Village 2s start the year with a convincing win

On a glorious Saturday afternoon the Village 2s took to the field against Leverstock Green 3s. Debutant captain Kudzai Makopa lost the toss and the Village were sent in to bat on a good wicket. Inthi Mazeez (43) and Lawrence Bird (19) got the village off to a very steady start with a 55-run opening partnership, consistently hitting gaps in the field and keeping the score ticking over. Once their eyes were in, both openers started opening up, with Lawrence hitting a beautiful lofted drive over extra cover. After the first wicket went down, up stepped Pete Jaffe who batted with great fluency all around the wicket, smashing 7 fours and 1 six to reach 47. Inthi continued to play well and also struck 7 fours and 1 six to a well-played 43

Inthi and Naz (6) fell and Pete was joined by Shahme Farook (27) with the Village 87-3. Pete and Shahme batted extremely well together, putting on a 74-run partnership to give the lower order a great platform to attack. Kudzai (9) hit a couple of quick fours before nicking to slip. Shahme quickly fell after, bringing together the partnership of David Flavell (12*) and Mohamed Salahudeen (26*) who put some quick runs on the board. Mo was striking the ball cleanly, taking a nippy left-arm seamer for 21 in an over, utilising the short legside boundary. The Village finished the first innings with an imposing score of 221/6, on a wicket we know can be tricky to bat on.

In the field, the Village got off to a great start, with opening bowlers Ali Javed and Alam Khan hitting their lines straight away. Alam (4-11) bowled a meticulous line and length, consistently probing the batsmen's stumps and outside edge. The Leverstock batsmen struggled to get Alam away for runs and with Ali Javed (3-26) bowling at the other end with his usual high pace and great lines, the Village were quickly on top having reduced the opposition to 15/4. Mo (1-26) got into the action and took a vital wicket of their left-handed no.6 who was timing the ball very well, with a great quick low catch by James O'Sullivan at 45. However, their number 3 was playing well and managing to consistently score runs and their score was edging up. David Flavell (0-23) and Naz Asif (1-37) bowled with great control, consistently beating the bat and tying down the batsmen. This was a vital time of the game and these spells and kept the village as clear favourites for the win. Despite, consistently beating the bat, Naz finally got a wicket in his last over, taking the vital wicket of their number 3 who had looked a real player on his way to hitting 85.

The opening bowlers came back on and, with the help of a great run-out by Alam, took the final four wickets for 30 runs, with Ali drawing a catch at midwicket, bowling their number 9 and Alam trapping their number 11 plum for LBW. Leverstock were bowled out for 179 for a convincing win by 42 runs. It was a fantastic all-round performance, with all players contributing. A great batting performance, backed up by ruthless bowling and not giving away anything in the field with nothing dropped. A special mention to Lawrence for a great performance behind the stumps, taking two catches and limiting byes to just 8 on an up and down wicket.

Despite no promotion this year, it was a great start in the quest to finish top of Division 8B.