Under-par batting performance costs the 2s

On a sweltering day in north west London the Village 2s hosted West Herts' 3rd XI at Burtonhole Lane. Having won the toss, the 2s skipper elected to bat to utilise what looked like a good Village wicket and put the oppo in the field in the heat.

Naz and James opened the batting for the Village and Naz (9) quickly hit two fours on his way to 9 before being bowled by their off-spinning opening bowler in the second over. James and Pete steadied the ship for five overs, putting on a partnership of 17 before James (5) was out for LBW in the seventh over. Pete was looking good and had quickly reached 22 in the tenth over when Karan (0) was caught off a leading edge for a duck. In came Kudzai at 5, and along with Pete, looked to consolidate. The pair put on 26 runs in eight overs before Pete (31) nicked to slip off the first ball of their leg spinner - the Village now 63-4. Mohamed (5) came in and crashed a quick four before going for another big shot and being caught off the bowling of their leggy that was turning the ball up the hill impressively.

By this point, West Herts had pushed their field back to try and get the new batsmen Ali on strike, but Ali was strong in his defence. Skipper Kudzai was in at the other end and was finding the boundary and picking off singles where available. Kudzai (37) added 23 in six overs, in partnership with Ali, including thee consecutive boundaries before a lapse of concentration saw him hit a lazy flick off his legs straight to square leg. The Village were now 95-6 off 25 on a 200+ pitch. Ali and Shiban (25) quickly put on a 24-run partnership, with Shiban dominantly hitting the ball, including a huge six into the cow field. However, after Ali (5) fell in the 31st over, the final three wickets fell for just 11 runs to leave the Village all out for 130 - criminally not batting their full 40 overs.

With a below-par total on the board, the Village needed to keep it tight and pick up regular wickets. Opening bowlers Godders (6-1-19-1) and Shiban (5-0-17-0) got the village off to a tight start. Their opening bat was looking comfortable however and picking up consistent runs. An opening stand of 27 was broken up by Godders in the ninth over. However it would take until the fifteenth for the next, when Naz (6-1-37-4) had their number 3 caught behind by Karan. Mo (8-1-23-1) would then take the vital wicket of their opener for 58, with a catch by Shiban at square leg. West Herts were 75-3 at this point and looking food for victory. However, the Village would pick up the next four wickets for no runs including a fantastic run out by Shiban and Karan, and three wickets to Naz - including a heroic catch by Shiban diving and catching one-handed to his right. This left West Herts 80-7 and the Village could sense the balance shifting in their favour. However, a partnership of 51 by their number 7 and 9 guided West Herts to victory.

Despite the loss, it was a good game of cricket played in the right spirit on a lovely summers day. A better batting performance could have led the Village to victory.