Hambledon's triumphant Village Cup quarter-final side : Steve Parvin.
Hambledon will have to beat last year’s National Village Cup winners on their own Cambridgeshire soil next Sunday (August 3) if they are to reach this season’s Lord’s final in September.
They are drawn away to cup holders Foxton Granta in the semi-finals - Hambledon’s prize for an outstanding 75-run win at Goatacre in the seventh round last weekend.
It’s only the second time in the historic club’s history they have reached the last four, the previous occasion being in 1989 when they walked proudly through the Grace Gates only for the Lord’s final against Toft to be abandoned.
They were underdogs against the strongly fancied West of England Premier Division 1 side, who trounced them by 95 runs in last year’s Village Cup, with Ross Dixie and Ed Wilkins hitting hundreds.
Goatacre, where Hampshire & England spin all-rounder Liam Dawson learned his trade, are a heavyweight club in Wiltshire and currently third in the WEPL table.
Hambledon travelled to Calne without six first team regulars and, when Spencer LeClercq lost the toss and the Dons were inserted on a wet top, he probably feared the worst.
They are drawn away to cup holders Foxton Granta in the semi-finals - Hambledon’s prize for an outstanding 75-run win at Goatacre in the seventh round last weekend.
It’s only the second time in the historic club’s history they have reached the last four, the previous occasion being in 1989 when they walked proudly through the Grace Gates only for the Lord’s final against Toft to be abandoned.
They were underdogs against the strongly fancied West of England Premier Division 1 side, who trounced them by 95 runs in last year’s Village Cup, with Ross Dixie and Ed Wilkins hitting hundreds.
Goatacre, where Hampshire & England spin all-rounder Liam Dawson learned his trade, are a heavyweight club in Wiltshire and currently third in the WEPL table.
Hambledon travelled to Calne without six first team regulars and, when Spencer LeClercq lost the toss and the Dons were inserted on a wet top, he probably feared the worst.
 |  Left, Chris Pratt on the attack and, above, Mark Butcher added useful late runs. |
, Some 265 runs later, however, Hambledon’s fears were misplaced - openers Chris Pratt (92) and George Marshall (82) having shared a fantastic 171-run stand which effectively sealed Goatacres’s fate.
“I’d have bowled first too as the pitch was wet and I had no idea what a par score was on their ground,” LeClercq confessed.
“George and Chris built the perfect platform which allowed the middle order to bat with no pressure and just have a swing.
“When we bowled, James Restell got us off to the perfect start when their opening bat (Ross Dixie) who scored a ton against us last year fished at a wide one and snicked off to slip first ball of the Goatacre innings.
“We were on our way then and at 56-6 the game looked done. Their tail wagged, none more so than Jif Wilkins (60 off 28 balls) and they got up to 190. Ben Harding took three wickets.
“I was really proud of the boys to get the win and such a convincing one at that. When you have as many guys missing as we did, you need your big players to turn up and perform and George and Chris did just that.”
So, now all attention switches to Sunday week and a trip to Foxton, ten miles south of Cambridge on the A10.
Foxton, who play in the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Premier League, were beaten by seven wickets by a Ben Johns inspired Calmore Sports in the 2022 NVC semi-final at Loperwood Park.
But they lifted the trophy at Lord’s last September, beating favourites Dumbleton by seven wickets and, after a dramatic quarter-final win over Kent-based Leeds & Broomfield, are eager for a return NW8 visit.
Good news for Hambledon is that they should have a full complement of players available.
“I’d have bowled first too as the pitch was wet and I had no idea what a par score was on their ground,” LeClercq confessed.
“George and Chris built the perfect platform which allowed the middle order to bat with no pressure and just have a swing.
“When we bowled, James Restell got us off to the perfect start when their opening bat (Ross Dixie) who scored a ton against us last year fished at a wide one and snicked off to slip first ball of the Goatacre innings.
“We were on our way then and at 56-6 the game looked done. Their tail wagged, none more so than Jif Wilkins (60 off 28 balls) and they got up to 190. Ben Harding took three wickets.
“I was really proud of the boys to get the win and such a convincing one at that. When you have as many guys missing as we did, you need your big players to turn up and perform and George and Chris did just that.”
So, now all attention switches to Sunday week and a trip to Foxton, ten miles south of Cambridge on the A10.
Foxton, who play in the Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire Premier League, were beaten by seven wickets by a Ben Johns inspired Calmore Sports in the 2022 NVC semi-final at Loperwood Park.
But they lifted the trophy at Lord’s last September, beating favourites Dumbleton by seven wickets and, after a dramatic quarter-final win over Kent-based Leeds & Broomfield, are eager for a return NW8 visit.
Good news for Hambledon is that they should have a full complement of players available.
