'˜Huge weekend' as Findon bid for last 16 of Village Cup

Findon Cricket Club captain Bradley Bridson is hoping his side continue their recent momentum as they head into a huge weekend for the club.
Findon celebrate a wicket earlier this seasonFindon celebrate a wicket earlier this season
Findon celebrate a wicket earlier this season

After a league clash with local rivals Goring on Saturday, Findon have a 230-mile round trip to Reed in the last 32 of the National Village Cup on Sunday.

Findon won the West Sussex group with victory over Ifield in the regional final earlier this month.

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Reed, who won the competition in 2012, are the Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire winners after a nine-wicket win over Long Marston in their area final on Sunday.

If Findon win at Reed, they will potentially have home advantage for the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, before the final takes place at Lord’s on September 4.

Findon reached the final at Lord’s in 2007 when they lost by six wickets to Woodhouse Grange and they are currently in excellent form, with four wins from their past five games in league and cup.

Bridson said: “It’s a huge weekend for the club. The games with Goring are ones we always look forward to and are the first games you look for when the fixtures are released.

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“Then there’s a massive incentive for us to win on Sunday as we could have home advantage for the next three rounds.

“It’s another game everyone is looking forward to. We know Reed are going to be a strong side and they won the competition in 2012.

“We’ve never played there before, so don’t know what to expect but they won’t know anything about us either, so it’s a bit of an unknown for both teams and is quite exciting.

“In the past four years, we seemed to win our regional final and then go out in either this round or the last 16. Probably since we got to the final in 2007, we haven’t got much further than this.

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“However, we’ve got good momentum at the moment and hopefully we can keep it going as winning becomes a habit.

“It would be great to have a few people up there supporting us as we always get good support at home in this competition.

“When we had the run in 2007, we had 1,000 people there watching some games. That’s why this game is so huge, with the home advantage for the next three rounds if we get through. It would be great to play in front of a crowd like that and also is a good earner for the club.”

On the prospect of reaching Lord’s, Bridson said: “It’s always in the back of your mind and it’s only four wins, but that’s not as easy as it sounds. We’ll just take it one game at a time and hopefully we can get through on Sunday.”

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Findon are set to have a strong side available for Sunday. Graham Manser, after three wickets and a half-century in the eight-wicket league win over Burgess Hill on Saturday, is available, Harry Metters is back for the rest of the season and Curtis Howell should be fine to bowl his nine overs after a ankle injury.

The game begins at 1pm and Findon will leave around 9am. If the game is cancelled owing to the weather, Findon will have home advantage next Sunday.

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