Disappointing start for 3s on damp and dreary day

After a rained off Week 1, MHV 3s were the only Village team fortunate enough to play on another showery Saturday across North London and Hertfordshire. The toss proved critical, as it often does on damp wickets, when total setting is very difficult to judge. There were some positives to take from the game and the match developed into an exciting finish but ultimately it an inadequate batting display that led to the defeat. In a match reduced to 40 overs due to a delayed start, the Village were inserted by the home side and found scoring difficult from the outset. Batting only 31.5 of the allotted overs was the key failure of the day and not many games will be won when 20% of the innings goes unused. Trying to accelerate on a wicket that didn't really allow for expansive shot making, caused the downfall of many of the top order, perhaps having a total of something approaching 150 in mind, when 120 would have been plenty. That said, it was an explosive 7th wicket partnership between Sohail, who scored 24 of his 29 runs in sixes and Neeraj (21) that nearly turned the tide in favour of the Village, who had slumped to 47-6 in 22 overs. With the score at 91-6 in the 30th over, a recovery looked well on track. However, a stunning catch at any level, taken one handed running in from the boundary, stemmed the momentum of the innings and in truth this was the crucial match winning moment for Preston 4s.

The bowling display was tidy and well disciplined for the most part. Yohance (3-13), Sohail (1-15) and Shash (1-16) all in their 8 overs, deserve credit. In a remarkable parallel to the Village innings, Preston also slumped to 43-6 in 22 overs. However, they had the benefit of knowing only 98 were needed and a couple of old heads held their nerve and knew that if they batted the full 40 overs, they would get over the line. I Williamson's 44 from No. 6 was the telling innings of the match but the Village visitors dropped him 3 times. A couple of the chances were tough but the 3s only have themselves to blame for not building even more pressure late on, which might have made the difference.

In the end, Preston crawled over the line, hitting the winning runs with just a ball to spare. The Village were left ruing not scoring another 10 or 20 runs and failing to see what Preston's 5th and 6th bowling options even looked like. Nevertheless, it was great to be back playing again and the prospects for the rest of the season remain bright, with lots of potential in the team and some talent yet to come in to the side. Weather permitting, the 3s move on to play Chorleywood IIIs away next Saturday. Chorleywood were one of the stronger sides last season, so it will a stiff test but one the 3s are looking forward to with optimism.