RESULT - STEVENAGE WON BY 27 RUNS
Stevenage won the toss and decided to bat on what looked like a good wicket and good weather conditions for batting. The innings got off to a good start reaching 81 for the loss of 1 wicket.
This was thanks to a quickfire 52 from Adil Zargar and a solid 31 from Laurie Brown. After the good start some poor batting followed from the the lower and middle order with 4 ducks and only Tony Start reaching double figures with a (calm) 21 left Stevenage 128 all out.
Despite the low total to defend the lads where still confident we could get a result from the game. Skipper Kev Fisher decided to keep the old ball and open the bowling with the left arm spin of Rhys Stewart, this looked like being a good decision as Cheshunt where struggling
at 25-3. However some good patient batting looked like it was taking the game away from the 3s as they reached 78-3. Adil Zargar was then brought into the attack and was the man to break the partnership. After that it became the Rhys Stewart show he went on to mop up the rest
of the cheshunt batting finishing with fine figures of 12-7-35-6. leaving them 27 runs short of the small target.
MoM - Rhys Stewart (the new Ashley Bayes [that's a bit harsh on Rhys]{the new Azhar Ali})
Lemon of the Match - Oliver Brown. Forgot his whites and then when asked to copy up the score book proceeded to copy up the entire score card into the oppositions book
RESULT - match abandoned rain
Rain, nothing more to say
MoM -
Lemon of the Match -
RESULT - Stevenage lost by 26 runs
The third XI got off to yet another bad start on Saturday, the skipper losing the toss for the third successive week in a row! However, with overcast drizzly conditions, hurricane "ex-wife" trying
to blow more than just money away, and a track looking like it would deteriorate further throughout the day, all was not lost when the home side decided to bat first. Some very tight bowling early on from Paul Brewer and Scott Davies
kept the run rate below 1 per over for a good while, and then Tony Start continued that trend replacing Davies. At drinks the home side had struggled to reach around 40-3. However after the break they looked to push on the run rate,
with Ricky Gill in particular proving expensive. However Stevenage pulled it back towards the end of the innings with Kevin Fisher and Paul Brewer bowling tight lines again, Brewer eventually taking 5 wickets for 30 runs off 16 overs and
the home side reaching 134-8 off their 53 overs.
Having played most of the first innings in drizzle and gales, the rain then stopped and allowed the home side to bowl with a dry ball. A change in the batting order saw Leet promoted to open with Gill, planning to score the runs quickly and get home.
However the plan went wrong when Leet was given out lbw for just 7, and then a few quick wickets followed before Laurie Brown came in at 6 and secured the innings. However with 1 excellent ball removing Gill, the target suddenly seemed massive and
Stevenage ended the game all out for 108, Brown stranded not out despite his best efforts to see the game home all by himself. All in all a disappointing performance with too many batsmen getting themselves out, although conditions and the wicket
certainly didn't help!!
MoM - Paul Brewer - first wicket for Stevenage in league cricket and it turned into a 5-for
Lemon of the Match - Chris Dingwall. One of the most shocking dropped catches ever seen on a cricket field, denying Paul Brewer his 5-for. Thankfully Paul made it anyway off his last ball to spare Chris the first ever lemon and lime award
RESULT - Stevenage lost by 5 wickets
Skipper Leet continued his poor form with the toss this week, losing out yet again on what looked like a great wicket to bat first on Stevenage's main strip. However, the luck seemed to swing straight
back as Harpenden IV's decided to bowl first - double batting points for the home side!! The innings started cautiously but safely, with Mike Fisher and Laurie Brown seeing off the opening bowler, however Fisher was bowled shortly
afterwards, and then nobody really got going before drinks apart from Brown, scoring a decent 34. After drinks the wickets kept falling until Terry Ashby, full of confidence from his performance in the 4s the week before, decided
that cow corner looked like a decent place to hit the ball and knocked a very good albeit not-quite-textbook 25 runs. With support at the other end, Ashby helped Stevenage reach 140 all out from 53 overs.
In reply Stevenage began with some tight bowling, Davies in particular looked sharp and took a wicket in his first over. However, there were not quite enough runs on the board to defend, and with Davies getting a batsman who
refuses to walk after nicking a ball for the second week in a row things were always going to be difficult. In the end the visiting team reached their target for the loss of 5 wickets, Davies taking 3 and Martin Price a very good
spell considering he hadn't bowled since August took 2.
MoM - Scott Davies and Terry Ashby, getting 5 out of the 7 points between them
Lemon of the Match - Richard (Rhino) Sullivan (as voted by the dressing room because the skipper is too scared to to it himself) for chasing hard after a ball in the outfield and the batsmen still ran 4
RESULT - Match Abandoned - Draw
Stevenage 3's began the season poorly by losing the toss, with the home side electing to bat. Howeverr, excellent control from newcomer Paul Brewer throughout his 15 over spell, assisted by firstly John Mould and then Scott Davies, restricted
the home side to less than 2.5 runs per over until drinks. After the break, Ashley Bayes, Kevin Fisher and Ben Leet continued with the tight bowling, and when the rain finally came after 45 overs the home side were struggling on 134-5, which was a low score and would have
been chased down easily on a good batting wicket.
Man Of Match - Scott Davies - a great spell of seam bowling
Lemon Of Match - Laurie Brown - Cos he cant spel properlee
Sandridge IIs vs Stevenage 3rds
Hatch End IIs vs Stevenage 3rds
Stevenage 3rds vs Harpenden IVs
Potton IIs vs Stevenage 3rds
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