Cookham Dean CC reach quarter finals of National Village Cup 

Cookham Dean encountered the highs and lows of competitive cricket over the weekend in what is a historic 2016 campaign for the village club.

On Saturday they visited Datchet and lost by 94 runs, a result which saw them drop to the bottom of Home Counties League Division 2.

However, the setback did not affect their performance the following day when they beat visitors Shipton-under-Wychwood by 70 runs to reach the quarter-finals of the prestigious National Village Cup.

The Dean's clash at London Road started with the hosts hitting 256-5 declared from 50 overs, led by Eswar Krishnamurthy who hit 101 not out in 133 deliveries including 10 fours.

Nearly all the Datchet top order contributed with Steve Naylor (25) and Chris Peploe (56) laying the platform for Krishnamurthy, Gareth Harte (35) and James Morris (31) to pile on the runs. 

Herbert Chikomba (2-64 from 15.4 overs) was the Dean's most successful bowler.

In reply, Dean's skipper Ben Millar was dismissed for one, although Manish Chaudhary (34), Yasir Qureshi (26) and Bucks batsman Patrick Castleden (69) put up a good fight.

However, the middle and lower order struggled, especially against Berkshire spinner Peploe (5-46) and Harte (4-41), and the Dean were finally skittled for 162 in the 49th over.

The Dean earned only four points for their efforts, slipping into last place in the table after Gerrards Cross picked up 25 points by beating fellow relegation rivals Thame Town.

The Dean host leaders Oxford on Saturday.

*There was no hangover for Dean the following day in the National Village Cup when they moved into the last eight of the tournament with a solid win over visitors Shipton.

The hosts batted first hitting an excellent 271-8 from their 40 overs led by opener Ben Millar (55) and No.4 Jake Richardson (61), while some excellent runs came in the second half of the innings from Simret Mangat (46), Tom Bibby (21) and Rob Mettler (16no).

Shipton's best bowler was Craig Wood (3-40 from nine overs).

The visitors reply was solid but always struggled to keep up with the required run rate.

In the face some some good bowling, especially from Simon Foster (4-42) and Mangat (3-39), Shipton's top order of Andrew Hemm- ing (27), Wood (22), Steve Bates (17), Tim Senior (27) and Charlie Miller (30) didn't score quickly or heavily enough.

The side were finally bowled out for a solid 201 with 10  deliveries remaining, 71 runs shy of victory. The Dean's prize for beating Shipton is a home tie in the quarter-finals against Miskin Manor from Glamorgan on Sunday, July 24.