Match Reports

Posted July 20th 2009

Berkhamsted 91 for 8 (20pts) beat HHTCC 58 all out (6 pts) by 33 runs

 

With Berkhamsted virtually guaranteed top spot in the Group, and Hemel looking like finishing third, the smart money for this last group match of the season would have been on an away win. However, as Berkhamsted won the toss, and began their innings, proceedings started in a rather less predictable fashion.

Contrary to recent form, the visitors found themselves 19 for 5 in the 5th over, all of which fell during Daniel Woosley's first 3 overs (2 bowled, 3 run outs). Like all good teams though, Berko looked to rebuild the innings and managed to complete the 20 overs for the loss of just 3 further wickets, finishing on 91 for 8.

Despite the relatively low score, the quality and depth of Berko's batting was evident throughout the innings, especially from Jordan Harrison (12), Seb Smith (19) and Olly O'Gorman (16).

A much improved performance with the ball and in the field by Hemel, who did well to restrict Berkhamsted to their lowest 1st innings score of the season.

 

Hemel bowling highlights: Woosley 4-0-11-2, Iqbal 4-0-19-1, Minett 3-0-16-1, Doodson 4-0-16-1, Elborn 2-0-6-0

 

Any hopes of a good start to Hemel's innings were soon scuppered by some accurate fast bowling by openers Harrison & Steed, bowling 3 wicket-maidens in the first 6 overs. By this time, Hemel were at 11 for 5, and looking unikely to pick up the pace required to reach the 92 needed for victory. In fact, with just two double-figure innings (Iqbal, 12 and Minett, 14*) and two double-figure partnerships, Hemel never looked like getting near the target throughout the remainder of the innings. Despite a valiant effort by Woosley and Minett, putting on 24 for the last wicket, Woosley succumbed in the 19th over and the innings closed on 58 all out.

 

Berkhamsted bowling highlights: Harrison 4-1-12-2, Steed 4-2-6-4, Smith 3-1-8-0, Barnett 4-0-12-1, Antonelli 2-0-9-2, O'Dair 1.5-0-3-1

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Posted July 12th 2009

Abbots Langley CC 108 for 2 off 20 overs (20pts) beat Hemel Hempstead Town CC 77 all out (4pts).

Buoyed by the recent win against Kings Langley, Hemel went into this game at Abbots, confident of securing second place in the group, and a possible quarter-final spot.

Putting the home side into bat, proceedings got off to a good start, with a run-out in the first over (Denyer, run-out by Minett) before a run had been scored.

This only served to bring Lee Rossiter to the crease, who, with opener Parmar, put on 100 for the second wicket. The old adage 'catches win matches' may be true, but 'drops lose matches' would be more relevant variation, as 3 simple opportunities were put down during this partnership, allowing Parmar to reach 48 and Rossiter to retire at 50, both in the 19th over. Despite their dominance of the Hemel bowling, the innings closed on 108 for 2 after 20 overs - a total that the visors should be confident of achieving. Despite the below-par performance in the field, Hemel's bowlers did manage to concede just 3 extras in the innings (2 leg byes, 1 wide) almost certainly a record for this squad, at all age groups!

 

Hemel bowling highlights: Woosley 4-0-18-1, James 2-0-8-0, Iqbal 2-1-7-0, Doodson 4-0-17-0

 

Abbots opening batsmen also opened the bowling and immediately started to apply the pressure on Hemel's openers. Both batsmen were back 'in the pavilion' by the end of the 4th over, with just 9 runs on the scoreboard. Doodson and Iqbal looked to repair the damage, and put on 38 for the 3rd wicket, by which time honours were even, with both teams having scored 52 at the half-way mark. From here on, however, the advantage swung to Abbots' favour, thanks to 2 important wickets at the start of that 10th over, bowled by Lee Rossiter - Iqbal bowled for 15, immediately followed by Elborn, c&b without troubling the scorers. A mini-recovery by Liam James (15) and Doodson (22) looked to be getting Hemel's innings back on track, but once Doodson had been sent packing by Dean in his last over, the innings' 13th, the remaining batsmen never looked like catching up with the required run-rate, even if they could survive the remaining overs. Andrew Rueth bowled just one over, but that was enough to finish off the match, ending Hemel's reply at 77 all out, in the 17th over.

 

A disappointing performance for Hemel, who dominated the home tie earlier in the season, but a well deserved victory for Abbots Langley who were by far the more disciplined team on the night.

 

Abbots bowling highlights: Parmar 4-1-10-2, Denyer 3-1-10-1, Dean 4-0-16-1, Rossiter 4-0-31-2, Graves 1-0-1-1, Rueth 1-0-2-3

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Posted June 28th 2009

Hemel Hempstead Town CC 120-3 (20pts) beat Kings Langley CC 116-6 (6pts) by 7 wickets

 

Match played at HHTCC on 25/6/09

 

Hemel's run of good fortune with the toss continued to 2 wins out of 7, and put the visitors in to bat first, in what looked to be the match that could seal second place in the group.

True to form, the Kings Langley openers got off to a steady start, despite losing Burnell for 23, bowled by Zack Iqbal in an eventful 5th over, that also saw no-balls, wides and boundaries. Elsewhere though, Hemel's bowlers Abaan Suqlain and Jack Doodson were keeping a lid on the KL batsmen, restricting them to 48-1 by the start of the 10th over. That over saw another bowling change and resulted in a wicket-maiden for Jamie Keevill, removing Logan Turner for a hard-fought 9 runs. Harry Sambrook kept the runs flowing for much of the innings (50 retired), but with just Burnell & Sambrook reaching double-figures, and spinners Minett & Elborn applying the brakes, the visitors reached 116 for 6 at the close. Not the tidiest of performances in the field by the home side, but overall it was a good performance to restrict Kings Langley to 116.

 

Hemel bowling highlights: Suqlain 4-0-9-0, Doodson 4-0-19-0, Keevill 2-1-10-1, Minett 4-0-24-1, Elborn 3-0-19-1

 

Hemel's reply also got off to a steady start, keeping up with Kings Langley's run-rate, despite losing openers Sattaur (9) an Storey (15) by the 7th over, with the score at 39-2. But a 'captain's innings' by Doodson, batting from the 3rd over to the close, finishing on 38 n.o.(including the only 6 of the match), coupled with Iqbal's brisk 33 (including 7x boundary 4's in 11 scoring shots) for a 3rd wicket stand of 61, saw the advantage swing in favour of the home side. As Iqbal's wicket fell in the 16th over still with 17 runs required for victory, Doodson took the reigns and sealed the win with two consecutive boundaries at the start of the 18th over.

 

Kings Langley bowling highlights: Woods 4-0-14-1, Burnell 4-0-21-1, Turner 2.2 -0-15-1

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Posted June 22nd 2009

Hemel Hempstead Town CC 94-8 off 18.5 overs (20pts) beat Tring Park CC 93 all out (8pts) by 2 wickets.

 

Match played at HHTCC on 18-6-09

Hemel broke their duck with the coin-toss, and put Tring in to bat, on a typical June (ie cloudy & cold) evening at Heath Park.

After the (relatively) high-scoring, last-over thriller at Tring earlier in the season, Hemel would have looked to restrict the visitor's run-rate from the outset, but Tring took advantage of any loose deliveries, picking up boundaries at regular intervals throughout the innings. Hemel's cause wasnt helped either by the amount of extras conceded; primarily 20 wides in a total of 24.

It wasnt all doom and gloom for the home team though, as, despite some promising starts, none of the Tring batsmen managed to progress beyond Beeney's top score of 15 - Sam Masters (11) being the only other batsman into double figures. Main cause of this was Hemel's first-change bowler Jamie Keevill who applied the brakes and sent Beeney & Cogger back to the pavilion just when Tring were regaining some momentum. Thanks also to Jack Elborn, playing for the first time in 7 weeks after recovering from a knee injury, wickets continued to fall throughout the second half of the innings, restricting Tring to 93 all out at the end of the 19th over.

 

Hemel bowling highlights - James 2-0-17-1, Keevill 4-0-10-2, Doodson 4-0-20-1, Elborn 3-0-13-3, Iqbal 2-0-13-1

 

Hemel's reply mirrored Tring's innings for much of its duration, although it wasn't until the 13th over that Hemel edged ahead of the run-rate. Where the home team had the advantage was the innings of opener, Aaron Sattaur, who remained at the crease until reaching 50 (retired) in the 14th over, with the score at 75-5. From that point on, with just 19 runs required from 6 overs, the home-win should have been a walk in the park, but two consecutive wicket-maidens by Will Salmon and then James Hawkes put Tring back in the driving seat. A brisk 10 not-out by Thomas Scears then swung the advantage back in Hemel's favour, leaving just one run required for victory from the last two overs. The home-win looked in doubt yet again as Dan O'Neill took the 8th wicket with his first ball of the penultimate over, and looked on course for the 3rd wicket-maiden of the innings until his 5th ball was adjudged wide, handing the win to Hemel.

 

Tring bowling highlights - Beeney 4-0-14-2, O'Neill 3.5-0-26-3, Salmon 4-1-19-2, Hawkes 2-1-6-1

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Posted June 14th 2009

HHTCC 165 for 2 off 20 overs (20pts) beat Boxmoor CC 129 all out off 18.3 overs (7pts).

Match played at Boxmoor on 12-6-09

After another loss of the toss, Hemel were put into bat, on a warm but cloudy evening on the Moor. Hemel openers Aaron Sattaur & Liam James looked to get the innings off to a brisk start, but lost James for a quick-fire 15, needlessly run out going for a quick single in the third over. New batsman Jack Doodson got off to a more cautious start but was soon on his way back to the pavillion after another quick 16 runs, adjudged lbw off Luke Marsh's only over.

Apart from a few byes, Boxmoor's bowlers were giving away very few extras, but any loose deliveries were put away efficiently by Sattaur (50*) and Zack Iqbal (54*), as both worked their way towards retirement in the last over. Iqbal's 54 n.o. was particulary impressive, including 3 sixes in his 8 boundaries. Two of those sixes nearly brought his innings to an end, however, as they went straight to the fielders on the shorter boundary, but not with both feet inside the boundary!

New batsmen Luke Minett & Alasdair Leighton looked to keep the run rate going for the last over; Leighton succeeding by scoring his 11 n.o. off 3 balls faced. Hemel's innings closed on 165 for 2.

Despite the large (for Hemel, at least!) total, the Boxmoor bowlers managed to apply the brakes on a number of occasions, particularly Alex Dukes & Stanley Harper with accurate spells.

Boxmoor bowling highlights: Cottrell - 3-0-15-0, Fisher - 3-0-17-0, Marsh - 1-0-16-1, Harper 4-0-24-0, Dukes - 3-0-26-0

Boxmoor's reply got off to a shakey start, losing Ryan Smart (9) in the third over, to a well-taken high catch by Jack Doodson. For the hosts to get near Hemel's score, without Smart's usual contribution, they would have looked to next man in, Alex Dukes, to chip-in with a quick 50.

Dukes duly obliged, reaching a hard-fought 52 n.o. at the end of the innings. But with wickets falling regularly at the other end, an away win soon looked to be the most likely outcome. The only resistance came from Fisher (13) & Shah (12). Boxmoor's innings came to a close on 129 all out, after 18.3 overs, with the wicket of Shah, another safely taken high catch by Doodson. Extras undoubtedly contributed to the total towards the end as part time bowlers were given a bowl once the result looked safe.

Hemel bowling highlights: Woosley - 3.3-0-10-2, James - 2-0-9-0, Suqlain - 3-0-17-2, Sattaur - 3-0-34-3

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Posted June 6th 2009

Berkhamsted CC v HHTCC - Rained Off (10pts each)

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Posted May 22nd 2009

Abbots Langley CC 78 for 8 off 20 overs (3pts) lost to Hemel Hempstead Town CC 79-1 off 14.2 overs (20pts).

 

Match played at HHTCC on 21-5-09

 

Hemel kept up their run of losing the toss, and were asked to field first by the visitors, on a pleasant and sunny evening at Heath Park.

Abbots openers Barmforth & Diran Solanki got off to a cautious start against some tight bowling by Dan Woosley & Jamie Keevill. Keevill removed Barmforth (caught, 1) in the 4th over, leaving Solanki and new batsman Metcalfe to pick up the pace. Metcalfe (4) was soon sent back however, after giving Zack Iqbal a caught & bowled chance which was comfortably taken. Rossiter (run out, 4) soon followed, thanks to some sharp fielding by Ryan Dent. Only Rueth (4) and Bishop (6) offered some resistance while Solanki continued to accumulate the majority of Abbots' runs. Solanki was finally out in the 18th over for 29 runs - stand-in keeper James taking his 2nd athletic catch off Luke Minett's leg-spin. And just when the remaining batsmen would have liked to give the total a final boost in the last couple of overs, Doodson took 2 wickets in 2 balls and Minett bowled a maiden to bring the innings to a close on 78 for 8.

Mention must also go to 'extras', who contributed 26 runs to the total !

 

Hemel's bowling highlights: Woosley 3-0-5-0, Keevill 4-1-19-1, Iqbal 4-0-15-1, Doodson 4-0-10-2, Minett 4-1-12-2

 

79 to win, with an unsettled batting line-up, could have been a tricky proposition, but a home win never looked in too much doubt, despite losing Liam James (10) in the 3rd over, bowled by Alec Dean. This only brought captain Jack Doodson (40 n.o.) to the crease, who, along with Luke Minett (13 n.o.), kept Hemel ahead of the required run rate, reaching the target in the 14th over.

But for some accurate bowling, particularly that of Dean and Jack Bishop, and some tidy fielding on the boundary, the win would have been secured even earlier.

 

Abbots' bowling: Dean 4-0-13-1, Dominic Smith 3.2-0-20-0, Bishop 3-0-16-0, Solanki 3-0-23-0

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Posted May 18th 2009

Kings Langley 108-4 off 20 overs (20 pts), HHTCC 81-7 off 20 overs (6 pts), Kings Langley won by 28 runs

Another toss won by the opposition, Kings Langley decided to bat first, on a dry but cloudy evening on Kings Langley Common.

Hemel's openers Daniel Woosley & Abaan Suqlain initially kept the home side down to 7 runs off the first 4 overs but batsmen Andrew Burnell & Logan Turner soon picked up the pace - the first boundary being Turner's 6, narrowly avoiding being caught on the boundary by Zack Iqbal, whose momentum just took him over the line.

Steady progress was made, with good running between the wickets and another gift of 5-byes for hitting the 'keeper's helmet (for the 2nd match in a row!), until Turner was bowled by Jack Doodson for 15 runs. Despite some tight bowling by all Hemel's bowlers, the hosts didnt lose another wicket until the 18th over (Will Johnson, 19, bowled Woosley). Soon after, opening bat Burnell retired on 50 runs, steering his side to close on 108-4 after 20 overs.

Hemel's bowling: Woosley 4-0-18-1, Suqlain 4-0-23-0, Doodson 4-0-11-2, Iqbal 4-0-12-0, O'Nien 4-0-31-1

Hemel's reply got off to a steady start, matching Kings Langley's runs per over until the 5th, but dropped behind thereafter, losing Sattaur (12), run out in the 9th over, with the score on just 36. Luke O'Nien nudged & nurdled away, finding the boundary just twice before being caught in the 13th over for 30 runs. Wickets then fell at regular intervals, with a number of sharp catches being held, including the wicket of Zack Iqbal (9), ironically caught a few inches inside the boundary (following his earlier attempt). With little other resistance being offered, Hemel fell 28 runs short of the required total, finishing on 81 for 7.

Kings Langley bowling highlights: Burnell 4-0-14-2, Walker 4-0-12-0, Johnson 3-0-14-1, Sambrook 4-0-12-2, Turner 3-0-13-1

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Posted May 11th 2009

Tring 141-9 off 20 overs (9 pts), HHTCC 142-5 off 19.4 overs (20 pts), HHTCC won by 5 wickets

 

Tring won the toss and decided to bat first. The home side started brightly against Hemel's part-time bowling attack, averaging about 6 runs per over for the first 10, thanks to some positive batting from Chesterman (16), Beany (20) & O'Neill (18). Bowling highlight at this stage of the match was provided by Hemel's captain, Jack Doodson, taking a one-handed c&b on his follow through, to dismiss Beany.

The best was yet to come though, for Tring, as Will Salmon started to build a potentially match-winning innings of 55 not-out, including 9 fours and 1 six. However, at the other end, the remaining batsmen weren't coping quite as well with the bowling attack, providing Doodson with a hat-trick and Adeeb Iqbal with a double-wicket maiden. 26 runs off the last over (23 to Salmon) helped Tring to a total of 141 for 9 off their 20 overs.

 

Hemel bowling highlights: A.Iqbal 4-1-21-3, Doodson 4-0-26-4, R.Woosley 3-0-12-1

 

Hemel's reply was in trouble as early as the 2nd over, as Beany bowled Sattaur (5) with the total on just 8. By the 6th over, the visitors found themselves at 19 for 4, facing quite an uphill struggle to get near Tring's total. Around this time though, Doodson started to find some form with the bat, and took Hemel to 84 for 4 before retiring on 53, in the 13th over. With a fairly inexperienced middle and lower order, a home win still looked on the cards, but Stephen Johnson (35 n.o.) knuckled down, and with the assistance of Joe Cockley (8) & Daniel Woosley (10 n.o.), kept chipping away at the runs required to take Hemel to 142 for 5 with 2 balls to spare.

 

Tring's bowling highlights: Salmon 4-1-12-1, Beany 4-0-18-3, Chesterman 4-0-27-1

 

Another match played in very dim conditions towards the end, but played in great spirits by both teams throughout.

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Posted May 4th 2009

Hemel Hempstead Town CC 89-5 (20pts), Boxmoor CC 89-9 (6pts), HHTCC won by 5 wickets

Despite damp weather being forecast for this fixture, the match got underway (almost) on-time with little or no threat of rain or bad light. The visitors won the toss and decided to field first.

As local rivalries go, they don't get much closer (geographically) than Hemel & Boxmoor, but this was the first time these two teams had met in league competition.

Hemel's openers Aaron Sattaur & Jack Doodson got the innings off to a steady start but some tight bowling by Stanley Harper & Ryan Smart kept the rate at around 4 per over, and forced an error in the 7th over resulting in the run out of Sattaur for 13 runs with the total on just 26. Hemel struggled to increase the run rate throughout the remainder of the innings, except for a short spell while Liam James was at the crease, managing three boundaries in a total of 18. Smart & Sam Stride combined in the 19th over to dismiss James; Smart taking a good catch at deep mid wicket. An exact repeat followed the next ball, this time Smart taking the catch to dismiss Doodson for 25. The innings closed with the score at 89 for 5.

Boxmoor bowling highlights: Harper 4-0-16-0, Smart 3-0-11-0, Cottrell 2-0-5-0, Humphrey 2-0-6-0, Malhorta 4-0-16-0, Marsh 2-0-11-1, Stride 2-0-13-2.

With a fairly modest total to chase, Boxmoor got off to a cautious start, the first 5 overs yielding just 7 runs when the first wicket fell; opener Alex Humphrey giving a low catch to James off the bowling of Daniel Woosley. This brought new-boy Smart to the crease, to face the bowlers he had been team-mates with for the previous 7 years or so. No mercy was shown though, as 'Spud' proceeded to single-handedly turn the advantage back to Boxmoor, in the process scoring 18 off the 9th over - the same amount that had been scored off the preceding 8 overs.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Hemel's captain, Doodson, was applying the brakes, taking the wickets of opener Stride and Shah in his 3rd over, a double-wicket maiden. Alex Dukes steadied the ship once more for the visitors, putting on 27 runs in 4 overs with Smart, until being bowled by leg-spinner Luke Minett for 10 runs.

With just 27 runs to win off 6 overs, and with Smart in full-flight, the impetus was still with Boxmoor. After many well-timed straight drives, Smart managed to hit a Suqlain full-toss straight to Andrew Lane at deep mid off, bringing his innings to a close on 41, frustratingly close to a potential match-winning retirement.

The remaining batsmen took Boxmoor to within 3 runs for victory with 2 wickets remaining at the start of the last over. By this time, around 8.30, the gathering clouds had extinguished the majority of the remaining light, so 'quickie' Doodson would have the upper hand if he could keep it on the stumps. Two dot balls followed by a wicket (Malhorta, bowled for 9) was a good start to the over for Hemel, which culminated in a single to last man Harper and a scrambled bye off the last ball, bringing the scores level.

A quick check on the total with the umpire to confirm the score, followed by a check on the league rules for tied scores, confirmed the win for the home team, by virtue of fewer wickets lost.

Hemel bowling highlights: Woosley 4-2-8-1, Suqlain 4-0-14-2, Doodson 4-2-7-3, Minett 4-0-20-3

An exciting season opener for both teams, played in good spirits, but both will be hoping for a bit more breathing space in the return match on June 12th!

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