Thrilling chase leaves Village top of the pile

A glorious day and a splendid venue were the backdrops to this nail biter of a match against top of the table rivals Northwood CC. The pitch was in near perfect condition for batting and the margin for error for bowlers was exceptionally small with any deviation in line or length likely to be severely punished. Add to this a shortish boundary on one side and a lightning quick outfield, the match was always likely to be a high scoring affair. Both Captains were keen to put runs on the board but it was the home side who were able to do so.

Batsman 1 & 3 for the home side were both back in the pavilion within 10 overs, ruing their missed opportunities after being trapped in front. It was 47-2 at this stage and little did the Village skipper know that these would be the only two bowlers wickets which would be taken in the whole of the host's innings. A 3rd wicket stand of 150 followed, which could and possibly should have been match winning, however, the Village's 'pace off the ball' options did well to keep the run rate in check as the field settings were understandably forced into increasingly defensive positions. Majid Asif 1-35 off 10 overs was probably the pick of the bowlers from either side. David Overton 0-40 in his 10 overs also kept close rein on the run rate. It was this middle overs squeeze and a pretty decent fielding display in the heat, that enabled the Village to keep the Northwood total within manageable proportions.

The large partnership was broken by a sharp bit of fielding from Majid, who ran out Tari for 58. Some late order power hitting followed from the burly No. 5 bat of Northwood but he too was run out, following a mix up with opener Hussey, who by now was closing in on a century. He went on to make 114 not out, carrying his bat throughout the innings, clearly a very creditable feat and score but some might argue a little one paced given the conditions. Nevertheless, 276 is a big score on any track and in any conditions and whilst the chat among the Village boys over tea, was that this was within our grasp, I wonder how many really believed it, given the batting displays so far this season.

An opening stand of 40 between Jay Nandha (44) and Phil Smith (14) set the tone and showed that five or six an over was a pretty comfortable scoring rate. A 2nd wicket partnership of 50 involving Marcus Cara (74) meant that the score moved serenely on to 90-1 in good time. However a mini collapse at this point saw the heart of the top order ripped out and at 93-4 the 276 total looked a long way off. A familiar Village collapse looked on the cards. In fact, quite the reverse happened. Solid middle order partnerships developed. Cara and Felix Charles (53) combined to put on 67 and then Felix with Majid Asif (48) put on another 50 to take the score to 210 for 5, as the visiting Village went back in front as 'favourites'.

The game then see-sawed back and forth until the climax. Every time, the Village looked like getting on top, the Northwood team managed to get a wicket. The attack was not overly penetrating but some reasonable slow bowling and scoreboard pressure began to take their toll. At 222-7 Northwood were back in the box seats but 255-7 looked like a coast for the Village. 255-8 became 261 for 9. 16 runs still needed as committed No.11 Steve Pullen walked to the wicket to join Saahil Mehra. Saahil had a point to prove perhaps after an uncharacteristically poor bowling display at the top of the game. His batting abilities are not in doubt but his shot selection and judgement of a situation have been called into question in the past. On this occasion Saahil did everything right. He waited for balls to be in 'his area'. He trusted his batting partner to block out balls where necessary and he punished some wayward balls through the legside.

A large crowd had gathered by now, as the Northwood 2s and 3s filtered back to the home ground and the slow over rate, drink breaks and regular wickets all contributed to a late finish in the sunset. The 16 runs needed were required at around a run a ball. Slowly this ticked down to 8 needed from 9 balls. A fine four by Saahil was struck, to bring the equation to 4 runs from 7 balls. Nerves were jangling but not for much longer. A super shot though mid-wicket off the last balls of the penultimate over, saw the ball fly to the fence and the Village side were jubilant. An excellent win, which should provide real confidence to the previously shaky batting line up. The Village stay top and welcome struggling Old Finchleians to Burtonhole Lane next week, in what some are calling the Searock Derby. Onward and upward!