The Huskies made it three wins from three, defeating Bishops Stortford by 110 runs on a cold, windy morning on The Common. Games against this opponent have always had a little extra edge to them, especially for one member of the coaching staff who has never quite come to terms with how just competitive these two sides have been over the years!

Losing the toss and being put in was not the result we'd have chosen, but this group are refreshingly unbothered by that sort of thing. Emelia and Amira strode out to open having set themselves a shared target: build on solid performances against Hitchin and push the strike rate on. Against the most disciplined bowling attack we've faced this season, on a new 20-yard strip that offered something to the bowlers, they did exactly that.

The opening partnership grew to 83 before Amira was trapped LBW for 34, a fine innings, and a dismissal that owed more to a good delivery than anything on her part. In came Lily, who needed no time at all to find her rhythm. The smart running and clever shot-making are well-established hallmarks by now, but this innings added something new to the repertoire. Two sixes, one medium sized, one quite extraordinary, suggests that Weetabix for breakfast may now be non-negotiable in the Moxham household!

In the middle of all of that, Emelia progressed quickly to her half century, retiring not out on 52 off 43 balls. This innings a little more fluent than the one at Hitchin and certainly at more like the strike rate she had targeted.

Tamsin joined Lily with the pair setting themselves a target of 160 by the close. A combination of strong boundary hitting and smart running had the total climbing nicely until Tamsin clipped one to mid-on. Hannah came in for the final three overs, and she and Lily got us to 168/2 from our allocation. Could we have squeezed a few more with sharper running in places? Probably. But in conditions that made batting challenging at times, it would be churlish to grumble about another big total.

The pre-bowling chat was brief and familiar: bring the stumps into play, apply pressure in the field, and enjoy it. Amira opened at probably her quickest of the season, and it's fair to say neither of Stortford's openers particularly enjoyed the first over. Isla then produced the moment of the morning, a caught and bowled that was, frankly, a worldie! When Bishops Stortford had the temerity to hit Lily's opening three balls for consecutive fours, the response came in the form of two wickets from the last three balls of that same over. Moxham 1 – Bishops Stortford 0 in that little encounter!

Wickets came regularly from there. Isla added one more at the end of her spell; Amira chipped in with another; and Emelia produced a sharp direct hit run out. Ellie added to the pressure on the Stortford batters with two sharp stumping chances which on another day might have have both been given. Holly marked her return to the team with two quick wickets — proof, if any were needed, that bowling straight and challenging the batter is the most reliable formula in this format of the game. Olivia again showed her quality in conditions that were far from ideal for spin, picking up another wicket, safely held by Lily. Emelia and Tamsin wrapped things up with one each at the end. Bishops Stortford 58 all out. Harpenden win by 110 runs.

Whether Bishops Stortford were at full strength doesn't particularly matter, and we won't dwell on it. We played our game, our way. What stays with us more than the margin of victory are the messages that have arrived from opposition coaches after recent matches - unprompted notes about not just how the Huskies play, but how they carry themselves. We've got a genuinely talented group of cricketers. We've also got a genuinely good group of girls. That combination doesn't come along very often.

With no Letchworth game on Monday our next competitive outing is the 18th, when we face Broxbourne at home. Women's training is on as usual on Monday evening, 6–8pm. Thanks to the club (i.e. Geoff), for the new 20-yard strip and for opening the clubhouse and bar, to Steve for scoring, and to everyone who helped set up and pack away to get the Women's 1s off on time.