New Farnley CC v Wakefield Saint Michaels, Jack Hampshire Cup.

40 overs per side 8 overs max per bowler.

Same openers as Saturday but at 17 Cullen was given out - caught at short square trying to defend himself from a 'beamer'. The umpire didn't call a 'no ball' so he had to go. Interestingly enough same umpire did make such a call when Johnson bowled a similar one when were fielding – obviously learned the errors of his ways!

Score moved on to 134 when Petricola was stumped for a useful 70. 24 runs later and trying to up the rate Hill was bowled for 55. We finished on 213–3, with Will Smith 39no and Sean Louw 19no but with all those wickets in the hut think we should have got after the bowling and pinched another 30-40 runs!

Wakefield opened with David Battye who usually bats no 11 but he gave our bowlers some 'stick' and after 10 overs they were 70 for 2. Simon Sterling was also enjoying himself, bouncing balls and tiles off roofs and peppering the surrounding allotments. Dropped at 20 – another expensive one- he was finally out caught in the deep for 56.

Were those the 30-40 runs we'd missed out on with the bat?

With 7 wickets left Wakefield only needed 97 at 5 an over – New Farnley were firmly in the Danger Zone.

Cullen and Smith slowly dragged it back but it was never comfortable with the asking rate going up and down like a bride's nightie and the odds against NFCC winning being just as volatile. Finally Petricola and Louw returned to clean up the tail and we won by a mere 18 runs.

Against a side at the lower end of the division below us our performance was simply not good enough and after the game the players were 'courteously informed' of this fact!

Next week it's Townville away in the League and Sunday sees Birstall at Lawns Lane in the Heavy Woollen Cup – certainly doesn't get any easier!