Voneus Village Cup 2022 round-up: Who reached the regional finals?

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

^{Photo: Philip Wilcox}

Runs galore for Ben Johns as Calmore cruise into Hampshire final

Ben Johns was once again among the runs as Calmore cruised to an eight-wicket victory against Ventnor in round three of the 2022 Voneus Village Cup.

The opener scored 100 runs from 88 balls to help his side chase down 190 with just under 12 overs remaining, his sixth consecutive 50-plus knock in the competition. The last side to prevent him from raising his bat was Goatacre, against whom he scored 39 runs in round six last year.

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Easton pip Great Waltham to reach Essex & Suffolk final

Easton edged a nail-biting encounter against Great Waltham to seal a spot in the Essex & Suffolk regional final of the Village Cup, chasing down 183 with just one wicket and four balls to spare.

Great Waltham batted first and posted 183, Chris Wells taking four vital wickets at the death.

In reply, Easton slipped to 136 for 9 in their chase before Sam Hall blasted 43 runs from 24 balls to seal the win.

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^{West Malvern made a winning start to Village Cup life, beating Colwall [supplied}

Milford Hall once again stop Himley on the road to Lord’s

In 2021, Milford Hall defeated Himley in the West Midlands regional final, running out five-wicket winners after chasing down 151 with just over four overs remaining.

And just under 12 months later, this time in round three of the Village Cup, Milford Hall once again got the better of their regional rivals in another low-scoring encounter.

Philip Wilcox was in Stafford to watch the match.

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White Waltham squeeze past Wraysbury on fewer wickets lost

White Waltham squeezed into the fourth round of the Village Cup by the slimmest of margins, winning their tied encounter with Wraysbury after losing eight wickets to their visitor’s nine.

White Waltham bowler Cloudesley Long bowled what would prove to be two match-winning death overs, picking up four wickets for the addition of just eight runs – including two in the final four balls – as Wraysbury closed on 210 for 9. He finished with figures of 5 for 51.

In reply, the home side needed just four runs off the final over before Andy Prasad took two wickets to take the match into the final ball.

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New South Lancashire champion pending as debutants Ainsdale and Rainford win

A new regional champion will be crowned in South Lancashire on June 5 following round three victories for Village Cup debutants Ainsdale and Rainford.

Ainsdale defeated Wrea Green by 117 runs while Rainford knocked out Woodhouses, defeating the 2011 champions by three wickets.

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^{Himley's Jeevan Klair [Philip Wilcox]}

Theakston Player of the Round: Faisal Zeeshan Hussain (Stayley)

Halkyn must have been in dreamland during the early stages of their Village Cup round three clash with Stayley.

After winning the toss and electing to field, the Welsh side had their visitors 27 for 8 inside nine overs, with Jamie Griffiths picking up six wickets in his first five overs and Nathan Lavender also striking twice during a blistering spell with the ball.

However, one Stayley batter had other ideas, with Theakston Player of the Round Faisal Zeeshan Hussain offering bold resistance from No.8 to score 72 runs from 99 balls to drag his side into triple-figures. Stayley were eventually all out for 110 and went on to win the match by 37 runs.

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Elsewhere…

Majid Rasheed posted the highest individual score of the round, blasting 165 runs off 76 balls during Meigle’s 271-run victory over Bute County in Scotland. Steve Rawlings was the standout bowler, taking 7 for 33 during Nether Whitacre’s 77-run win over Corley.

Five former champions were eliminated in round three, including Colwall who lost to debutants West Malvern by 56 runs, but Houghton Main, Folkton & Flixton, Cleator and 2021 runners-up Alvanely were among those to safely progress to the regional finals.

Llandysul and Carew were victims of the weather in Dyfed. Chasing a DLS target of 69 from 18 overs, the former fell just three runs short of their total while Cresselly were 164 for 5 in pursuit of 193 against Carew before rain stopped play. Cresselly progressed to the final due to their superior run rate.

The regional finals will take place on Sunday, June 5.

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