Binfield Cricket Club's Women's 1st XI were beaten by six wickets away at Falkland CC, Berks Womens 1st XI in the Home Counties Women's Cricket League Premier Division on Sunday 7 June, Evie Folwell's top-scoring 31 and Phebe Salter's two wickets the pick of a hard-fought afternoon.

Not every Sunday can end with the bunting out, my dear old things, and this was one of those afternoons when Binfield's Women's 1st XI found the going just a touch too firm. Saturday had brought the best part of ten millimetres of rain; Sunday came up dry and mild, but a brisk breeze and a softened outfield made batting an honest business. Captain Zoe Docherty won the toss and chose to bat, and it was Evie Folwell who alone looked entirely at home, playing beautifully for 31. Poppy Evans gave her good support with 17, but Falkland's Darcey Evain was a thorn throughout, wheeling away for a fine 3-18, and the visitors were dismissed for 113 - a total swollen, it must be said, by a remarkable 30 extras; one rather feels a tighter innings was in there somewhere.

There was no shortage of pluck in the field. Phebe Salter bustled in to take 2-35, both of her wickets snapped up by smart catches from Issy Maclay and Layla Judge, while Millie Roberts and Ellie Montgomerie claimed one apiece and Judge's overs were the soul of economy. Under the watchful eyes of umpires Rajesh Raveendran Pillai and Alistair Auty, Binfield asked plenty of questions early - but a target of 114 is a target of 114, my dear old things, and Falkland had the players to find it.

Meika King, who had already done damage with the ball, now finished the job with the bat. Her unbeaten 39, with Poppy Camplin's 28 for company, steered Falkland home in the 21st over, and the worm graph tells the tale plainly enough: the two lines ran close for a while before Falkland's climbed the steeper path and reached the target with the better part of seven overs to spare. Six wickets the margin, and no disgrace in it.

It was a busy weekend across the Premier Division, mind. Moreton put 349 on the board and beat Thame Town by 297, Charlbury saw off Berkhamsted, and Stony Stratford had 142 to spare against Oxford - a reminder of the company Binfield are keeping, even as they sit at the foot of the table for now. They will know - as the dependable scorers Wilson Carlisle and Matthew Potter dutifully recorded - that a few more runs alongside Folwell's, and a few fewer extras, turns this into a very different story. On to the next, as the best sides always say.