The 10th July and subsequent match reports are on the 2nd half of the season page
RESULT - Match Drawn
Stevenage obtained a creditable draw against top of the table North Mymms in a match that showed good cricket can be played on a Ditchmore Lane wicket, which offers
rewards for the batsmen who are willing to get themselves in and just enough encouragement for bowlers that are able to land the ball regularly in the right place.
Stevenage started the game poorly losing both openers for ducks to the Indian opening bowler Saxena and found themselves on 72 for 5, with Gary Brown and Mustafeez Ur Rehman at the crease together. This partnership proved to be the key one for Stevenage
as they took the score over 100 with a 50 run partnership. Brown top scoring with a composed 35, his highest so far in Premier League cricket, in difficult circumstances and Ur Rehman contributing 27.
North Mymms reply took almost an identical route to that of Stevenage's innings with the score on 71 for 5 at the Tea interval thanks to Azhar Ali, this month's Comet Newspaper player of the month. However, despite 3 wickets with the new ball from
Ali Kazmi senior the visitors toughed out a draw and thanks to veteran player Gary Black's 29no can close to turning the game around leaving North Mymms on 136 - 7 from 52 overs at the close of play.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - Stevenage Lost by 16 runs
For family reasons Saeed Kazmi had to pull out of Stevenage's team early on Saturday morning, which left Stevenage having to play with 10 men, although the opposition kindly allowed Stevenage to use a substitute fielder for the 60 overs they spent in the field having lost the toss.
Another impressive opening spell by Mark Sinclair (14/4/35/0) enabled Stevenage to keep tight control of the home sides batting and he was very unfortunate not to have a wicket after a caught behind appeal was turned down by the umpire who did not give the batsman out because he couldn't hear the edge over the background noise
from the A10. The rain fell consistently throughout Stevenage's time in the middle, but despite the difficult conditions Steveange's spinners Ahzar Ali and Naseer Ahmed continued Sinclair's good work. Ali returning the impressive figures of 29/8/48/5, with the help of David Carr who claimed 3 more stumpings and Ahmed who
finished with 17/3/53/4, who only required the help of the umpires, with 3 of his wickets going to LBW decisions and the other a caught and bowled. St MArgaretsbury innings ended in the 60th over at 149 allout. With only 150 needed to win Stevenage were confident despite having only 10 batsmen and this confidence was; initially at least, borne out
with Magafas (38) and Carr (19) getting the innings off to a fast start with 44 from the first 8 overs. The loss of Carr and shortly afterwards Ricky Marcy, the latter to a very good outfield catch represented a bit of a blow to Stevenage, but with Ahmed coming to join Magafas at the crease it only appeared to be a blip. Ahmed and Magafas took the
score into the mid 80s and with over half the runs scored at better than 4 an over even the loss of Magafas to an LBW decision that left one team baffled and the other a bit sheepish seemed as if it wouldn't have a major impact on the outcome of the game. Ahmed continued his serene progress with Gary Brown and the score moved up to 106 when disaster struck, with
the unbelivable runout of Ahmed who somehow found himself at the same end as Brown. As Brown showed his inexperience by refusing to leave his crease an sacrificing his wicket for the good of the team, Ahmed said something along the lines of "You Wouldn't Do That To Me" before being runout for 41. The nature of the dismissal undoubtedly had a big psycological impact on the Stevenage players and certainly gave St Margaretsbury a huge boost because while Ahmed was there, as they were
happy to admit after the game, they had no chance of saving the match. That dismissal opened the floodgates and Brown was bowled for 5, Baker caught behind for 0 and Rajacopal apparently caught behind for 0 after the umpire; who had previously heard nothing over the A10 traffic; managed to hear something that was not the ball taking the edge of Rajacopal's bat. At this point the defeat
that had seemed unavoidable for St Margaretsbury was now a definite for Stevenage, with the score on 114 for 8 and the last pair, Bayes and Sinclair, at the crease. However, both Bayes and Sinclair toughed it out for 10 overs and took the score on to 133, with Sinclair causing some concern with some good hitting and Bayes looking very comfortable in defence. At the end of the day though the death blow
came when Sinclair mistimed a big hit to be caught by a running mid off for 15 leaving Bayes on 4no.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - Match Drawn
Stevenage were thwarted by the weather as rain saved their local rivals from Welwyn Garden City but, hey, Its Always Raining Somewhere.
The Ditchmore Lane side posted an average total on a bowlers wicket thanks mainly to a stand of 100 between Ricky Marcy & Saeed Kazmi for the fourth wicket. The other significant contributions came from Rajeev Rajacopal who hit the ball beautifully in his innings
of 15 and Ashley Bayes who made a gritty 7n.o to take the innings total to 153. However, Stevenage responded with "passion" according to skipper Peter Magafas who lead from the front. He put himself in the firing line at silly point and took three big hits, saving runs each time and was the most fired up that anyone can ever remember.
In fact, all by himself, he managed to out talk and sledge the Welwyn Garden City side, which for anyone who has had the pleasure of batting against WGC will know is no mean feat. A mixture of spin and pace was used to unsettle the WGC batting line up with Senior Kazmi taking 4 wickets and the spin of Ahzar Ali returning the
impressive figures of 25/10/59/4. Before the rain WGC slumped to 44 for five and latterly 90 for 8, but after a half hour or so of rain the pitch became less responsive to Ali's deliveries and a 40 run partnership ensued. The late introduction of Nas Ahmed brought about the 9th wicket with the help of a very composed catch by Bayes deep in the
outfield but the final breakthrough could not be made.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - Stevenage lost by 7 wickets
Stevenage were put into bat on a greenish wicket with a little dampness from overnight rain and Hemel's veteran bowler Waterman bowled a lively and accurate opening spell, but with only the wicket of Magafas to show for his efforts. Carr, with a score of 40 and
Junior Kazmi with 50, took the score on to 91 before Carr was dismissed and Nasser Ahmed came to the wicket and blitzed a run a ball 50, initially in partnership with Junior and then Rick Marcy 24. With about 8 overs to spare the score was looking good at 198 for 4, but with
the dismissal of Senior Kazmi for 18, the Stevenage lower order showed for the second time this season that they Push Right Over, collapsing to 201 all out. Only Ian Baker with 2no from 2 balls was left as Waterman reaped his reward for his early spell taking the last 4 wickets to finish with
5 for 13. With the wind taken out of their sails the Stevenage effort in the field was not up to the highest standards, although it was not for want of effort from all involved. The pitch had settled down and the Hemel batsman played very well against a bowling attack that had troubled all
other opponents in previous weeks. The 104 from Morgan was particular impressive and basically set up the Hemel victory. Junior Kazmi picked up 2 wickets and a mammoth spell from Azhar Ali was finally rewarded with the wicket of Daley stumped by Carr.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - Stevenage Won by 124 runs
Stevenage skipper, Peter Magafas, changed tactics. He won the toss and batted. This resulted in a resounding win over visitors Hoddesdon. Taking first hit on a damp wicket, Magafas was an early victim. However, this was followed by a
succession of good stands. Firstly David Carr (23) and Rick Marcy (53) established the team's superiority with a stand of 50, which was built on by Marcy and Nasser Ahmed (70) who added 79. When the Kazmi's came together Stevenage were well set and on the
hunt for quick runs and the brothers provided, with Saeed (42no) stroking the ball to all parts and Amjad (36no) blasting it mostly over mid wicket. With a daunting total to chase on what was still a slow wicket the Hoddesdon top order attacked bravely, but Saeed (young Kazmi)
removed Herbst stumped by Carr and Ahmed delivered the early killer blows taking Van Bunge caught and bowled and the very next ball Hughes caught behind by Carr. Ahmed's catch of his own bowling was probably the highlight of the day such was the ferocity of the shot. It was
hit so hard that if he'd not got his hands to the ball it would have left a cartoon style hole through his body and team manager Ray Winder trying to obtain an "ACME" Nasser Ahmed repair kit. The only blemish in the field was an unfortunate injury to Carr, who had his nose broken
by a ball from Ahzar Ali that deflected up from a batsman's pad. After an initial on field assessment by Doctor Rajacopal, Carr left the field but turned down a visit to the hospital and so was temporarily, Forgotten, But Not Gone. Hoddesdon never recovered and were bowled out shortly
after tea, Azhar Ali taking his now customary 3 wickets, Old Kazmi 4 wickets, Young Kazmi 1 wicket, Ahmed 2 wickets and Ian Baker taking over the wicketing duties claiming a catch.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - Match Drawn
As has proved typical over the last few seasons this fixtrue was another hard fought contest. West Herts batted first and were kept under a tight control by the opening
partnership of Ricky Anderson and Mark Sinclair. Sinclair's opening burst was particularly impressive as he reeled off 5 maidens in his seven overs, but unfortunately wickets didn't come with the West Herts batsman
unwilling to take any chances. A double change was made fifteen overs into the game with seamer Amjad Ali Kazmi replacing Anderson and Ahzar Ali replacing Sinclair and this bought the breakthrough Stevenage had earned, with Ali
clean bowling Thewlis for 29. The run rate remained slow and as the pressure for runs mounted chances were taken with the runnning and an increasingly unusual array of shots were unfurled. A couple of sharp chances were missed
in the outfield, but 2 runouts were completed and Ali continued with his good form snaring a two further wickets, one stumped and one a good caught and bowled. With the last ten overs to bowl West Herts continued to combine some
lusty blows with some streaky runs and forced Stevenage to turn, with some success, to Anderson who picked up 2 wickets in his short burst at the end to leave West Herts on 190 for 7. The Stevenage reply got of to an excellent
start with Pete Magafas and David Carr battling against a decent quality seam attack, comprising the experienced Thewlis and the fast Bastow. Magafas did most of the early running and the pair had taken the score into the late 80s without
loss at tea, leaving 25 overs with 10 wickets in hand to make the 100 runs for victory. Magafas departed reasonably quickly after tea, but not before he had taken his total to 61 (110balls) and the Stevenage score to 110. However, the
change for the worse came for Stevenage with the re-introduction of the opening pair with Thewlis responsible for Magafas' and subsequently Anderson's and Ahmed's. The biggest blow to Stevenage came with the decision of the Al "Pub Landlord"/"Hells Kitchin...can my career really be over
already" Murray lookalike umpire to call early time on Ahmed's innings. Carr eventually fell for 61 (114balls) with the score on 137 trying to maintain the required rate of 6 an over. Several quick wickets followed with little
significant inroad into the target and despite some fine strokes from Rajeev Rajocopal, Stevenage Never Could maintain the required rate and it was left to Rajacopal and Gary Brown to play out the last few overs.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - Stevenage Lost by 83 runs
It was a day that it could be said revolved around wheels. The team turned up at Ditchmore Lane at 9am in good time for the journey
over to Sawbridgeworth only to find that a Vauxhall Corsa and a similarly sized Renualt were their only means of transport. A couple of hurried phone calls later and
another set of wheels, in the form of a large estate car, was rustled up complete with driver. On a small ground
Stevenage fancied their chances of overhauling what the home side considered a well below target. and after a fast start with Magafas (22 from 13 balls) being particularly harsh on the Sawbridgeworth
spinner their confidence seemed well placed. Even after a few set backs prior to tea, Stevenage were still well placed at 97 for 4. However, what followed was what Captains' nightmares are made of as the wheels well and
truly fell off. The remaining 6 Stevenage wickets fell for 5 runs between the scores of 101 and the final total of 106 all out; it quite simply had to be seen to be believed and it left the whole Stevenage team feeling Barely Human.
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
RESULT - STEVENAGE WON BY 8 WICKETS
Stevenage had just about the best possible start to the new league season, continuing in the same high form as they finished 2003.
Skipper Peter Magafas won the toss and after consultations informed St Albans' captain that St Albans would be batting. Therefore, it was a huge suprise to the Stevenage team
to walk on to the ground and find the visitors making their own way to the middle to field. Amid considerable confusion, hilarity and no little embarassment for the visitor's captain the following
conversation between a Stevenage player and the umpire Alan Wells was overheard. Unnamed Stevenage player asked "Surely that's the first time you've seen that happen", to which Alan Wells replied "Don't call me Shirley".
The wicket proved to be a slow one, which was unsuprising given the preceding fortnight of wet weather, but the surface was beautifully flat and looked in fine condition. The new ball was entrusted to Mark Sinclair and Rajeev Rajacopal.
Sinclair, a former Colt player making his fast bowling debut in the first team and Rajacopal, a local Doctor, also making his 1st XI debut after playing in the lower sides during 2003 so as not to upset the sides overseas quotas. Both bowlers acquited themselves well
on a surface that offered little pace and bounce conceding a respectable 4 per over each given the attacking fields that were set. Sinclair came the closest to making a breakthrough but spilled a caught and bowled chance. Making a quick
assessment of the surface Magafas turned to his tried and trusted spinners from 2003, Azhar Ali and Nasser Ahmed. Ahmed picked up the first wicket spinning the ball between the bat and pads of the advancing batsman to enable David Carr to complete the first
and most difficult of his 4 stumpings in the match. This wicket gave Stevenage a boost and the fielding which up to then had been tidy was raised to sublime. Ahmed also took the 2nd wicket to fall, that of Gilbert, well caught by Graeme Duff, who was
masquerading behind his new contact lenses as Rick Marcy in the covers. Another Carr stumping and an amazing, gravity defying, acrobatic gully catch from the real Rick Marcy later left St Albans on 97 for 4 at lunch. With 2 wickets each Ali and Ahmed
continued after lunch and were soon rewarded for their efforts with more wickets. The first a leg side stumping off Ahmed to remove the danger man Caley and then 3 in quick succession to the big spinning deliveries of Ali including a magnificent slip catch from Ahmed.
Despite a stubborn and skillful unbeaten 60 from White, St Alban's innings subsided to 163 allout, fittingly with the final wicket falling to a stumping of Ali's bowling. Ahmed finishing with 4 for 85 and Ali 6 for 44.
Stevenage's reply began slowly and suffered a couple of early setbacks with Marcy and Rajacopal falling with the score on 10 and 15 respectively, but an unbeaten stand of 149 between Ahmed (73no) and Magafas (84no), including a big six hooked into Ditchmore Lane, saw Stevenage home with about a dozen overs to spare. But given the
winning beginning of 2003 and the poor form that followed the whole team realises that The Buck Starts Here.
Stevnage Innings
St Albans Innings
detailed scorecards available on Stevenage Play Cricket Site
Man of the Match - Gary Brown / Match Sponsor - Ron Davies
26th June - St Margaretsbury vs STEVENAGE 1st XI
Man of the Match - Ahzar Ali
19th June - STEVENAGE 1st XI vs Welwyn Garden City
Man of the Match - Ashley Bayes. Match Sponsor - Peter Allen
12th June - Hemel Hempstead vs STEVENAGE 1st XI
Coffee Shop of the Match - Cafe Nero
5th June - STEVENAGE 1st XI vs Hoddesdon
MoM - Nasser Ahmed / Match Ball Sponsor - Pete Allen
29th May - West Herts - vs STEVENAGE 1st XI
MoM - Magafas and Carr
22nd May - Sawbridgeworth - vs STEVENAGE 1st XI
Stevenage bowled first and their opening partnership of Rajeev Rajacopal and
Mark Sinclair got through an extended opening spell, bowling with good control and picking up one wicket courtesy of a fine diving catch from Rick Marcy, who was grateful for the loan
of Barry Turners spikes, having declared, to the confusion of many, a few minutes before the match that he'd left his "wheels" at home. With the run-rate under control
on a small ground Magafas turned to his spinners and both Azhar Ali (20/5/69/4) and Nasser Ahmed (19/3/51/3) did a great job wheeling away on a wicket offering minimal turn. Only Birch with
an unbeaten 49 seemed to come to grips with the Stevenage bowlers and his middle order contribution was the main reason for the total reaching 189 for 9 from the 60 overs.
MoM - Rick Marcy
15th May - STEVENAGE 1st XI vs St Albans
MoM - Nasser Ahmed
Match Ball Sponsor - Alan Browne
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