Batting troubles return and cost Village 1s dearly

The Mill Hill Village 1st team relinquished top spot in the division with a very patchy display against friends and local rivals Old Finchleians IIs. In truth all three aspects of the hosts game were slightly below par and in a tight contest, this cost the Village valuable points and momentum. Old Finchleians, fielding 9 members of the Depala family in their ranks, won the toss and elected to bat first. Progress was slow and wickets were prised out in the early exchanges. With the score at 67-4 the Village considered themselves in the box seat. However, the visitors middle order were watchful and selective in their shots and partnerships developed around Nikunj Depala (53).

The Village slow bowlers have been extremely good at bottling up an innings in recent weeks, strangling the run rate and building pressure. On this occasion the odd loose ball and some (over?) attacking fields allowed the Old F's batsmen to capitalise sufficiently, not to feel under too much pressure. 112-5 became 158-7 and the lower order batsmen were also chipping in with valuable contributions. Finchleians had read the manual correctly and were determined and successful in batting out their full 50 over allocation. 201 for 8 at the close of the innings was a solid if not spectacular total to defend.

Marcus Cara ended up with 3 wickets but was quite expensive, giving away 43 runs in his 8 overs. Andy Potter, returning from his Japanese holiday bowled with more control than anyone but without reward. The visitors innings was characterised by some excellent running between the wickets and although Steve Pullen managed to effect one run out late on, the numerous sharp singles taken, allowed the innings to keep momentum in difficult periods and to build the score by 20 or so more runs than may otherwise have been the case. In the end it made all the difference.

The Village lost by 16 runs after being bowled out in under 31 overs. The length of the home side's innings is perhaps the most damning statistic. Run scoring is never a problem and this Village line-up always score at a high tempo. However, occupying the crease for long periods seems to be a real problem. No one appears prepared to stick around and grind out an innings. Marcus Cara top scored with 44 in just a handful of overs and bullied the opening bowler out of the attack before being stumped to the leg spinner early in his spell. Andy Potter looked good for his 31 and Farzan Dulker-Nain also chipped in with a useful 27. But none of them, or any of the other batsman, most of whom got starts, were able to hold up an end and turn their knock into a match winning contribution.

The visitors bowling attack had reasonably good accuracy and variety. Their fielding was pretty ordinary. They did little more than hang in there as the runs were flowing for the Village and at 127-4 and then 156-5 the job was most of the way complete. Old Finchleians knew the match would be over one way or another in under 35 overs, so they did not even need to show their hand with a 5th bowler. The two spinners picked up 7 wickets between them, as the now familiar harikari ritual commenced and the Village middle and lower order began to unravel.

The Village have now lost two games when chasing down sub-par totals that were well within reach and should really be sitting top and unbeaten. The big run chase of the previous week now seems like the anomaly rather than the template.

The 1st team are back on the road next week with a visit to Welwyn Garden City to play their 3rd XI, who are flying high in the division. They will be without 3 or 4 key players and will need to find some application and consistency in the batting department if they are to prosper next Saturday and throughout the season.