In July 1984, Dumbleton and Calmore Sports Club met for the first time, the former running out 74-run winners in a touring match at Loperwood Park. Today, they meet for the second time, in the far grander surroundings of Lord’s, for the 2022 Voneus Village Cup final.
Calmore, debutants in 2021, are the defending champions and bidding to become just the sixth team to successfully defend the title in the competition’s 50-year history.
“I think it’s the commitment of playing on Saturday and Sunday – a lot of us have young families. I said to the lads a few weeks ago, I can’t fault their efforts over the past two years,” says Calmore captain, Mark Lavelle, addressing why back-to-back champions are so rare. “Our ambition was to get through to the national rounds again. It’s quite surreal that we’ve managed to keep the run going,”
Last year, the Hampshire side made hard work of reaching the final, risking a ‘Calmore collapse’ in almost every round. On paper, this year’s run has been more straightforward, although Lavelle believes his side have been “tested” in every game.
“We’ve not won easily but we’ve managed to get through sticky periods,” he reflects. “The game that stands out is Oxford Downs in the last 32 when we didn’t have a strong side – we had to drag Westy [Mike West] back from the 2nd XI – and Oxford were a tough side, one of the more testing in the national rounds. The other game was Goatacre. We had a tight game against them last year and we had another tense one, chasing a low score of 113. After that, we started to believe we could go back to Lord’s.”
Calmore’s Road to Lord’s
First round: Calmore (133-6) beat Hambledon (130-9) by 4 wickets
Second round: Calmore (222-7) beat Sarisbury Athletic (139) by 83 runs
Third round: Ventnor (190) lost to Calmore (191-2) by 8 wickets
Regional final: Bramshaw (177-8) lost to Calmore (178-2) by 8 wickets
Fifth round: Calmore (195-6) beat Oxford Downs (194-7) by 4 wickets
Sixth round: Grampound Road (57) lost to Calmore (60-1) by 9 wickets
Quarter-finals: Calmore (115-5) beat Goatacre (112) by 5 wickets
Semi-finals: Calmore (184-3) beat Foxton Granta (183-8) by 7 wickets
Addressing his side’s standout performers, he continues: “Ben Johns has helped us a lot this year, he’s been outstanding. He’s Mr Village Cup, he keeps churning out runs. But it has been a real team effort. Steve Wright with the new ball, Matt Taylor has played some good innings, Josh Metcalfe is new to Lord’s but was brilliant in the national rounds – he’s dynamic and a brilliant allrounder, and the bowling unit have done brilliantly to restrict teams. Even I’ve managed to score some runs for once!”
Dumbleton, by contrast, are the perennial hopefuls, finally getting their shot at Lord’s after near misses in 2020 (beaten by Colwall in the quarter-finals) and 2011 (a heart-breaking eight-run semi-final defeat against Rottingdean).
“The semi-final loss in 2011 was hard to take. Some of us in the team played in that match so it’s good to get that monkey off our backs,” says captain, Rupert Salmon. “To finally get here is fantastic. There’s a real buzz around the club and as we’ve progressed through the competition, more and more people have become involved and taken an interest in the cup run and in wider club activities.”
Although they’ve enjoyed a relatively drama-free run to the final, the Worcestershire group champions have taken a hard route to Lord’s, travelling over 600 miles, playing five out of seven fixtures away from home, and also losing the toss on five occasions. Salmon, however, believes it stands his side in good stead for the unfamiliar conditions at Lord’s.
“It’s a fantastic foundation for us to work on. Being away from home as regularly as we have, getting to know new conditions – in the Village Cup, playing at home is a massive advantage… overcoming that puts us in good stead for the final. Losing the toss, that has to be on my head,” Salmon says.
But what’s the secret to his side’s success? “I think it’s just the right players coming into form at the right time. Some youngsters getting bigger and stronger and knowing their games a bit more, and just playing hard cricket week in, week out. I thought [we had a shot at Lord’s] from the beginning given the players we have this year.
Dumbleton’s Road to Lord’s
First round: Bye
Second round: Astwood Bank (188-9) lost to Dumbleton (191-4) by 6 wickets
Third round: Bretforton (170-9) lost to Dumbleton (179) by 9 runs
Regional final: Hagley (143) lost to Dumbleton (144-0) by 10 wickets
Fifth round: Weekley & Warkton (79) lost to Dumbleton (81-2) by 8 wickets
Sixth round: Dumbleton (143-3) beat Milford Hall (140) by 7 wickets
Quarter-finals: Cropston (112) lost to Dumbleton (234) by 122 runs
Semi-finals: Rainford (96) lost to Dumbleton (166-9) by 70 runs
“There have been a number of individual performances throughout the run. Ross [Martin] getting the Theakston Player of the Round in the semi-finals – he’s played excellently, Ollie Horne, Dan Holland, but I can probably list a time when each of the players has made a meaningful contribution.
Speaking of the Holland family, the two clubs share an intimate connection – brothers Dan and Myles represent Dumbleton while dad, Nick, is a former Calmore allrounder. “I’m sure Nick will be supporting his lads at Lord’s” laughs Salmon. “But it adds a nice link between us, an extra dimension.”
“Everyone [at Calmore] speaks very highly of Nick and it’s great to have a link with them,” echoes Lavelle. “We’ll hopefully make friends for years to come like with [2021 runners-up] Alvanley. We still keep in touch with the Alvanley lads, a few might come down to support us, and it will be great sharing the experience with Dumbleton.
”Looking ahead to Lord’s, Salmon is looking forward to realising a childhood ambition: “Playing at Lord’s is something I’m sure every cricketer has dreamed of. Playing at a village club and having the opportunity to play at Lord’s, it doesn’t get better than that.
”For Lavelle, the match represents an emotional end of an era. “If you’d told me when I started in 2015 that the last place I’d captain Calmore 1st XI was Lord’s, I’d have laughed at you. I’ve been at Calmore since I was seven, pushing 25 years now, so it will be emotional to lead my best mates out at the front one last time before ditching the stress of captaincy.”
Keep up to date with the Voneus Village Cup by following the competition on Twitter (@TheCricketerNVC) and Instagram (@villagecup)
