RESULT - Match Drawn
Following last weeks victory at Wheathampsted the 2nds were confident of another win against Hatfield. On a hot afternoon, short boundary and what looked to be a good wicket for batting Roberts won the toss and elected to bat. After loosing Hann for nought it looked
a wrong decision as there was a little bit in it for the bowlers, this bought Idress to the wicket and after taking a blow to the head from a rouge (thats French for red) throw he then went about his work and following on from his debut 100 looked well settled with Turner.
Turner then fell and this bought in Ali who again looked in good tough (that's English for durable) but in trying to force a quick single was run out. This then bought (that's English for to purchase) Sodhi to the crease who looked totally at ease and working well with Idress they began to
make the Hatfield bowling pay for any balls off line. (I'd heard Sodhi was dropped first ball?) Idress cruised his way to 61 before trying to force the bowling and being caught. With cricket being about partnerships Sodhi found his ideal partner in Zargar who returned after a week in the 3rds
and looked very comfortable as he eased his way to 50, Sodhi also continued to play sublime shots to all parts of the ground looking well at ease as he passed 50 and progressed towards a 100 only falling short in the 53rd over recording a well deserved 98 not out. In trying to allow Sodhi time to get his 100
Roberts used all of his 53 overs and with a score posted of 247 it looked a large total, possibly to large.
In reply Hatfield started very slowly and with the loss of Skipper Bond for nought to Ian Brown it looked like the 247 was too many as Hatfield never really went for the total, especially with tight bowling from Brown, Amit Dattani and Martin Price making his second team debut, but after 30 overs they had made
it to a hundred for 1 and all of a sudden and with changes to the Stevenage bowling attack Hatfield began to find the short leg side boundary and with Khan and Idress being very harshly despatched the Hatfield side closed in on he Stevenage score. The younger Golder certainly looked in good touch making a lovely
74 before Dattani tempted him to take on the boundary again and Brown held a good catch on the rope bought the older Golder and Grove together who continued to take risks and find gaps, edges and scamper singles brought them to needing 10 off the last over for an unlikely win. Brown however keeping his cool
and made sure the game ended in an exciting draw.
Man Of Match: Albert Sodhi
Lemon Of Match: Ian "Wally" Wilson, 2nd team umpire, who left 10p on the fruit machine and allowed Russell Hann to sneak in and take the jackpot
RESULT - STEVENAGE WON BY 9 WICKETS
With a new look second team welcoming debutants Sohail Idress, Saeed Ali and Barry Hann into the fold and Amit Dattani making his return to Stevenage skipper Roberts changed his usually approach after winning
the toss by electing to field a decision supported by his team as they had just seen that the ground appeared hard but with a green top and after witnessing a mini collapse at Stevenage where the bowlers were getting movement. This decision
was to be the right choice as Brown and Burroughes bowling together in the twos as they had done a few years ago in the first team keep a tight line, this coupled with some excellent fielding kept the score at below 2 an over. Brown was the
first to strike clean bowling Hashmi after he had looked to push the score along. With the arrival of Khan in the attack Stevenage continued to apply pressure which rewarded them with regular wickets. Brown continued to dominate the batsmen
with an excellent spell of 15 overs, 9 maidens 3 wickets for only 20 runs taking Stevenage to the drinks break. After drinks Roberts rung the changes and Dattani and Idress started to show the opposition a spinning class both picking up 3
wickets a piece, Dattani excelled with 16 overs, 6 maidens 3 wickets for a mere 28 runs. Stevenage also excelled in the field despite an uneven outfield and a suspected local sniper whom caused Roberts to take a tumble, much to the hilarity of
his team who could not nurse his injuries as the ball held up just inside the boundary needing a swift return to save runs.
In response to the Wheathampstead total of 146 they lost opener Nevill early to an excellent catch at gully but this bought Idress and Hann together to make light work of the total. Hann provided a steady paced 42 not out while the flamboyant
Idress caressed and despatched the ball to all parts of the ground and with Stevenage needing 10 to win in the 29th over and Idress needing 12 for his maiden hundred for Stevenage he launched two successive sixes off of Razza to win the game and
record a well deserved hundred on debut.
Man Of Match: Sohail Idress
Lemon Of Match: Simon Roberts
RESULT - Match Cancelled - Rain
Man Of Match: Not awarded
Lemon Of Match: Simon Roberts for not informing the umpire.
RESULT - Match Cancelled - Rain
Simon Roberts loaded his team up and made the pleasant country lane journey to Hertford. On arrival at the ground Robbo was pleased to see Hertford's expensive covers sitting over a wicket on the middle of the square.
He was less happy to be informed that this cover was infact protecting an uncut wicket that was being set aside for a Herts County Cricket match over a week in the future and the wicket that his team was due to play on pretty much saturated by
the Noah like rain that has blighted the month of May. The boys hung around at Hertford for an hour or two and the odd inspection was made, with some Hertford representatives suggesting that it really wasn't that bad despite the fact that everyone was tip toeing
around the ground to stop the surface water soaking through their trainers and that a hover of trout (yep, that's the collective term for trout) were spotted swimming by the starboard side of the pavilion.
Man Of Match: Not awarded
Lemon Of Match: Hertford Cricket Club Ground Committee
RESULT - Stevenage lost by 6 wickets
This week saw an away trip to St Albans and after the wash out of the week before the two’s really needed to get a foothold in the division. Roberts was successful in the toss and
elected to bat on a slightly green topped hard track. There looked to be something in the track for the bowlers but it looked flat and good for batting.
The decision looked to be a good one as Stevenage made there way to 20 with two’s debutant Barret Ganji getting on top of the bowling but with the departure of Hann (7) then Visser (1) and Sodhi middling his first ball to
cover Stevenage collapsed to 26 for 3. Roberts and Ganji took the score on to 65 then Roberts (12) feel to a surprising decision. Only the ever dependable Martin Nevile making 34 not out made any resistance as Stevenage
collapsed to 134 all out in 45 overs.
In reply Stevenage set about defending a very low score on what should have been a two hundred plus wicket, but with Rhys Stewart making his second team debut as well as Ganji and the ever green Ian Brown the two’s felt
they were in with a sniff. St Albans set about the total but with Stewart bowling with confidence and securing the first wicket of the innings and his first second team league wicket confidence rose. But with such a low
target to defend St Albans were making some light work in achieving the total but Stevenage kept there heads up and chipped away changing the bowling and keeping the field placement fresh keeping the batsmen thinking no
more so than Douglas who didn’t seem to see Brown the tallest player on the field as he set off for a suicidal run ending in Brown and Ganji running him out.
This was a highlight on what became a cold overcast day as Stevenage slipped to defeat.
Man Of Match: Barret Ganji
Lemon Of Match: Barry (whoops, missed a straight one) Turner
RESULT - Match Abandoned - Rain
Stevenage IIs boasted an immensely strong batting line-up and on winning the toss deceided to put it to the test. Things got off to a solid and brisk enough start against some decent bowling which included
Garofall, ex of St Albans who's getting on a bit now but still knows what he's doing. Gary Brown (31) and Russell Hann (37) were responsible for this start putting on the best part of 70 before they fell in quick succession and were quickly followed
by a veritable who's who of Stevenage batsman, until Andy Burroughes and Adil Zargar (batting at 9), steadied the ship. With skipper Simon Roberts still to bat at number 10, there was still potential for a competitive score of over 150 but the rain fell consistently
and forced both teams to agree an abandonment with a dozen overs still left in the Stevenage innings.
Man Of Match: Russell Hann
Lemon Of Match: Simon "do I have to do a match report if the match is abandoned?" Roberts