Metro cruise to 9 wicket win
Three wickets apiece to Heindrich Swanepoel and Adam Benjamin saw Metro rip the Avon Sports batting to pieces in the BBS Primary Club National Knockout Cup Final in front of an excellent crowd at Lord's on 21st August. Having been put in to bat the second division side needed a steady start to calm nerves. Much depended on the top order of Mike Ferguson, Chris Macdonald and Steve Carpenter. Macdonald was the first to go bowled by Rory Field for a duck. Then Ferguson was run out for 10 by a smart piece of fielding by Simon Butler at square leg and Carpenter was beaten for pace by Swanepoel. With Barrington Chambers bowled by Benjamin, Avon were reeling at 26 for 4. Despite some lusty blows from Richard Burt, Phil Dutton and Rob Wood Avon were unable to build any kind of partnership and limped to 60 all out in only the 13th over. During tea the talk was about whether Metor might suffer the same fate as London Sports in 1993. The answer was an emphatic "no". Starting slowly, Metro were taking no chances and even the wicket of Adam Benjamin for just 2 failed to ignite Avon's bowling. Rory Field and David Townley saw them home with 29 and 18 respectively. The trophies were awarded by Trevor Vayro of the Australian Blind Cricket Council - man of the match awards went to Heindrich Swanepoel and David Townley. Our sincere thanks go to the Primary Club and the MCC for a great day.

Ali and Chet keep London afloat
Ali Safder reports from Cambridge on 15th August
London lost the toss and were asked by their hosts to bat. The run rate, although never high progressed to 107 by the fifteenth over. This is when Chetan got out, after naking 51. Other useful contributions followed including myself 52, Haq Ihsan 43 and Charles 47no. In 40 overs we ammassed 287/7 knowing that Vipers were going to send out Chris and Ben to open their batting. At 30 overs we stood at 209/5. And, open the batting they did indeed, Chris hitting an awesome 50 in 18 balls, terrorising all the bowlers. He was supported by Ben who make 20 of 12 balls. At this stage, we were worried, who wouldn't be with the score at 90 after 6 overs? We needed a breakthrough which Naz supplied clean bowling Ben. After this, wickets started to tumble and Vipers made 190odd a/o in the 18th over, leaving Shaz on a hat-trick for next season. So, London win by just under 100 runs, taking the full 20 points. London achieved many positives from this game including:- My 50 Chet's 50 Our highest total of the season (287/7) We picked up maximum bowling points .... and lastly, we WON!!!

Metro limber up for Lord's with Welsh win
Bryn Reynolds reports from Newport on 15th August
South Wales Dragons entertained Metro in their final league match of the season at their new ground in Newport. With Birmingham already securing the league this match was for second position and in Metro's case a useful warm up before next Saturday's Final. Metro won the toss and put the Dragons into bat. Both openers Seal (16) & Warren (16) made a steady start but thereafter only Corrigan (70) made it into double figures. Corringan was finally out through a superb catch from Swanepoel at long off. Metro's bowlers were very miserly and some good fielding all round kept the runs down. Dragons were finally dismissed for 130 in 31 overs. The Pick of the bowlers being R Field (3-10) and M Dean taking 4 catches. In reply Metro lost their captain Reynolds early on but Field (52*) and M Dean (36) were in excellent form and saw the London side home with 13 overs to spare.

Miles steers Sharks to Promotion
Ian T Morris reports from Blackstone on 14th August
The first game played at the new blackstone ground was the Div 2 decider against Avon. ADW secured the toss again and put Avon into bat. The Avon innings progressed steadily but unspectacularly, with Steve Carpenter providing the spine with 70no, at the other end partners stuck around but failed to push the score on against some tight Sussex bowling, ADW returning 2/31 off 8 and Morris 2/45 off 8. The Avon innings was declared at 171/6 after 32. So this left Sussex a fair target in 28 overs. The innings stuttered with Sussex losing both thier mecurial openers and stood at 57/2. This set the stage for an epic 3rd wicket stand from Joe Harrison and Miles Northwood. 112 were added before Miles was cleaned bowled by the tight bowling of Burt, just 4 runs short of his maiden 50 for the second time this season. But the work was done Joe 42no hit the winning runs with 5 balls to spare. and there it was Sussex win by 7 wickets. 18 pts and the title, Avon 4. We are chuffed to mintballs, we are in Div 1 in our second season, after just missing bottom spot last year. Huge credit to all the Sharks, Geoff smith for the start up, ADW for his great captaincy. Deep breath Div 1 next year, a new big challenge, back to the nets, see you next spring, we will play the game as we did this year, but better.

Leeds Wilt Under the Sun
Mark Turnham reports from Leeds on 31st July
Avon kept their slim chances of promotion alive with a resounding 123 run victory over Leeds at Wigton Moor. The day didn't start well though as one half of the Avon team travelled by train and the other half by minibus. As usual, those who travelled by train, including myself got there first as those on the minibus got stook in traffic and finally got there one and a half hours after we did. Let that be a lesson to all! Always travel by train! Although saying that, trying to find a taxi driver who knows where the place is can cause a problem especially. The comment by the driver "Where's that?" always fills you with dread. Finally, the lack of umpires and scorers set the day up nicely. At 2:30 roughly, Leeds won the toss and put us into bat. The innings didn't start well with Anthony Quont playing on to Anthony Turnham at the beginning of the second over qualifying for the Primary Club! In strode Dave Wood to smash 100+ and with Steve captain Carpenter took the score to 248 before Dave was out LBW to Darren Jones in the 24th over. Avon declared at the end of the 25th over with 254 for 2 with Steve carrying his bat again for about 80. Shah was the pick of the Leeds bowlers with good accurate bowling. As Avon only had 9 players I was wicketkeeper which didn't start well as the first ball went through my legs. Roy Turnham and Shah Mia opened the batting for Leeds and got off to a good start scoring about 20 before Roy was bowled by that man again Steve Carpenter. Darren Jones and Shah started to worry us when they scored quickly and took the score to about 75 before Carpenter had Darren caught by the keeper top edging for 30 odd. Shah soon followed caught in the deep for 30 odd. I came on to bowl and took 2 wickets in my 2 overs during which I had the pleasure of bowling to my dad without getting him out. It was like playing in the back garden, "Are you ready Dad?" With Robert Wood and Barrington Chambers taking a wicket apiece it was then left to Steve to take the last 3 wickets. He took his first catch of the season after dropping about 20 allbeit off his own bowling. It's about time he could catch off everyone else's! I would have had my dad's wicket as well! Leeds were all out for 131 off 20 overs. The last I heard those who went back on the minibus capped the day off with it breaking down just outside Leeds. I don't even know if they've got home yet! Summary: Avon 254 for 2 declared off 25 overs beat Leeds 131 all out off 20 overs by 123 runs. Leeds 2 points, Avon 20. Man of the match: Steve Carpenter.

Dragons Draw Delights Birmingham
Damion Corrigan reports from Marston Green on 24th July
The Dragons arrived with only eight players fully expecting the worst. We won the toss and decided to field. Birmingham scored 261 for 1 with Paul Powers and Mark Pickup both making centuries. The innings played by Paul Powers was particularly good to watch. Birmingham declared after 28 overs. The Dragons lost two early wickets but the opener Will Norman and I came together to bat out for the draw. I think we made 204 for 2 off our 32 overs. This was a good result from our point of view, especially when you consider the fact that we had only eight players, two of them being very young and inexperienced. I must say that Will batted very well and was determined not to give his wicket away. It was an unusual game in that only three wickets fell during the sixty overs of play and runs were scored at a good rate by both sides. Unfortunately for Birmingham, they were unable to hold onto their chances and had they done so, the result of the game could have been different.

Sharks Take Maximum Points in Leeds Double
Ian Morris reports from Leeds on 24th/25th July
Sussex took a couple more steps closer to RNC after the weekends fixtures, but developments leave Div 2 on the brink of disarray. Its a stereotype that "its grim up North" on Saturday that couldnt be truer as the 25C we left in Brighton was replaced by 15C and a biting Wind in Leeds. Leeds won the toss and elected to bat, and thier innings proved to be a one man show. Rowley scored 68 before holing out to the reverse sweep, a shot that had been highly profitable. Debutant Asif Malik was the only other real contributor wirh 10. After this the other end was a procession of partners as a combination of titght bowling and some wild agricultural batting saw Leeds collapse from 107/2 to 127 all out. This set 5the stage for our openers, the Yin and Yang of folicle distribution, Geoff "The Legend" Smith and the little hairy fella Dan Field. Geoff signalled his intentions with a 6 off the first ball and 57 balls later it was done The Legend 71no Hairy Fella 30no, 128/0 in 9.4 overs. A great result the little hairy fella also the pick of the bowlers with 3/8. So 20 points for us 2 for Leeds. Morris, Burchall, Northwood and Dalby-Welsh shared in an unbeaten stand of 52 in the bar of the Golden Lion..... Game 2. Didnt happen. Leeds phoned at 09.16 while we were amid our tai chee to give us the game, quoting no B1s available at all. us 20 points Leeds 0. Not pleased. we went home.

Vipers Concede to Metro... Again
Eastern Vipers concede their second match of the season to Metro. They now have one remaining match which will be a relegation decider against London Sports.

Birmingham close in on Title
Alan Humphries reports from Marston Green on 18th July
Played at Marston Green - Vipers won the toss and chose to bowl. Paul Powers and Kev Lyon compiled an opening stand of 198 off 15 overs - the 16th over saw the first wicket fall at 198 with Kev Lyon bowled for 56 by Chris Syrett. B'ham kept piling on the runs and went through to 255 for 3 off 23 overs with Paul Powers 133 not out and Gav Griffith 20 not out when the innings was declared closed. Following the tea interval B'ham set about getting the wickets and despite a good attempt by Vipers to get the draw it never really happened for them as we regularly took wickets and wrapped the innings up at 53 all out off 23 overs with Warren Lee taking 5 for 2 and Mike Harrison 3 for 13 - Chris Syrett finished top scorer for Vipers on 20. B'ham 20 points, Vipers 2.

Vipers Hang on at Dragons
Damion Corrigan reporting from Birmingham on 17th July
The game actually took place in Birmingham. Dragons won the toss and elected to bat first. Sorry I cannot remember the specifics but Dragons scored 300+ for 5. Keryn Seal got 14, Karl Phillips 3, I got 143 retired, Chris Dade 21, Howard Greenhill 50 retired, Andy Law and David Viner both got 4 not out. We declared after thirty overs. Cambridge got 77 for 9 off thirty overs. Andy Law got 3 wickets and Will Norman got 2. Cambridge batted in a very resolute fashion, in particular Alan who was determined not to give his wicket away. It was a very enjoyable match and Cambridge deserved a draw.

Metro Held by London
Ali Safder reports from Highgate on 17th July
Metro won the toss and decided to bat. They made 240/4 in 22.1 overs, with everyone chipping in to reach the total. This left London to face 37 overs of Hieny, Rory and Co. We started very steadly, not expecting to reach 240, but ot give it a try. Our logic was to assess the situation after 20 overs. at 20 overs, we wer 95/2. This is when i got out. After this wickets tumbled in very rapid succession which forced us to play more defensively. At the end of 37 overs we were 135/9. We had managed to secure a very important draw. Batting for 37 overs is now small thing to do. For once Naz and Andy were not the 2 that battled it out, it was the others (including me) who got us the result. This is great for London as we have now demonstrated on two occassions that we can play as a unit and can bat!!! No disrespect to Metro, but they were not as potent as they can be. They were also missing some players who might usually bowl.

Bham Eye Title after Crushing London
Birmingham Sports took another step towards their first league title after beating relegation candidates London Sports at Marston Green on 10th July. The visitors were all out for 64 in 18 overs and Birmingham took just 7.2 overs to reach their target for the loss of one wicket. London are desperate for a win against Vipers to give themselves a chance of avoiding the drop while Birmingham have a 21 point cusion over second placed Metro in the race for the title.

Fergie Stuns Sharks as Avon Cruise to Final
Mike Ferguson scored an unbeaten 83 as Avon completed an 8 wicket victory over fellow Division 2 side Sussex Sharks in Bristol on 4th July. Sharks batted first and made a modest 142 all out. Avon were soon in trouble losing Chris Mcdonald early in the innings. But Ferguson, who batted on after injuring a hamstring, guided the home side to victory and a first ever appearance at Lord's.

Metro Bounce Back as Butler Blows Bham Away
Alan Humphries reports from Highgate on 3rd July
A very windy day at Highgate saw the first Blind Cricket semi-final take place with a day out at Lord's as the prize. By the way, was the second one moved because of Sky demands! B'ham won the toss and chose to bowl and took the wicket of Townley with the first ball caught Foy bowled Prasher - would Metro wobble? Sadly, not! Benjamin & Field took them past 50 before a lapse in concentration saw your England Captain dismissed to a 2-bounce delivery from the ever dangerous Harrison with his first ball of the match! However, Metro continued to accumulate runs with the ever dangerous Butler finally amassing another half century. Wickets did fall at regular intervals with Matt Dean run out playing a defensive shot and not getting back into his crease before Sugg threw his stumps down and a brilliant caught & bowled by Prashar got rid of Swanepoel. The innings was finally wrapped up by yours truly taking a leg side catch behind to get rid of Gavin Dean & having the last man caught behind by that man Sugg again. Metro all out for 177 - we got more in less time last week - could we do it again? Sadly, not this time. Metro chipped away at the batting line-up and with some accurate bowling pegged the batters back. Paul Powers again scored another fine 50 and despite attempts to assist him by Mark Pickup, Andy Powers & Jon Prashar, Birmingham were never quie there. Paul eventually perished to a no-bounce catch by B1 Darren Harris which stuck in his stomach going at pace but Birmingham never gave up and batted through to 140 off 27 overs when last man Dowling was caught. So despite our hype - we won't be at Lord's but we'll be back next year! In fact, we'll be back next week at home to London Sports in the League. It was disappointing but you can't keep a good team down and there's still the League to win! Metro played better than us yesterday and reacted better under pressure both on the day and from last week's League defeat. Let's just see if we can do the same! Congratulations to Bryn & Metro and good luck at Lord's but look out for us in the League and we'll all be back next year!

Buoyant Birmingham Bring Metro Misery
Alan Humphries reports from Marston Green on 27th June
Despite the poor weather in the past few days, cricket took place at Marston Green Cricket Club on Sunday 27 June 2004. Metro lost the toss and were asked to bat and despite the windy conditions quick wickets were taken following some excellent catching from Andy Powers and an athletic run out by Luke Sugg. However, the ship was soon steadied by Simon Butler with a brutal 70 - was that his highest score out of London!. He was brilliantly caught by that man Andy Powers again and with the demise of the ever dangerous Heinrich Swanepol for 18 to another great catch by Paul Powers this time there soon followed the close of the Metro innings on 195 all out off 29.3 overs. A fine tea was then taken and Birmingham soon set about the task of getting the runs but not particularly well as at the end of the first over we stood 0 for 2 with Griffiths run out following poor communication between the runners and Andy Powers caught in the deep by a stunning catch by Matt Dean. Was this time for the Birmingham bubble to be burst again - I think not! 21 overs later the winning run was scored without the loss of a further wicket with Paul Powers 71 not out and Nathan Foy 104 not out with Foy hitting the winning boundary down to long leg. Metro are to be congratulated for being up for the game and making it competitive and we all know the semi-final will be a different game next week with them smarting from this defeat. However, I agree with Nathan that we should now be taken more seriously as that's twice we've beaten Metro this season.

Vipers Vital Victory over London
Ali Safder reports from London on 26th June
It went all wrong on the day. London batted first and posted a disappointing 129 all out, leaving Vipers an easy run chase with 39 overs to make the runs in. We truly batted terribly. There were two played-ons and a suicidal run-out. Naz, who has been playing very well this season, was the unlucky one. Vipers, to their credit, persisted with their bowling and bowled a decent Line/Length. 129 was never enough, specially with people like Chris playing well, ably supported by Ben. Vipers won by 5 wickets. We did manage to take 5 wickets and learnt a lot from the game, especailly the younger players. London 4 pts Vipers 20 pts. We live to fight another day!!!

RNC Romp Home
Daffyd Williams reports from Hereford on 26th June
On a damp and rain soaked day RNC beat a depleted Leeds side who only had 9 players by 9 wickets. Leeds won the toss and decided that they would bat first in the rain. RNC bowled with a wet pitch and slippery ball. D Jones and S Miyya opened the batting for Leeds but Jones was soon run out for 8 by C Macormack with a direct hit on the wicket. Shortly after S Miyya was then dismissed by Snelgrove with an unbelievable bowl. P Clarke and S Troy came in and steadied the batting with 31 and 8 respectively. After Leeds reached 100 there was a slight batting collapse. Unfortunately rain stopped play 3 overs away from Leeds reaching there maximum 40 overs. When play continued they lost their last few wickets in the space of 2 overs which left the RNC boys to get 136 in 21 overs. C Macormack and S Winter opened the batting for RNC. S Winter sadly hit his own wicket on the score of 1-20. It was then up to C Macormack and K Butler to steer RNC to victory in the space of 11.3 overs. Hard luck for the Leeds boys who played really well in difficult circumstances. The game was played in a good spirit.

Sharks Break Duck as RNC Stumble
Ian Morris reports from Sussex on 20th June
Sussex bagged thier first win in emphatic style at Hove on Sunday. A weakened RNC side were put to the sword in stye by a rampant Sharks outfit. Batting first RNC were in deep trouble as big Mark Burchall returned an impressive 3-1-9-3 to punch a big hole in the top order. Butler showed sturdy resistance before ADW had him caught in the deep by Dan Field, a great catch considering the swirling wind and freezing rain. At that point the rain prevailed and an early tea was enjoyed. After the break the miserly Sussex bowling tied up the tail. ADWs 4.5-2-8-3 another great set of figures. 114 all out never looked enough. And it wasnt. Geoff Smith and Dan Field added 71 for the first wicket, before Geoff went for 31. Dan, whos confidence continues to grow as his flowing locks, Saw us home with 47 n.o. 9 wicket win Sharkies 20pts RNC 2pts. Considering the inclement weather amazed we got a game in at all. Worcester next week, could be interesting....

Student Stalemate
RNC and Worcester shared the points at Hereford on 15th June. Another impressive innings from Adam Ringland (174) put the home side in a strong position declaring on 310/6 but the visitors were never in trouble as they batted out the 30 overs left to them for the loss of only 5 wickets.

Avon Crawling - RNC Flying
Avon crashed to another league defeat on 13th June in Bristol as RNC climbed to the top of division 2. All out for 133 the home side were unable to stop the visitors reaching their target for the loss of 6 wickets.

Dragons Meltdown
Alan Humphries reporting from Swansea on 13th June
St George conquers the Dragon Part Deux! Could lightning strike twice in the same place? This was the conversation in the Marquis Arms, Swansea on 12/6 over beer and burgers - we celebrate in style at Birmingham you know! Well, yes it can! An early start at 11.00am to allow us all to get home to watch the footie saw the Dragons put into bat again by your Correspondent and 13 overs later all back in the hutch for 37 with Sugg taking 4 for 7 and Lee 3 for 11. Wadsworth caught that man Corrigan again, this time the ball being parried by Humphries off the bowling of S!ugg! I confess, it was the plan really! Birmingham then reached 38 for 4 off eight overs - it was the beer, burgers and MacDonalds breakfast that slowed us up! Griffiths chipping in with the winning run into the covers and the game finished by 1.00pm. I believe that's 17 points to Birmingham and 1 to Dragons and Birmimgahm in third place 17 points behind Metro with a game in hand.

Just when you thought it was safe...
Ian Morris reporting from Sussex on 12th June
The sun shone, and the wind flew, with clouds and the odd spot of rain, no snow though. So in the controversaik quarter final, Sussex won the toss 6/6 ifr the season, and ADW offered our chums from London the chance to have a bat. Discussion before the off was that we would have eanted 200 to defend. The London innings came in 3 chunks, a slowish start with a tight line being bowled by ADW and Miles Northwood, the middle order picked up the pace and a couple of strong partnerships, with Ishy and Mohammed giving the ball some stick, it looked at one point as if London would ammass 240 - 250. A couple of wild swipes, a magnificent catch in the deep by Geoff Smith and a razor sharp run out by miles saw us into thier lower order. Bowler of the day was Mark Burchall returning 3-35 and young Marcus bellinger chipped in with 2-40. London sort of ran out of steam for the last 5 overs, and only thier superb running between the wickets kept the scoreboard ticking over. That said they ended with 204-7, a total that would take some getting. The Sussex innings began steadily, The little Hairy Fella, Dan Field and Geoff Smith shared an opening stand of 84 before Dan went to a sharp catch behind the stumps by Ali Safder. The middle order all chipped in with 20s and teens, and Geoff, in the form of his life went onto make 80, before the sharp fielding of London saw him run out. but it was too little too late as the asking rate had now dropped below 4.5. Couple of nervous moments, with Joe "the run out" Harrison, going after attempting a lunatic 3rd to win the match. This left skipper ADW to smash the winning run and Sussex were home with 5 wickets and 3 overs to spare. Our new look 70 stone "Big 3" power hitters had not been required. It wa another great game, the London lads were brilliant, they brought a top umpire and all in all we had a good tight game, best of luck to the London lads for the rest of the season. As for us, few sore heads this morning, back to the league next week, but looking forward to Avon or the Vipers in the Semi.

Avon Recover as Vipers Nightmare Continues
Division 1 relegation candidates Eastern Vipers were dumped out of the cup by second Division Avon Sports in Bristol on 12th June. Avon batted first and made 241 all out. In reply Vipers stumbled to 63 all out.

Birmingham Tame Dragons
Sth Wales Dragons went out of this year's KO in uncharacteristic style at fortress Swansea on 12th June. Batting first the home side were skittled out for just 79 in 15 overs. Time for a fight back? No, the Dragons had about as much fire in their bellies as a Labour party candidate in the local elections. Birmingham smashed the required runs in less than 5 overs for the loss of only 1 wicket.

Alan Humphries reports from Swansea
The Birmingham journey continues! We arrived in Swansea on a cloudy afternoon to find Fortress Sketty Lane in the midst of a rebuilding programme - an omen for the Dragons I fear! The toss was called correctly and I asked the Welsh lads to bat - you can stop calling me Nasser now lads! 15 overs later Dragons stood at 79 all out with the wickets shared between our bowlers and that man Humphries with 2 for 0 off 3 overs! including the danger man Corrigan who I would like to say was bowled to plan but it would be a lie! as I think it was the worst ball I've bowled this season that was bravely parried by Luke Sugg behind the wicket after a fearsome swing which then dropped to Wadsworth for a one bounce catch. Performance of the day was a brilliant spell of fast bowling from Jon Prashar which resulted in a bruised nose for yours truly! Our batting started with a six from that man Griffiths which was one of the biggest I've seen from a B1, 22 for 0 at the end of the first over and the dye was set. Griffiths perished shortly after and enter that man Foy for a whirlwind 44 and the game finished in 4.4 overs. What could have been a tricky tie was a walk in the park which takes on to the mighty Metro at Highgate - who! No, seriously, we are looking forward to it as to be the best you have to beat the best and there are still two games in this competion that have to be won.

Metro March Past Leeds
Metro completed an easy victory against Leeds & District at Highgate on 12th June. The visitors batted first and were all out for little over 40 runs. Metro reached the required total for the loss of just 1 wicket.

Bryn Reynolds reports from Highgate
A full strength Metro side spared no mercy on a weakened Leeds team who were also hampered by only fielding 9 players. Leeds won the toss and decided to bat but struggled to gain any momentum. Behind extras (21) Leeds highest scorer was Phil Rigby who managed a couple of lusty blows. If one could be critical of a team dismissing their opponents for 42 it was that Metro gave away an unusually high number of extras. The pick of Metro's bowlers was England Captain Adam Benjamin with impressive figures of 4-1-4-3. In reply it was obvious that tea was on it's way as Heindrich Swanepoel ruthlessly despatched the ball to all parts of the ground. The only casualty was Amit Amin who was bowled by Clark for 4 with the score on 39 this allowed the Metro Captain Bryn Reynolds to come in and hit the winning runs.

Two New Faces on BBS Committee
Miles Northwood and Heindrich Swanepoel have been elected on to the BBS Cricket Committee. Miles takes the post of International Secretary and Heindrich will be the new Treasurer following the resignations of Geoff Smith and John Woodford earlier this year.

All Change at Leeds and Sharks
Compared to the FA Premiership the early season pressure in the BBS National Cricket League must be like a walk in Valentines Park. Or so you would think. Two clubs have parted company with their Captains this week as the pressure hotted up in the blazing heatwave. Steve Troy has taken on the massive task of producing a winning side at Leeds & District while Andy Dalby-Welsh will act as caretaker at Sussex Sharks still looking for a first league win. Both sides face quarter final matches this weekend.

Worcester Pull Out of KO and London are Reinstated
New College Worcester have withdrawn from the KO after being unable to field a team for their quarter final clash with Sussex Sharks. The BBS Cricket Committee took the decision to reinstate London Sports (losers to Worcester in the previous round) and so they will now travel to Sussex on Saturday.

Dragons Run Out of Steam at London
Ali Safder reports from Ilford on 6th June
We (London Sports) played Dragons on Sunday. We won the toss and put them in. They made 231/5, making us run all over the place. No Tuft of grass was left untrodden. One of their Openers, Toby made over 50 with Damion chipping in with an 80. They amassed these runs in 26 overs, leaving us to play 34 overs. We started well, an opening partnership of 50. Both myself and Haq (not Ishy) batted for 15 overs apiece. We managed to get through the 34 overs, amassing a respectable (for us anyway) 179 runs at the expense of losing 8 wickets. From our point of view it was a great draw that we achieved. London 11pts Dragons 13pts. Watch out everyone!!! London are coming to life and are up and ready for the next opposition so be warned. It was a great game played in great spirit.

Dragons Hang on as Metro have a Field day
Bryn Reynolds reports from Chalfont on 5th June
A rather one side encounter saw Sth Wales Dragons cling on to secure a draw against Metro who came within 2 wkts of victory. Metro were put into bat and despite losing David Townley in the first over to a great catch by Toby Warren, the North London team recovered thanks largely to a fine second wicket partnership of 99 from their South African import Rory Field (83) and England captain Adam Benjamin (25). The large Chalfont pitch suited a fit Metro side, as boundaries were hard to come by although there were plenty of gaps to run 2s and 3s. The Metro innings was further boosted thanks to a fluent half century from Simon Butler (66no) who was ably partnered towards the end of the innings by Matt Dean (38). Metro declared on 272 for 4 after 33 overs. In reply The Dragons started off steadily and had put on 21 before losing their first wicket. Thereafter however wickets fell steady as Dragons found scoring difficult against a tight bowling and fielding display. Not even the great Damion Corrigan (15) could break free and he eventually wholed out to a magnificent catch by Matt Dean. Metro sniffed blood and piled on the pressure but some stubborn resistance towards the end of the innings by Prior, Phillips and Ahmed meant that the Dragons held on for a draw. Rory Field completed a great all round display by taking 3 - 22.

Sharks Play it Safe at RNC
Ian Morris reports from Hereford on 5th June
Who would be a bowler?? Sun shing on the expanse of green that is the RNC pitch. We won the toss and elected to bat, our top order fired up after our success against Leeds, and, Good God these boundries look even shorter than at the Brum tournament...Surely not? We lost Gary Ogden Hero of brum rarly to a frustrating hit wicket, that only served to bring the great Geoff Smith SENIOR Engand wicket keeper to the crease. In a Majestic knock Geoff battered to all parts scoring a PB 128, before perishing trying to increase the run rate. Miles Northwood chipped in with a tidy 44 before being run out. We didnt really fancy fielding at all so batted on for the full 40 overs, declaring on 362-6. Leaving the RNC boys the tricky task of 17 an over to win. Adam Ringland. He's a nice bloke, but for some reason he is particulalry unkind to our bowling. In the cup last year he hit 220n.o. if 30 overs and yeterday smashed us everywhere for 178n.o. thats nearly 400 runs in 50 overs, and we still haven't got him out. RNC made 260 odd for 2 and the predictable draw resulted. Played 2 drawn 2 both away from home we are satisfied. And again great spirit, no squinnys and a good day out.

B'ham Make Winning Start
Alan Humphries reports from Cambridge on 5th June
Vipers won the toss and put us into bat and despite a couple of early successes were despatched to all parts of the ground by fine knocks from Jon Prashar (64), Paul Powers (52 not out) and Warren Lee (51 not out) - Warren's first half century since taking up blind cricket. We finally declared on 226 for 4 off 26 overs passing the mantle to our bowlers. Despite some dogged resistance from Chris Syrett and Chris Matthews, Vipers succumbed to 68 all out with two wickets apeice for Griffihts, Humphries, Andy Powers, and Wadsworth and one each for Sugg and Prashar. Moment of the day was the fine catch taken at long on by Paul Powers off Luke Sugg to dismiss the dangerous Chris Syrett. B'ham's League campaign finally off to start taking a full 20 points with Vipers picking up 2 points.

Vipers Concede Metro Match
Eastern Vipers have confirmed that they have conceded their 15th May match to Metro. They were unable to raise a team for the game and a suitable replacement date could not be found. All 20 points go to Metro.

Worcester Top as Avon Crumble
Steve Carpenter reports from Worcester on 23rd May
In our Sunday game against Worcester College, the college reached just over 200 all out in 25 overs (Alistair Proven top scored with 59). Having done the hard work of getting Worcester all out Avon were unable to capitalise on this and finished up 146 all out in 24 overs. However this does not tell the whole story as a special mention must go to Chris MacDonald who bravely battled on (ably assisted by B1's Dave Powell and Dave Ballinger) trying to get us to 150 for a batting point or to a draw if he could last for the remaining 12 overs - alas it was not to be, even though he batted skilfully and sensibly in trying to get the lions share of the batting. He was eventually bowled by Alistair for 41.

RNC Recover but Avon Slump Continues
A report from Steve Carpenter at Hereford on 22nd May
Avon batted first and scored 226 for 8 off of 31 overs (having scored the required 200 within the 30 overs). Chris MacDonald top scored with 58 and I scored 41 after being run out trying to take a quick single. Avon really struggled to stop the surge of runs with a depleted team of only 9 players on RNC's postage stamp sized pitch - RNC easily reaching the score within 19 overs. McCormack scoring 72 and Adam Ringland scoring 54 (one six hitting the residential building balcony).

Damion Makes Sixes Order of the Day
As Omens Point Towards Hereford Hell!
From our Special Correspondent (Neil Prior)
The South Wales Dragons overcame a potential Cup banana skin at Hereford RNC on 15th May, with their most crushing victory in the competition to date. The two-times winners travelled to Hereford depleted but Determined, after a last minute postponement to the reserve date robbed them of three first choice players. But Captain Damion Corrigan turned in a performance to lead from the front and dispel any lingering fears. RNC were inserted after losing the toss, and soon found themselves 5 for 3, after losing a wicket in each of their first three overs. But the college eventually found their feet and rallied through a fourth wicket partnership of 42 between Sean(?) and Adrian Snelgrove. But when both were dispatched in consecutive overs, (Snelgrove bowled Norman, 10, and Sean bowled Law 27), nobody else could muster more than two runs, and the last six batsmen were dismissed in just a further 2.2 overs, limping to a disappointing 57 all out. Captain Corrigan turned in a personal best performance for the Dragons, taking an incredible five wickets for just two runs in 4.2 overs. He was ably supported by Andy Law with 2 for 30 in five, whilst there was also a wicket a piece for Will Norman and David Viner. The Dragons made light work of the run chase, with openers Karl Phillips and Keryn Seal putting on 23 for the first wicket. Phillips perished for 12,(1 six 1 four) to a catch in the deep off the bowling of Kurt Butler, bringing Corrigan to the crease in the fifth over, and the match was destined only to last another six balls! Corrigan's whirl wind innings consisted of 3 sixes and a single, off the remaining deliveries of Butler's over, before stealing the strike from partner Seal, to finish the job with two more consecutive sixes from the first two balls of the six and final over, to finish undefeated on 31, guiding the Dragons home to 59 for 1. The Dragons have overcome a potentially tricky tie, but will doubtless face tougher tests against Birmingham in the quarters, and potentially Metro in the semis - Whereas the signs for the rest of RNC's season are ominous indeed!

Dragons set down title marker
Neil Prior reports from Cambridge on 2nd May
Nine wicket victories for the Dragons aren't exactly endangered species, but victories of that size whilst star batsman Damion Corrigan is left prowling the boundary like a caged animal are true collectors' items. But the Dragons' trip to the Vipers for their first game of the season was to go down as the Warren and Seal Show. Vipers were inserted after losing the toss, and despite losing BJ Edwards, Nikhil Nair and Bernard Connellwith less than thirty on the board, rallied through Chris Syrret (21) and Ben(?) (54) to post a respectable 135 all out. The runs came at a good rate, in 26 overs, but Vipers remained on the back foot for most of their innings, as wickets were regularly haemorrhaged. Howard Greenhill led the way for the visitors, bagging 4 for 30, with support from Damion Corrigan, (2 for 28), Saqib Ahmad, (2 for 36) and Keryn Seal, (1 for 29) Then the day's main attraction took the stage, as Dragons' openers, Toby Warren and Keryn Seal, made light work of the run chase. Warren posted his first half century, scoring 62 not out, which included eight fours and an enormous six to bring up his fifty. Seal was no less impressive in his supporting role, contributing 26, in a first wicket stand of 128, before being bowled by Ian Clarkwell. Then the caged animal was unleashed. After letting his first delivery from Bernard pass through to the keeper, Corrigan launched two giant sixes, to bring the Dragons home on 141 for 1 in 14.4 overs. Dragons 20 PTS, Vipers 2 PTS

Sussex frustrate Avon at Bristol
Report by Steve Field
Sussex held out for a comfortable draw against a strong Avon side at Frenchay CC on 25th April. Ferguson and McDonald both hit four boundaries in an Avon total of 200 for 9 in 32.5 overs after Carpenter had laid a solid foundation with a patient 27 in 92 minutes. Woodford had the best return of 3-22 in a fielding and bowling performance that suggested that Sussex won't struggle to the same extent as last season. When Sussex batted, Harrison was dismissed early on and the lack of bounce restricted top-scorer Ogden to 22 during Carpenter's accurate opening spell. Fisher took 3-16 as Avon pushed for a win. Debutant Ian Morris stayed 42 balls for 7 as he and Smith effectively saw Sussex to safety with Smith scoring his fourth four off the last delivery in total of 124 for 6 in 27.1 overs.