There's no love lost between sports desk colleagues at the Leicester Mercury lately…

Two of them - Martin Crowson and Jon Dale - have seen their village cricket teams drawn against each other in the semi-finals of the county cup, playing for the chance of a place in the final at Grace Road.

There has been a lot of posturing, posing and 'sledging' in the run-up to the crunch tie, the only problem being the threat that whoever is on the losing side might not turn up for work the next day!

Cricket writer Ken Widdows said: "Pride is at stake here.

"How would you like it if you had to troop into work, head bowed, shoulders hunched with shades to hide the tears?"

It's winner takes all but amid the cheap shots they have been sending each other, there's an air of seriousness.

Jon's team, Newtown Linford, are from the second division and are clearly underdogs to Premier Division Ivanhoe.

But both players are aware that anything can happen in a one-off game.

Jon (above) said: "The lure of playing Ivanhoe could be just the incentive we need.

"The tension in the office has been unbearable since the semi-final draw, with a lot of banter being thrown across the desks."

Martin (right) countered: "Newtown will be well up for it because they've never been to Grace Road before. But the lure of the county ground will be just as strong for us because we know what a great day out a County Cup final is."

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