Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI v Potten End on Sat 05 May 2018 at 1pm
St Albans Cricket Club Lost by 7 wickets

Match report How does one go about describing the ignominy of being bowled out for 41?

Let’s begin by putting a little context around this game. This was the opening round of the Herts League season, so inevitably there were a few rusty names, with pre-season politely described as underdone. Unfortunately, this game fell on a bank holiday weekend, a date for a spring getaway, making the most challenging time of the season for availability just that little bit tougher for the selectors. And the IIIs' opening found opponents? We were facing Potten End, newly promoted from Division 9A, bringing with them a remarkable record over the past few seasons.

So it was that skipper Telkman won the toss and chose to bat first, with the fixture a straight 50-50 over contest, as all will be this 2018 season. The outfield was lush and the trees at Verulam School Playing Fields greener than usual for this time of year, with the sun doing a nice job of keeping things warm. The skipper, umpiring, was able to use the flower-filled outfield to his advantage, employing six daisies as a surrogate for a counter.

The aforementioned challenges at the selection table had brought a lineup thoroughly revamped from 2017, with just two Saints faces from the prior year's closing fixture returning on this occasion, creating opportunities for some different faces. From the start, the visitors bowled accurately and with decent pace - though a dead wicket rather diminished the effect of any speed. Overs and wickets stayed ahead of runs for a while, though Webber played a couple of nice strokes through and over cover to get things going. McKinlay, too, showed his class before being dumbfounded by a well directed slower ball. Wickets fell at regular intervals, the visitors rewarded for accurate bowling that gave little away. There was nothing in the wicket to fear, and to be honest, no special threat from the bowlers - but there was a great dividend for straight bowling, and St Albans defence was undone time and again, with nine of the ten dismissals either bowled or leg before wicket. Potten End's four bowlers deserved to share the wickets. And so, the IIIs were bowled out for 41.

There was little more than pride at stake when the teams changed roles. Skipper Telkman tried several combinations of bowlers, and all bowled with good control against batsman who were itching to get the game done. Sammy Kumar bowled a teasing spell, Amy Price made a good impression on her debut for the club, and Tim Winfield was able to take three wickets (3/7). The inevitable conclusion was reached in the 19th over, with the visitors running out winners by seven wickets.

This was not a glorious beginning, and its difficult to find the positives in such a defeat. Most likely Potten End will be highly rated in the League at season's end, and a few faces will return to bolster the IIIs in the coming weeks, so let's conclude that the best thing about this fixture is that it's over and done with, and move on to the next challenge.

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
2b  
for 10 wickets
2
41		        
John Webber b Hill 12 2
David Ashton b Hyland 0
Wilf Rush ct - b Hyland 3
Amy Price b Hyland 0 1
Huzefa Kanchwala b Hill 4
Ian McKinlay b Hartman 11
Clive Maynard lbw Hartman 5
Andrew Walker lbw Gurney 4
Jamie Telkman b Hartman 0
Tim Winfield Not Out  2
Sammy Kumar b Gurney 0

Potten End Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Gurney6.43924.501.35
Hyland6.04230.670.33
Hill7.011527.502.14
Hartman7.001334.331.86

Potten End Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2b  
for 3 wickets
2
42 (18.3 overs)		     
Pickard ct Price b Winfield 13
Lee b Winfield 7
Siddique lbw Winfield 3
Akhtar Not Out  13 1 1
Fenn Not Out  4 1
Ashton  
Gurney  
Hill  
Hartman  
Hyland  
Lee  

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Andrew Walker5.03400.000.80
Sammy Kumar4.011100.002.75
David Ashton3.00600.002.00
Tim Winfield4.31732.331.56
Amy Price2.011200.006.00

  • Umpire :
    Team
  • Scorer :
    Team
 
Photos and video of St Albans Cricket Club 3XI v Potten End on Sat 05 May 2018 at 1pm

5/5/2018, St Albans III v Potten End - St Albans innings.jpg

5/5/2018, St Albans III v Potten End - St Albans innings

5/5/2018, St Albans III v Potten End - Potten End innings