RESULT - Stevenage Won by 2 wickets
A win against already relegated Chorleywood ensured Stevenage's place in the top Hertfordshire League and infact left the team in a mid-table position 5th from 10 following a number of other results going their way.
Chorleywood made Stevenage fight hard for victory on a difficult pitch which was made worse for the batters by a heavy shower and leaky covers during the lunch break. Chorleywood batted first and Neil Beer proved he had gone flat during his three week holiday
as he barrelled in to take the first 4 wickets of the game and return figures of 4 for 28 from 8 overs. His good spell was then built on by the ever dependable Ahzar Ali, who collected another 4 wickets to take his league total for the season to 48. Yet again the
improved bowling was backed up by high standards in the field to leave Chorleywood on 159 for 8 from their rain reduced quota of 50 overs. Behind the stumps Andy Armstrong worked hard on an incredibly difficult pitch for the wicket keepers, picking up a stumping and conceeding
only 6 byes, compared to his counterparts 24. The completion of a steepling catch (it went up least as high as the Empire State Building & possibly as high as the building in Asia somewhere that's even taller) by David Carr, exemplified the kind of standards set in the field during the day.
RESULT - Stevenage Won by 6 wickets
Stevenage completed their first back to back wins in 2003 and Peter Magafas had to thank his A-Team of Ahzar Ali, Nasser Ahmed and Aamir Ahktar for the success.
Ahzar bowled throughout the visitors innings with his left arm spinners taking 4 for 67 off 30 overs of very tight bowling. Well supported by Aamir (1 for 37) & Nasser (3 for 54) they kept a vice like grip on the League's Champions Elect batting.
The bowling was well supported again in the field with crucial catches held in the deep and an inspirational run-out completed by Magafas, which comprised a sliding stop and a bullet like throw from the ground which resulted in a direct hit on the one stump he had as a target and the
dismissal of Ben Fraser. Any gremlins the visitor's saw in the pitch during their batting were soon dispelled, as the Welwyn spinenrs failed to obtain the spin extracted by Stevenage's spinners & Nasser Ahmed gave a batting display of the highest class. His 96no was full of wonderful stroke play and his undefeated partnership with Aamir (30 no) of 69 for the 4th wicket was the highest of the day.
This pleasant win gives Stevenage a chance of avoiding relegation. But, next Saturday its all to play for & any one of four sides could join Stevenage's opponents Chorleywood back in the SHCL.
RESULT - Stevenage Won by 6 wickets
Stevenage got the win they desperately required when they beat a strong Millhillians team last Saturday. Skipper Pete Magafas made changes from the previous week.
In came Mike Williams and Loo Fulgence and after Magafas won the toss both players made considerable contributions in the field. Fulgence got the early wickets most of them in one magic over during his opening spell. In the field it was Michael Williams' superb fielding which took the eye especially a wonder catch at deep square leg ,
to dismiss opener Goldberg, which was to set the standard for the day. Initially the catch never looked on and Williams' himself uttered a stiffled cry of "Ohhh no" as the top edge flew upwards some distance to his right and began its descent rather too rapidly for his liking, but he sprinted in and launched into a full length dive, plucking the ball out of the air
a mere foot from the ground. However, all that entertainment was preceeded by the first and possibly most fatal blow to the Millihillians innings, which was struck by Aamir Ahktar. With the 7th ball of the innings and his first of the match Aamir trapped Millhillian's Aussie batting wizard LBW for a golden duck.
Stevenages all round display was excellent and when they batted Graham Duff contributing the match winning innings with 42 not out after the loss of two early wickets and ensured that Stevenage ran out comfortable winners.
This win puts Stevenage in with a chance of avoiding relegation, although this coming Saturday they host Welwyn Garden City who are in search of the one win they require to be crowned league champions.
RESULT - Match Drawn
Peter Magafas led from the front as he became captain courageous to blunt the visitors attack, which was spearheaded by former England Test Bowler Mark Illot.
Magafas (84) won the toss and elected to bat and with Nasser Ahmed (37), returning from coaching duties, they took all Illot could offer and plundered some profligate bowling from the other end. A highlight was
a square cut six from Magafas to the longest boundary and a straight six that sent the 2 of the 3 wise monkeys that are Gordon Tripp, Jim Alderton and Ron Davies diving for cover. Jim, Gordon and Ron, really should
have got a mention on here before now, because they are loyal supporters, home and away, and their presence is appreciated by the players. The innings of Magafas put the Stevenage in a commanding position at 111 for 2 off 25 overs.
Although there came the requisite collapse Stevenage seemed to be made of tougher things under Magafas and the tail "wagged " with Ian Baker (26), Azhar Ahmed (24) and Del Armitage (14) they pushed the total to a respectable 232.
Azhar Ahmed was not finished after his 24, as he mesmerised Potters Bar's top order with his left arm spinners as he has other batsmen throughout the season. He went for 85 off 26 overs and picked up 7 wickets. The victory for Stevenage seemed odds on, but
dropped catches let Potters Bar of the hook. This was the difference between winning and drawing. But nevertheless a decent result against the team second in the league sends a signal to the rest of the league that Stevenage are still in there fighting to the end of the season.
Stevenage Innings
D.Carr lbw b Illot 6
Bowling
Potters Bar Innings
A.Norman b Ali 0
Extras 9
Bowling
RESULT - Stevenage Lost by 6 wickets
The first problem faced by Stevenage's new captain was a logistical one. There were 2 vehicles at the club and six players, six kit bags and one scorer to transport to St Albans and
the Hatfield Road was closed. Pete was left scratching his balding pate, until it was pointed out that Barry Turner is somewhat of a distribution expert. So having already delegated Turner down the batting order to number 7 he relegated
the logistical problem to Turner to solve, which to be fair to BT he managed with ease. Unfortunately nothing else was so easily fixed, because despite winning the toss and choosing to bat on a decent, albeit dry, wicket the batting again failed to fire.
Of the top five only David Carr, with a patient 47, made a significant contribution, and middle to lower order runs were also at a premium with Ian Baker making 23 and Aamir Ahktar 32 in a below par total of 144 allout. Stevenage's defence of the total began
very well with combination of Azhar Ali's spin and Bhatti's swing bowling maintaining a tight rein on the runrate and picking up regular wickets. In fact at tea the game was very balanced with St Albans wobbling on 46 for 4. After tea it was a different
story as for the second time in the season Phil Caley blitzed the Stevenage bowling with some impressive strokeplay on a wicket which nobody else had looked comfortable on. The only chance Stevenage had was with the score on 100 when Caley was caught by Sinclair
off of the bowling of Bhatti only for a no ball call to reprieve the batsman.
Stevenage Innings
D.Carr ct Caley b Green 47
Bowling
St Albans Innings
M.Howeson ct Ahktar b Ali 0
Bowling
RESULT - Stevenage Lost by 8 wickets
It was a glorious sunny summer day, but that was about all.
A poor performance by Stevenage and skipper Del Armitage offered his resignation, which has been accepted by the Clubs Cricket Committee following consultation with the 1st XI squad.
It was a difficult wicket to bat on after considerable rainfall during the week but the Stevenage batters just didn't apply themselves against a side who themselves been bowled out cheaply the week before.
A total of 150 could well have been a winning one but the 82 set for victory was never enough, despite some good overs from Richard Hamilton and an high quality spell from Ahzar Ali, who continues to be the
pick of the Stevenage side. Peter Magafas has been installed as Stevenage's new captain until the end of the season. Please see the Latest News page of the website for additional information
Stevenage Innings
P.Magafas ct Anstead b Tilbury 26
Bowling
St Margretsbury Innings
B.O'Shea ct Carr b Ali 13
Bowling
RESULT - Match Drawn
Stevenage 1st XI put in a poor batting display. Any thoughts of victory were gone by tea when chasing 202 the visitors were 96 for 8 . Hoddesdon had opened with spinners and the ball turned
sharply R.Byrne removing Dave Carr and Ian Baker with the first 4 balls without reply and others then offered futile resistance. However, 8 overs were lost to rain and it took Barry Turner and Andy Armstrong to bat out time to save the draw.
RESULT - Stevenage Lost By 4 wickets
It was a "hard hat day" for the 1st XI and Pete Magafas was left wishing he was wearing one on his morning journey to West Herts via the Stevenage Tesco. Having picked up some breakfast he was strolling out of the car park
towards Ian Baker's car, when the raised vehicle barrier came down, with an audible crack, flush on the top of his head. Magafas, barely flinched and didn't miss a step, but his teammates in the waiting car and all of the gobsmacked Tesco customers that witnessed
the event fell about laughing. Magafas could only shrug after the event and rue several missed opportunities. He could have gone down like a sack of potatoes and sued Tesco, or at least got hold of the CCTV footage and made a bit of cash on one of them TV home video
shows.
The match eventually ended in yet another disappointment for the 1st XI, losing a game from a relatively safe position. Its time to "toughen up" or relegation which is looking likely, will soon become a foregone conclusion.
Batting first the upper order failed to contribute significantly, although Pete Magafas and Ian Baker, took a fair bit of the hardness and shine from the new ball to give the middle a chance to compile a handy, although not daunting total.
Irfan Bhatti (89n.o), played the outstanding innings enabling a total of 176 to be set. However, the defence of the total fluctuated between encouraging and woeful. Three wickets were picked up early, Ahzar Ali taking 2 and the other runnout,
as West Herts fell way behind the required rate. A fourth wicket partnership of about 100 set the chase back up, but a rate of about 7 an over was still needed when Aamir Ahktar produced a firey spell to dismiss both of the set batsmen. A further
wicket for Ali, proved only a temporary hitch to West Herts, who were also in the relegation, as they picked the gaps in field and finished in style with a straight six from the third ball of the last over.
Stevenage Innings
P.Magafars ct Ping b Thewis 7 Total 176 for 9 in 60 overs
Bowling
West Herts Innings
S.Fan run out 4
Bowling
RESULT - Match Drawn
You'll never get closer. Needing five to win off the last ball with one wicket left Stevenage's Azhar Ali showing great nerve launched into Hertford's bowler Chris Box and sent the ball flying
over extra cover for what was initially perceived to be a match winning six. The locals were roaring in expectation but were stunned into silence as the ball "died" like a shot bird and fell two inches short of a memorable win.
Both sides had played well throughout the day with the advantage ebbing and flowing. Hertford batted first having won the toss and while scoring at a rate of between 4 and 5 an over, lost four wickets inside the first 20 overs, two
to Neil Beer and two to Irfan Bhatti. A series of controlled partnerships ensured that the wickets stopped falling so regularly, but the run-rate reduced quite considerably as the spinners Ahzar Ali and Richard Hamilton bowled well in
tandem. Both spinners picked up a wicket as did Aamir Ahktar, with the other wicket falling to a runout, to leave the Hertford total on 201 for seven. The Stevenage reply began as well as could be hoped for. An opening partnership between
prodigal son Pete Magafas (26) and David Carr (40) of 43 put Hertford on the back foot and this was followed by a 50 run partnership either side of Tea, between Carr and Baker, until Carr was dismissed with the total on 93 a couple of overs after
the break. Baker in making his score of 81 took control of the chase for the rest of the innings, but found little support until Neil Beer came to the crease at number 9, but by then the runrate was up around 7 or 8. The middle order was largely undone by
some very high quality Hertford fielding, particularly the one by Ketteridge to dismiss Armstrong. It was a one handed, full length diving effort that made Flintoff's catch for England earlier in the week look ordinary and the form the Armstrong has
been in recently it was probably the match saving catch for Hertford. Baker eventually fell for 81, to a good caught and bowled and Beer (12) was bowled by a full toss that he was aiming to carve over deep point for four. This brough Richard Hamilton to the
crease with Ahzar Ali and six runs were needed from the last two balls with the last pair at the crease. Hamilton had the presence of mind to sneak a single of his first ball to get Ali on to strike and following a discussion in the middle of the wicket
as Hertford sent fielders to all points of the boundary, Hamilton and Ali went to their prospective ends with a plan. On the boundary a crowd of approximately 40 avid spectators, some witnessing their first game of cricket, stared intently to the middle
as the last ball was bowled. Ali gave himself a fraction of room and played a lofted cover drive over the one man in the infield and into the bushes, however, unfortunately for Stevenage and their supporters, the ball took one bounce one or two inches inside
the boundary rope, leaving the scores tied and the match drawn. Hertford and Stevenage, now find themselves on equal points, second bottom of the league and with a lot of work left to do to ensure premier league survial. Oh, yeah one more thing. G'Day George Anadoniadis, or
however the hell you spell your second name, Pete and everyone else at Stevenage for that matter says hello.
Hertford Innings
Ketteridge ct Armstrong b. Bhatti 2
Bowling
Stevnage Innings
Bowling
With the bat Graeme Duff was the highlight as he took the game by the scruff of the neck with a sparkling 33, which with the help of getting on for 40 extras formed the bulk of the required total before Ali and Armstrong won the game.
30th August. Stevenage 1st XI vs Welwyn Garden City 1st XI
23rd August. Old Millhillians 1st XI vs Stevenage 1st XI
16th August. Stevenage 1st XI vs Potters Bar 1st XI
P.Magafas ct Dass b Barker 84
A.Ahktar lbw b Illot 0
N.Ahmed lbw b McGee 37
M.Upalateram ct Lamb b McGee 4
I.Baker b McGee 26
B.Turner b McGee 1
A.Ali b McGee 24
A.Armitage run out 14
M.Sinclair b Illot 7
P.Berry not out 0
Extras 29
Total 232 all out in 59.2 overs
M.Illot 17 - 7 - 37 - 3
O.Coughlan 2 - 0 - 17 - 0
N.Lamb 5 - 0 - 42 - 0
P.McGee 22.2 - 4 - 81 - 5
P.Barker 7 - 3 - 13 - 1
L.Cooper 6 - 2 - 17 - 0
N.Lamb ct Barker b Ali 16
J.Norman ct Carr b Ali 7
D.Dass lbw b Ali 0
O.Coughlan b Ali 67
M.Ilot lbw b Ali 10
L.Cooper b Ahktar 54
D.Breeze not out 30
P.Barker ct Turner b Ali 5
T.Coughlan not out 0
Total 206 for 8 in 57 overs
A.Ali 26 - 7 - 85 - 7
N.Ahmed 21 - 7 - 43 - 0
P.Berry 6 - 0 - 35 - 0
M.Sinclair 2 - 0 - 23 - 0
A.Ahktar 2 - 0 - 20 - 1
9th August. St Albans 1st XI vs STEVENAGE
D.Armitage b O'Toole 1
P.Magafas b O'Toole 11
I.Bhatti ct Caley b Chaudhry 1
A.Armstrong ct Caley b Shaw 6
I.Baker ct Holt b Shaw 23
A.Ahktar lbw b O'Toole 32
B.Turner ct Caley b Shaw 0
G.Duff b Shaw 5
A .Ali ct Caley b O'Toole 5
M.Sinclair not out 0
Extras 13
Total 144 all out in 55.2 overs
E.Turner 13 - 5 - 18 - 0
R.O'Toole 13.2 - 5 - 38 - 4
J.Chaudhry 7 - 1 - 16 - 1
J.Shaw 15 - 4 - 34 - 4
A.Green 7 - 1 - 28 - 1
N.Gilbert ct Magafas b Bhatti 15
J.Holt not out 52
A.Jones ct Bhatti b Ali 1
R.Chaudhry ct Ahktar b Ali 0
P.Caley not out 65
Extras 12
Total 145 for 4 in 40.5 overs
A.Ali 19 - 6 - 46 - 3
I.Bhatti 14.5 - 3 - 58 - 1
A.Ahktar 6 - 2 - 31 - 0
M.Sinclair 1 - 0 - 2 - 0
2nd August. STEVENAGE 1st XI vs St Margretsbury
D.Carr ct & b Tilbury 4
B.Turner ct Wallace b Williams 0
I.Bhatti lbw b Tilbury 1
M.Sinclair b Williams 0
A.Aaktar ct Anstead b Williams 24
G.Duff b Williams 0
N.Beer ct Tilbury b Fisher 0
D.Armitage b Fisher 3
A.Ali lbw b Williams 0
R.Hamilton not out 7
Extras 16
Total 81 all out 28.4 overs
S.Tilbury 9 - 3 - 33 - 3
T.Williams 14 - 7 - 36 - 5
M.Fisher 5.5 - 2 - 6 - 2
G.Tilbury lbw b Ali 12
D.Nicholas not out 26
S.Williams not out 30
Extras 3
Total 84 for 2 in 29.2 overs
A.Ali 13 - 7 - 18 - 2
R.Hamilton 11 - 4 - 36 - 0
A.Ahktar 3.2 - 1 - 19 - 0
I.Bhatti 2- 0 - 10 - 0
26th July. Hoddesdon - vs STEVENAGE 1st XI
19th July. West Herts - vs STEVENAGE 1st XI
D.Carr ct Kendall b Thewis 3
I.Baker b Bastow 7
I. Bhatti not out 89
Ahktar ct Bastow b Smith 10
B.Turner ct Thewis b Smith 0
N.Beer ct Kendall b Woosley 5
A.Ali ct Griffin b Woosley 22
D.Armstrong ct & b Thewis 5
R.Hamilton b Bastow 3
A.Armstrong not out 3
Extras 21
J.Bastow 16 - 1 - 36 - 2
M.Thewis 18 - 5 - 44 - 3
M.Smith 9 - 1 - 25 - 2
M.Woosley 12 - 1 - 41 - 2
D.Hodges 5 - 0 - 15 - 2
R.Griffin b Ali 20
J.Phang b Ali 21
M.Hodges ct Armstrong b Ahktar 42
M.Smith b Ahktar 43
D.Hodges ct Armstrong b Ali 10
J.Bastow not out 17
M.Thewis not out 8
Extras 14
Total 180 for 6 in 49.3 overs
A.Ali 20.3 - 6 - 47 - 3
A.Ahktar 10 - 0 - 51 - 2
R.Hamilton 8 - 1 - 24 - 0
I.Bhatti 8 - 0 - 42 - 0
N.Beer 3 - 0 - 8 - 0
12th July STEVENAGE 1st XI - vs Hertford
Ruskin ct Armstrong b. Beer 10
S.Cordingley ct Carr b. Bhatti 29
Cavaner b. Beer 13
R.Cordingley b. Hamilton 57
Watson ct Magafas b. Ahktar 20
Box Run Out 22
Hall not out 26
Ryan st Armstrong b. Ali 11
Extras 11
Total 201 for 8
Bhatti 12/3/35/2
Beer 9/2/44/2
Ali 21/4/57/1
Hamilton 10/2/35/1
Ahktar 8/1/27/1
Carr ct Hogg b. Hall 40
Magafas ct Watson b. R.Cordingley 26
Baker ct&bwld b. Ryan 81
Bhatti ct&bwld b. R.Cordingley 0
Ahktar ct Hogg b. Hall 5
Turner ct&bwld b. Ryan 7
Armitage b. Ruskin 4
Armstrong ct Ketteridge b. Ruskin 0
Beer b. Box 12
Ali not out 5
Hamilton not out 1
Extras 18
Total 201 for 9
Patel 9/2/33/0
Ryan 13/5/31/2
R.Cordingley 11/2/47/2
Hall 7/1/22/2
Box 6/0/31/1
Ruskin 4/1/22/2
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