VL: 185-8 (ao). G Llewellyn 45. I Lay 11-0-47-3
P: 95-9 (ao). A Duthie 20. Mike 7-1-22-3.

On a dreadful pitch, Gareth Llewellyn was ruthless, hitting anything loose that P¹s bowlers served up including 2 6s. Early on his innings he was dropped twice by Steve Lay off Peter Hollman at mid off & he never looked back.

In retrospect, P¹s mood stemmed from the disorganisation & chaos they found at hampstead Heath. The game inevitably started late as VL players arrived in drips & drabs, the last one of which had the flags. None of this was helped by a particularly odd shape boundary as the sides struggled to find enough space amongst the adjacent games. The cool weather & no shelter catalysed this but still. there was no excuse for putting up such a poor performance.

Having inserted the oppo after winning the toss, Ian Lay had expected to chase a total of considerably less. Then once batting, Adrian Duthie could consider himself unlucky on his lbw, as the batters failed to cope with the variable bounce - at least, VL¹s bowlers bowled straight ! Even the draw was beyond P when Neil wright was caught in the gully with still 6 overs remaining.

P: AD MH+ SL JG JM HP DB+ PH IL* NDW