Village Cup

Upwood arrived at the ground safely after a number of wrong turns and via various routes. Stand in skipper Tom lost the toss and Upwood were put into the field. Sweepers went out to the off and leg boundaries straight away and the off side sweeper were kept busy restricting shots square of the wicket down to a single. During their 18 overs James (super sub) and Nick kept the Fordham openers on a fairly tight leash, conceding only 49 runs in total. There were a few wides but no no balls!

Second changes Neil and Michael also started well enough keeping the score just below 4 an over. Michael was a little unlucky to have a number of skied hits falling between fielders. Squidgey Tuffin nearly pulling off the catch of the month at cow corner but just failed to hang on.

Neil kept plunging away and bowling fullish and straight managed to pick up 5 wickets for 30, helped in part by a cool catch in the deep by Michael. Fordham managed to post a reasonable score that the Upwood players felt that they had more than an even chance of reaching.

Unfortunately, things did not go to plan and wickets regularly fell as the run rate slowly crept up. It did not help that the Fordham fielders seemed to be in the right place and many a middled shot went straight to a fielder. Was this poor shot placement, good field placing, tight bowling or just bad luck for Upwood? – I suspect a mixture of all four.

Shipton-under-Wychwood, twice winners of the npower Village Knockout, crashed out to local rivals Oxford Downs in the second round of the competition on Sunday.

The game had been switched to Oxford Downs’ Standlake ground as Shipton’s ground was waterlogged.

Shipton chose to field on a soft damp pitch, but Downs put on a rapid 49 for the first wicket before Wes Bartlett was caught behind off Chris Panter for 41.

Left-arm spinner Shaun Miler, turning the ball sharply, commanded respect and picked up three wickets but when Mark Wingfield-Digby (29) joined Charlie Sutton (56 not out) in a brisk stand of 54, marked by some big hitting and sharp singles, Downs were able to reach 173 for 8, a competitive score on a difficult pitch.

Linton Park were soon regretting choosing to bat when they lost a wicket second ball. By the 28th over Linton had reached 119 for 3 and the game was evenly poised. But Paul Gibson and Craig Sands then went run crazy, hitting numerous boundaries as the Eynsford bowlers were put to the sword. Sands was dismissed for a fine 82 in the 36th over with the score on 226, while Gibson made a superb 125, whichc ontained nine sixes. Their fourth-wicket partnership of 176 boosted Linton to 267 for 6, a remarkable 148 runs coming in the last 12 overs.

Eynsford's run-chase started positively, reaching 26 for 0 off 5 overs until Gary Atkins - who had just hit three boundaries in one over - was the victim of a poor lbw decision. Ashdown soon followed and when Ian Playfoot was dismissed cheaply Ford looked out of the game at 37 for 3. With Jamie Wise still at the crease, partnered by Syers, Eynsford had a slim chance but when Wise was dismissed for 41 Eynsford looked to have no chance as they slipped to 103 for 6 in the 21st over. The game looked over.

But Dan Wise and Syers put on 84 runs for the eighth wicket, with Syers' fifty coming up from only 18 balls. But when Wise fell in the deep for 30, Ford still needed 60 off eight overs with only two wickets left and nine men on the boundary. But Syers strode on, hitting boundary after boundary. His hundred came off only 48 balls and when Ford needed only 23 off three overs they became favourites for the first time in the match. And still his attack continued. With only six needed and nine balls left he finished matters in style with another maximum, leaving Ford delirious and Linton Park shell shocked.

We are pleased to report that we have had overwhelming interest in the NVC this year, due to the healthy interest in grassroots cricket coverage by Sky and the support we have received from npower. Fifty new clubs have joined this year - with 428 clubs confirming that they will be taking part in this year’s competition. From April, you will have the chance to share with everyone any amusing incidents, interesting match reports, partnerships and anything you found exciting during your matches. You will be able to heap praise on your team or celebrate individual performances and share photos of the game.

The most interesting, informative and entertaining match report (as judged by us here at Wisden) will win a box set of ‘The English Six of the Best’ DVDs from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, highlighting the most enjoyable cricket moments from those decades.

Just click on ‘comments’ below to add your report and email nvc@wisdengroup.com with any photos you would like to appear on the blog.

We at Wisden wish all the teams good luck and are looking forward to the first match which will take place on the 23rd of April 2006.