Cricket: A season of village cricket: Butcher's mates buckle under top-heavy load: Norman Harris continues his long journey from the first round to the final of the National Village Cup

Cricket in Gloucester is something of a tangled web. A number of village captains live or work there, and last week one of several phone calls was between Billy Dawe, the greengrocer who captains Stinchcombe, and Maurice Longney, the butcher from whom he gets his meat.

Longney is secretary of Down Hatherley, who had played Redmarley the previous Sunday. Longney is also a larger-than-life character, a joker with a reputation for upsetting opponents as easily as he amuses team-mates.

Dawe was sure it was yet another wind-up when told by Longney that his side had won by four runs. Down Hatherley had never gone further than a couple of rounds in all of the Village Cup's 23 years. Redmarley, a club with proper pitch covers, were last year's area finalists.

But the tale was convincing, and true. A hitter (or, rather, a bowler who can hit) had smashed a swift 50. Redmarley had set off slowly in pursuit of 156 and reached 100 for 1, only for pressure of overs to undermine them as they hit the panic button.

As for Longney, a silver wedding function meant he would not be at Stinchcombe for the area quarter-final; and, certainly, Billy Dawe was glad that his meat supplier was not playing. That, he said, would have been terribly distracting.

Without the boisterous butcher, Down Hatherley were an undemonstrative side. Three of this XI work for Robert Hall Office Equipment Ltd, and since Robert Hall is captain of Down Hatherley that obviously cuts down on dissent. They were disappointed to lose the toss, and several batsmen had come and gone quietly by the time the club patron arrived.

Harold Priday wore a dark suit and used a well-polished stick. He is 83. After peering at the scorebook for a few seconds, he tapped a bony finger against one name. 'Waste of time. All the strokes in the world and he never hits the ball.'

One who does, of course, was the hero of the Redmarley match. But the team-mates of 40-year- old Chris Gwilliam did not seem to be banking on a repeat of those heroics, and when he returned after a very short visit to the crease there was even a bit of mirth.

The hitter, perhaps believing his publicity, had borrowed a thigh pad for this innings but had been bowled second ball, playing back to one that kept extremely low. 'Much bounce in the wicket, Chris?' someone dared to ask. To his credit, Gwilliam was grinning too.

Down Hatherley's 102 looked at least 50 too light, but at least they had bowlers who could create pressure with canny medium- pace and with off-spin.

John Cresswell once played for Stinchcombe. He looked an off- spinning archetype with his comfortable build, contented appearance and a knowing, slow trot to the wicket reminiscent of Raymond Illingworth. A reputation for steadiness was, too, reinforced by the knowledge of his being a smallbore rifleman who had won competitions at Bisley.

It was a shrewd move to give him the first over. With close catchers in front of him, Dawe got more pad than bat on the ball in that over, and it set the tone. Although a driven boundary soon followed, he was to make only 14 runs in 16 overs before - with Cresswell three balls from finishing his stint - he stretched into a tentative drive and was caught at mid-off.

Out for the first time in three Cup matches, the captain looked wan as he sat contemplatively in the dressing room. 'I was just so negative. So negative . . . He'll be talking about that all night.'

At the other end Gwilliam completed his nine overs of subtle medium pace for just five runs, his last six overs all maidens. Stinchcombe had made a stuttering start. However, a left-handed batsman who plays freely can change the complexion of a game when so few are needed, and Phil Kitchen did just that, while, at the other end, the young No 3 batsman searched for a bit of his missing form.

The telephone lines will be buzzing again, and Billy Dawe will have to endure a few choice cuts when he gets his meat from Maurice Longney. However, he will not be without a retort. His side may have wobbled, yet they have lost only four wickets in three matches, and they certainly look capable of reaching the area final.

DOWN HATHERLEY

D Jones c Greaves b Kitchin 0

R Williams st Greaves b Howe 1

M Cowley b Salter 22

B Cambridge lbw b Eustace 17

R Hall b Eustace 18

C Gwilliam b Mann 1

A Roberts st Greaves b Eustace 0

P Drinkwater b Kitchin 6

A Thompson c Salter b Kitchin 14

J Cresswell b Kitchin 9

R Devall not out 0

Extras (b5 lb4 w5) 14

Total (39 overs) 102

Fall: 1-2 2-4 3-44 4-56 5-61 6-71 7-76 8-79 9-102.

Bowling: Kitchin 9-2-14-4; Howe 9-3-21-1; Salter 7-1- 27-1; Mann 9-1-16-1; Eustace 5-0-15-3.

STINCHCOMBE STRAGGLERS

W Dawe c Williams b Cresswell 14

D Howe c Cowley b Cresswell 6

G Newman not out 40

P Kitchin st Devall b Thompson 26

G Pullin not out 3

Extras (w3 b2 lb10) 14

Total (for 3, 35.4 overs) 103

Fall: 1-18 2-34 3-94.

Bowling: Cresswell 9-1-25-2; Gwilliam 9-7-5-0; Drinkwater 3-0-13-0; Thompson 8.4-0-34-1; Cambridge 6-0-14-1.