A swashbuckling 94 not out from Alastair Conolly helped Painswick defeat Oxfordshire outfit Horspath, making it into the last sixteen of the National Voneous Village Cup for the second season in a row, writes Andy Barnard.
Painswick now welcome league rivals Goatacre in the last 16 of the competition, with the game scheduled to played on July 6 at 1pm.
After winning the toss and electing to bat Painswick scored a competitive 226, led by Conolly, who put the team first at the end of the innings, by taking runs when many others would have held the strike looking for personal milestones.
The main supporting contribution came from Luke Woolway with a knock of 62 showing his usual grit and resilience. The bowling, especially at the end of the innings from Horspath was excellent and provided a real challenge to the visitors.
In the second innings, the ground fielding from Painswick was outstanding and supported the bowling attack, where the opening pair of Jono Conolly and Reece Morris took 3 and 2 wickets respectively. Painswick’s spinners strangled the Horspath batting in the middle overs, with a miserly spell from skipper Jack Hobbis ensuring the Painswick kept their noses in front much to the joy of the travelling support.
A delighted Painswick chairman Andy Barnard is relishing the next round of the cup: “Supporters would be very welcome to the game between two closely matched sides, Goatacre looking to avenge a defeat at the same round last season whilst Painswick will be hoping to improve on a recent league defeat inflicted on them by the visitors.
“The prestigious Voneus Village Cup is seen as the pinnacle of village cricket, with the final to be played at Lord’s.”
