Npower Village Knockout Cup - Round 3 Report

On Sunday, Stalbridge played Potterne CC in their 3rd round tie of the 2007 ECB nPower Village Knockout Cup, the game having been rained off the previous weekend.  

The Wiltshire side won the toss and put Stalbridge in to bat on the same track which had produced a low scoring first defeat of the season for Mark Chant's team in their Dorset Division 1 table top clash with Dorchester on Saturday (Stalbridge 109-all out, Dorchester 110-5).  

This time however, the Stalbridge batsmen started scoring well from an early stage, despite the loss of skipper Chant cheaply. Talented fifteen year old opening batsman Mike Burfitt was timing the ball beautifully, finding the boundaries easily and looking set for his first big score in the Stalbridge 1st XI, before misjudging a full toss on 18.

Nonetheless, elder brother Rob Burfitt and James 'Scooby' MacPherson soon got going with some excellent attacking batting, putting on a stand of 129 before MacPherson was caught evading a jug on 49, with the score at 169 for 3.   Soon after, Rob Burfitt was bowled for 95, finishing his second fine innings in the competition only a few tantalising runs short of his maiden century.

In the final few overs, the remaining Stalbridge batsmen looked to secure a big total for their side, but with a constant flow of wickets as they attempted to maintain a high run rate, the side were all out for 227 in the final over - a good total in 40 overs but perhaps lower than might have been hoped for after the efforts of Burfitt and MacPherson.  

In response, Potterne were soon on the back foot, as Stalbridge pace bowler Streve 'Big Bird' Forshaw knocked over one of the opening batsmen's stumps in his first over. With fine bowling support from his opening partner Rich 'the growler' Gawler, the Potterne run rate was restricted, with the required total always looking a long way off.

Despite a spirited innings of 66 from Smith, the Stalbridge attack maintained their discipline, backed up by some tidy fielding and good catching. With the two left arm spinners, Mark Chant and Andy Dike joining the attack, the visitors from Wiltshire were unable to seriously challenge the Stalbridge total. In an excellent spell of aggressive spin bowling, the sprightly Andy Dike finished with 6 wickets for 26 runs, as Potterne were eventually dismissed for 154.  

Stalbridge now look forward to this Sunday, when they face Winterslow in the semi-final of the Dorset/Wilts section of the ECB's national village cricket competition. The game takes place in The Park at Stalbridge, starting at 2.00pm.