the value of the score was more like 180 or 190 on a dry wicket. At 8 for 2 with debutant Will Gleeson and Felix Charles back in the hutch cheaply, 147 suddenly looked defendable and the Sandridge boys were buzzing. Will swung wildly at a straight one and Felix Charles was unlucky to be the only LBW given all day by umpire Vince Holohan, despite a lot of other close calls.

Phil Smith and Danny Potter set out to steady the ship. When Danny provided a simple chance to mid off, the score should have been a precarious 20 for 3. But the chance was spilled and with it went Sandridge's last real sniff of victory. The Sandridge openers bowled well, generally very straight with few poor balls to pick off. Smudger and Danny were forced to take on the bowling with shots down the ground and soon had the field spread but runs remained hard to come by. Any cross bat shots or back foot shots were fraught with danger, as the old ball taken by the opposition, frequently kept low or gripped and popped off a length.

No batsman really looked in, until Majid's contribtion towards the end, which was far more fluent than anything that had gone before. With one exception, all the middle order gritted it out well and made useful contributions, Phil Smith (35), Danny Potter (27), Marcus Cara (35 not out) and Majid (36 not out). Marcus getting off the mark with a big six and Majid's flat fizzing six, both over square leg were the most memorable shots of the day.

The pitch claimed a few victims along the way but the one exception to the middle order grit was Mr Hinal Gajjar, who after looking the part early on (as always), decided to hit the ball straight back to the bowler and shout Yes, Yes, Yes! He was out run out at the bowlers end by about 10 yards and the team chuckling had started even before he had left the field.

In the end, Majid and Marcus' 6th wicket partnership, accelerated the scoring to overhaul the 147 run target in the 38th over, to claim another comfortable victory and another 30 points.

Sandridge played much better than their league position suggested they might and competed with the top side in the Division for much of the match. If they play to that level in future weeks, they should climb the league and escape relegation. For the Village it is onwards and upwards. The current points total of 257 is the highest of any team in all 14 divisions in the Herts league and the Village now lie 32 points clear at the top.