For the first time this season Chesterfords home ground basked in sunshine as the players strode to the wicket to see what it may have in store for them for the ensuing titanic clash. Chesterfords were entertaining Essendon who were currently top of the League after some good performances earlier on in the season. The pitch itself looked as if it would crumble towards the end of the game making it harder to bat on and giving the team that batted first a strong advantage. Unfortunately for Chesterfords Essendon won the toss and did the sensible thing and put Chesterfords out in the field.

Essondon got off to a superb start thanks to some wayward bowling by the usually reliable Tom Thake and the newcomer Luke Claydon. With 45 runs being scored off of the first 4 overs Essendon were looking increasingly more comfortable at the crease and Chesterfords were forced into taking direct action by replacing the two youngsters with James Lipscombe and James Pullen given the nod. Lipscombe soon struck clean bowling Byrne after a confident 36 with a ball that the batsmen seem to play all around. Pullen was the next to strike with a ball that swung late to trap Greese leg before right in front of all three stumps. With Lipscombe and Pullen both continuing to bowl very tightly the Essendon run rate slowed quite considerably. Pullen finished his spell bowling a miserly 10 overs 1 wicket for only 14 runs. With Adam Miles taking the wicket of Pickard, the Captain of the opposition strode to the crease and begun to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Venables scored a very well timed and assured 50 in no time at all with Chesterfords bowlers and fielders beginning to struggle in the heat. Venables played some elegant shots and one beautiful cover drive that had the watching spectators on their feet. Miles continued to bowl well and finished with figures of 8 overs 2 wickets for 25 runs. Venables looked as if he was cementing the innings and looking for a last big ten overs as Essendon total raced passed the 190 mark. Wazz Mughal was then bought into the attack, along with Lipscombe to bowl his remaining two overs and both were in devastating form as they ripped into Essondon’s lower order with Venables finally bowled by Lipscombe for 72. Mughal finishing with figures of 4 overs 3 wickets for 30 runs and Lipscombe finishing with 9 overs 4 wickets for 30 runs meant that Essendon could only muster 42 runs from their last 6 batsmen. With Essendon reaching a total of 227 all out on a rapidly deteriorating pitch Chesterfords were well aware of the importance of building a strong platform for success with the bat.

After escaping from the relentless sunshine during the tea interval Chesterfords opening pair of  James Lipscombe and Wazz Mughal strode purposefully to the crease. Some tight opening overs from Bruce and Holley claimed the wicket of Mughal for 2 and then a bowling change created a wicket for Chamberlain as Paul Phillips was unlucky to be caught from a top edge. This bought James Pullen to the crease. With a well structured innings both batsmen looked set and were happy to push the ball into spaces and gaps and wait for the bad balls to propel to the boundary with disdain. Lipscombe reached his 4^th League 50 in a row with Pullen quickly following. Both batsmen played beautifully and looked as if they could bat all day. The Essendon bowlers had no answer to the technically gifted Pullen who decided to set about the bowlers which he did with ease. He simply destroyed the bowlers will with some breathtaking shots perfectly executed. Lipscombe carried on in fine form at the other end picking gaps and smashing the ball through them. With Pullen reaching his maiden League century finishing on 102 Not Out and Lipscombe finishing on 88 Not Out Chesterfords successfully chased down the required total in the 35^th over winning the game by 8 wickets. An emphatic victory which leaves Chesterfords a mere 3 points behind the League leaders and looking too hot to handle.