Stansted Hall elected to bat first on a very humid day, as R. McGurk got the Hall off to a flyer before being caught for a quick-fire 35 off 22 balls. H. Merrick (39) joined the Hall’s other opener J. Beaumont at the crease to help to steadily move the Hall onto 117 before he too was caught, this time to a fantastic one-handed catch at mid-off. J. Brown, J. Talbot and T. Snelling all came and quickly went to leave the Hall 174 for 5. Enter N. Price (24) who, along with J. Beaumont (107) looked to increase the run rate, as Josh crept closer to back-to-back Hundreds, which he achieved in the 37^th over, leaving the Hall 257 for 8 after the 40 overs.

In reply, the Hatfield Heath openers (R. George and C. Wearden) looked to score at every given opportunity, taking a liking to both of Stansted Hall’s opening bowlers, putting them in a strong position after the first 10 overs. The introduction of T. Snelling into the bowling attack signalled the start of the fightback for the Hall, as R. George was caught on the boundary for 41. At the other end R. McGurk bowled economically to see Hatfield Heath’s required run rate begin to creep up. This was until drinks, where a couple of expensive overs saw the momentum swing back to Hatfield Health. Up step O. Patmore, who bowled magnificently on his way to 6 for 35, including the wicket of opening batsmen C. Wearden for 85, to help bowl Hatfield Health out for 237, 20 runs short of the target.