HURLEY’S interest in the Chilterns League Knock Out Cup was ended in brutal fashion by neighbours HARPSDEN with an impressive batting display at Shepherds Lane on Sunday.
The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first on a good wicket. Horatio Cary and Will Stevens immediately set about the Hurley opening attack of Kuldeep Nothey and Mo Basharat with 63 runs coming off the first 32 deliveries.
Akhtar tried all his bowlers in an attempt to stem the flow but none of them were able to make a dent in the onslaught. Fielding positions became irrelevant other than to retrieve the ball from the depths of the surrounding fields as Cary in particular assaulted the bowling with 15 boundaries and 10 maximums on his way to 170 from 57 deliveries.
It was not until the introduction of George Lewis in the penultimate over that the opening stand of 246 was broken with Stevens  playing on to Lewis’s first delivery. Lewis then bowled Cary off his pads three balls later.
Dave Walton bowled the final over and picked up the wicket of Hancock, floating a wider delivery past the batsmen as he advanced.
With a mammoth target to chase there was no time for the Hurley batsmen to play themselves in and Lewis and Bhagwani posted 22 from the first over to put Hurley ahead of the rate, albeit briefly.
Wickets fell as the batsmen tried to keep up the chase and with a third of the innings completed Hurley were on 76 for the loss of Lewis, Bhagwani and Hussein.
Scott Taylor and Mike Walton added 33 for the fifth wicket at a run a ball but the game was already over as a contest with Hurley only having pride to play for.
When Jordan Barradell-Pither was bowled off the last delivery of the innings Hurley had reached 157 which in most circumstances would be a competitive total but still left them 133 runs short. Harpsden will meet either Little Marlow or Wraysbury in the next round of the competition.
HARPSDEN
H Cary, b Lewis
170
W Stevens, b Lewis
69
B Hancock, st M Walton, b D Walton
26
C Whittaker, not out
8
W Ward, not out
4
Extras
13
—
TOTAL (3 wkts)
290
Best bowling: G Lewis 2-10.
HURLEY
G Lewis, c Hancock, b Paice
15
V Bhagwani, c Cooper, b Bevan
8
S Hussein, c Ward, b Bevan
35
Sc Taylor, c Ward, b Hancock
34
P Hunjan, c Burgess, b Whittaker
18
M Walton, not out
16
J Barradell-Pither, b Burgess
5
Extras
26
—
TOTAL (6 wkts)
157
Best bowling: W Bevan 2-25.
