Voneus Village Cup 2022 round-up: Round Two

Catch up with the best of the action from round two of the 2022 Voneus Village Cup

^{Photo: Philip Wilcox}

Calmore comfortably beat Sarisbury Athletic to continue march to Lord’s

Defending champions Calmore Sports Club breezed through the Hampshire group semi-finals with a routine 83-run win over familiar foes Sarisbury Athletic in round two of the Voneus Village Cup.

The two sides met in round three last year, with Calmore completing a seven-wicket win thanks to three-fors from Mark Lavelle, Ben Perry and James Manning and an unbeaten half-century from Matt Taylor.

And it was the latter two players, alongside Lord’s hero Ben Johns, who were the stars once again 12 months later. Taylor top-scored for his side with 70 (77) while Johns scored his fifth consecutive Village Cup half-century. Manning, meanwhile, blasted 42 runs from 25 balls before picking up three wickets.

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Dumbleton get revenge on Astwood Bank in clash of Worcestershire titans

Astwood Bank’s search for a maiden Village Cup title will have to wait until 2023 after the Worcestershire side – two-time finalists (1972, 2003), 2019 semi-finalists and serial regional champions – were eliminated by Dumbleton in round two.

For Dumbleton, their six-wicket win was the perfect revenge after being knocked out by Bank in last year’s regional final and they must surely now be the favourites to reach the last 32.

Philip Wilcox reports from Astwood Bank CC.

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Debutants Ainsdale edge Sedgwick to advance to round three

Debutants Ainsdale got their Village Cup career off to a winning start with a thrilling two-run victory over Sedgwick in South Lancashire.

Batting first, captain Andrew Barlow, batting at No.6, top-scored for his side with 28 while Daniel Fitzpatrick (23) and Owen Harrison (21) were the only other players to pass 20 for Ainsdale. However, they benefitted from 35 extras, including 21 wides, to close on 159 off 37 overs.

In reply, Sedgwick had their own struggles with the bat, with Taylor Finch top-scoring among the top-five, with just 16 runs.

No.6 Chris Norman, however, had other ideas, scoring 40 runs to set up a nerve-wracking finish. However, with lower order runs in short supply and few wickets in hand, Sedgwick ultimately fell agonisingly short of securing a place in round three, all out for 157 with two balls remaining.

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Teen batter Alfie Agar blasts Cookham Dean into round three

Teenage batter Alfie Agar stole the show as Cookham Dean defeated Binfield by six wickets to advance to round three of the Village Cup.

The 14-year-old scored 74 not out from 36 balls to help his side chase down 200 with 43 balls to spare.

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Three-time champions Reed eliminated by Wheathampstead

Wheathampstead pulled off one of the upsets of the 2022 Village Cup to date after hanging on to defeat three-time champions Reed by two runs.

Reed were one of the dominant sides of the 2010s, lifting the trophy in 2012, 2017 and 2019, have now fallen in round two or earlier three years in a row.

Wheathampstead No.3 Sam Ledger was the star performer with the bat, scoring 53 runs from 73 balls to help his side to 185 for 9, while Ross Martin (3 for 36), George Jarvis (1 for 15) and David Dabare (1 for 22) impressed with the ball. Skipper Zeeshan Sialvi completed the crucial runout off the penultimate delivery.

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Theakston Player of the Round: Marcus Packer (Woolpit)

In a round which featured 14 centuries, 17 five-wicket hauls (including 7 for 21 from Hordon on the Hill’s Paul Bennett), and 14-year-old Alfie Agar producing one of the innings of the tournament to blast Cookham Dean to victory, selecting the Theakston Player of the Round was especially tricky.

However, for his all-round performance during a one-wicket thriller in Essex & Suffolk, Marcus Packer takes the gong for round two of the Village Cup.

The Woolpit opening bowler took 5 for 13 with the ball, including four wickets in the first 10 overs to reduce Stock to 17 for 4, before scoring 24 not out off 22 to steer his side to a one-wicket win.

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Elsewhere…

2021 finalists Alvanley advanced to round three without hitting a ball after Irby conceded the match while several other big names, including Folkton & Flixton, Houghton Main, Goatacre and Stoke Green, all made it through unscathed.

In Oxfordshire, Oxford Downs defeated Tiddington by three wickets off the final ball of the match while Bledlow Village (Buckinghamshire) edged Westbury by one wicket in the final over. In Derbyshire, meanwhile, South Wingfield made hard work of their chase against Shipley Hall, successfully chasing down 95 in 22 overs but only having two wickets in hand when they crossed the line.

Following Reed’s elimination in Beds & Herts, 2020 finalists Redbourn are the favourites to reach the last 32 and demonstrated their credentials against Langleybury, recording a 234-run win thanks to a century from Ed Hales.

Milford Hall’s James Davis posted the highest individual score of the round, finishing unbeaten on 157 against Hodnet & Peplow while Paul Bennett’s 7 for 21 for Horndon on the Hill against Chappel & Wakes Colne was the best bowling performance of the round. Bennett is unsurprisingly top of the wicket-taking charts, with 11, while Bramshaw’s Tom Arnold leads the golden bat standings, with 193 runs.

Keep up to date with the Voneus Village Cup by following the competition on Twitter (@TheCricketerNVC) and Instagram (@villagecup)