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The Saturday 1st XI continued its topsy
turvy form this season with a heavy defeat in an away match
against High Wycombe II. We batted first and were skittled
out for just 74 in 26.4 overs. We had no chance of defending
such a meagre total, and Wycombe reached 75-0 in 25 overs,
defeat by ten wickets and another day to forget! Apart, that
is, from Mudo Ahmed putting down an early marker for
champagne moment of the season: it's a long story, but he
ended up prostrate in the middle of the pitch, and run out
by a distance! |
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The Saturday 2nd XI also suffered a heavy
defeat, by 102 runs, in a home match against Eversley. But,
despite being well beaten, we put up a good fight against a
strong 1st XI opposition. Batting first, Eversley started
very positively and despite the loss of a couple of early
wickets to Jason Page (3-48) - one a flying one-handed catch
by Martin White - they looked set to make a big score. Our
bowlers stuck to their task and didn't wilt in the hot
sunshine. When Eversley's middle order looked to accelerate
the scoring again, Asif Ahmed (2-24) nipped in with a couple
of wickets including top scorer M.David (73) comfortably
caught on the boundary by Pat Nagle. A superb direct hit by
James Mallinder for a run out meant that Eversley's lower
order had to bat sensibly to ensure they reached 200 and
they were finally all out for 220 in the 42nd over. Asif
Raza (2-48) was the most economical of the bowlers and
Sohail Ijaz (2-62) produced a very lively spell on his
debut.
Chalfont's reply was soon faltering at 37
for 4 with Eversley's overseas quick bowler L.Piso (6-16)
doing all the damage. Tony Hewston, with a fine knock of 42,
and Ken Mander (4) put on 36 to help repair the damage until
two dubious LBW decisions by the visiting umpire just about
put paid to the fightback. Some late lusty blows by Ijaz
(18no) entertained the crowd but Chalfont were finally all
out for 118 off 40 overs. |
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The Sunday 1st XI had a gap in its MASL
fixtures, and played a friendly, 40 over match against
Uxbridge at Chalfont Park. Uxbridge batted first and made
201-7, with Rhys Mander the pick of the bowlers, taking 2-18
from his 8 overs. Safi Ahmed took a terrific catch at extra
cover, and we generally fielded well. In reply, several
players got in, including Matthew Stevenson (21), Safi Ahmed
(32), Zamir Khan (30) and Amit Puri (33) but nobody was able
to make the match winning contribution. Rhys Mander scored
20 not out at the end, but our innings finished tamely,
157-7, defeat by 44 runs. |
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The Sunday 2nd XI battled hard to earn a
draw in an away match against Uxbridge Casuals. In
blistering sunshine, Chalfont won the toss and put the
opposition in to bat first. Surprisingly, the skipper was
not lynched for this. When the opposition say things like
"We've got this Australian guy...", you put them in to bat
and go for the draw. And so it turned out with Uxbridge
Casuals, who racked up 277-7 and declared at 4.30. Chris
Yoxall's 3 wicket haul was well deserved, and Dave 'Dobber'
Andersen, who flew home from Rhodes that morning, also
claimed two wickets but not before the batsman had lost two
cricket balls by smashing them in to next week.
And so it was once again that the 2XI
were in the unenviable position of batting for the draw. The
early loss of four wickets did not help Chalfont's cause,
and it was left to Webb (37) and White (38) to score very
slowly but occupy the crease into the final 20 overs. Once
again, superb defensive batting by 'Dead Bat' Pat Nagle and
'Boring' Nick Davenport, who both finished unbeaten on seven
runs, ensured that the Sunday 2XI's unbeaten run continued.
And the beard is safe from the razor for another week. |
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Ken has been a stalwart of the Saturday
2nd XI for the best part of twenty years. During this time
he has scored nearly 4000 runs, taken countless catches and
had two spells as captain. His batting style is all his own.
Not averse to blocking out for 40 runs in 40 overs, he is
equally likely to then double his score in twenty minutes,
with a barrage of boundaries! A cheap dismissal is likely to
lead to bat hurling, and any sledging from the opposition
will certainly be returned in kind, sometimes from the
boundary!
 Gavin
is a quality 1st XI batsman, but he hasn't played much this
year and is developing a range of "tupperware party" excuses
for his unavailability. He has been known to bowl useful
left arm seamers, too, although his radar can malfunction
spectacularly at times!
 Rhys
has an unorthodox bowling style, quickish leg breaks bowled
off the wrong foot, and he has certainly tested a few
visiting umpires' knowledge of the no ball law! He is also a
fast improving batsman with a penchant for hitting the
winning runs!
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This weekends fixtures are as follows:
Saturday 1st XI:
Tring Park II, TVL2B, home, 1.30pm start
Saturday 2nd XI:
Windsor II, TVL4B, away, 1.30pm start
Sunday 1st XI:
Thame Town, MASL, home, 2pm start
Sunday 2nd XI:
Crane, friendly, away, 2pm start
Midweek: Wed 25th
Dulwich, home, 2pm start |
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Tony Hewston, 42 for the Saturday 2nd XI,
Jason Page, 3-48 in the same match, and Rhys Mander, for a
fine all round effort for the Sunday 1st XI. |
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There will be a return match of the
occasional Hockey vs Cricket cricket match on Friday 18th
July. Tony Hewston has thrown down the gauntlet and is
organising the cricket side and I'm organising the hockey
side. As some of you who have played in this before will
know, it is a lot of fun, with a hint of competitiveness
(the other section doesn't usually hear the end of it until
the rematch!).
As places are limited because cricket does not have rolling
subs - selection will be on a sort of first come first asked
basis.
Tony will no doubt come up with some proper rules, but the
general idea will be 20 overs, 8 balls an over, everyone
bowls 2 overs, retire on 25 and can come back in if everyone
else is out. I am assuming minimum of 1 girl per side -
think there were two last time.
Anyway, let me know (andy@watsy.com) if you wish to play for
the hockey side and Tony (tony_hewston
@hotmail.com) for the cricket side. |
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Batting:
Martin Cartledge, 101, Sat 2XI v. High Wycombe (31/05)
Neal Collins, 82, Sun 2XI v. Marquess (01/06)
Zamir Khan, 81, Sun 1XI v. Harrow Town (11/05)
Neal Collins, 77*, Sun 2XI v. Old Owens (11/05)
Zamir Khan, 69, Sat 1XI v. Falkland II (24/05)
Zamir Khan, 61, Sat 1XI v. Chenies & Latimer (07/06)
Bowling:
Dan Webb, 7-84, Sun 2XI v. Aston Rowant (01/06)
Asif Raza, 6-45, Sat 2XI v. OMT II (10/05)
Dean Page, 5-39, Sun 2XI v. Dinton II (25/05)
Chris Yoxall, 5-43, Sun 2XI v. Dinton II (25/05)
Andy Amor, 4-14, Sun 2XI v. Prestcold (18/05)
Asif Ahmed, 4-22, Sat 2XI v. Kidmore End (07/06) |
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