The Valley of Peace Cricket Club and Deans XI family cricket team enjoy a long and healthy relationship that both teams are very, very proud of! Three of our players travelled from Auckland and Napier especially for the game and that is an indication of the Valley’s respect and enjoyment of this fixture.

Today’s game was played in fantastic conditions on a very good pitch and in a very good spirit. After losing the toss the Valley batted first and made a respectable 223/7 with Will Tipping and Kade Atkinson featuring strongly with the bat – 45 and 75* respectively. A mid-game lunch of ham, crayfish and the usual trimmings plus raffle wins to 2 VoP players boosted our confidence somewhat! However, the difference between the 2 teams really came down to the fact we were 1 bowler short. Ed Wright scored a fantastic and well deserved 122* for the Deans and helped them win the game with 7 balls to spare.

We all look forward to the 2017/18 fixture at Coalgate!

Phil Smith

Lunch break, Valley vs Deans XI, Jan 2017