Division Three Shenley Village 183-7 (53.0) Harpenden II 146-9 (47.0)SHENLEY Village continued their promising run of form in Division Three as they had the better of a draw against a committed Harpenden II outfit at the Shenley Cricket Centre on Saturday

Division Three

Shenley Village 183-7 (53.0) Harpenden II 146-9 (47.0)

SHENLEY Village continued their promising run of form in Division Three as they had the better of a draw against a committed Harpenden II outfit at the Shenley Cricket Centre on Saturday.

On a green strip, Harpenden captain Dave Whiteley won the toss and put Shenley in to bat. Anooj Vadgama (33) and Pasha Ali (30) batted well for the hosts and Ryan Hammill and Craig Rawlings also chipped in as Shenley reached a respectable total of 183-7 off 53 overs. The run rate increased towards the end of the innings as James Davenall and Nauman Saqeb hit a six each. The pick of the Harpenden bowlers was Simon Murray (5-66).

In reply, the visitors made a good start against the spinners as Shenley opened with the old ball, however, four quick wickets then fell with the arrival of the pace bowlers. Imran Yousaf bowled excellently throughout the innings, finishing with figures of 3-42 and Craig Rawlings (2-6) also performed well.

Shenley were held back by a strong partnership between Deshan Karunaratne (32) and Simon Arnold before they eventually got through again. James Davenall (2-21) claimed two wickets in as many balls in the 45th over and the pressure was on. Davenall went into the last over needing one wicket to win the game and bowled a good, tight over but Simon Murray (16 not out) defended well to save the match. The draw leaves Shenley Village in the middle of the table on 84 points.