Scorecard

Flitwick III v St Albans Cricket Club 3XI on Sat 21 Jul 2018 at 1pm
St Albans Cricket Club Lost by 101 runs

Match report The 12th round of fixtures saw St Albans IIIs travel to Southill Park Cricket Club, on the Whitbread Estate, to take on Flitwick. Could the bucolic setting - stately home, thatched roof clubhouse, on-field tree - be matched by a sweet victory for the IIIs?

Some last minute team shuffling and heavy traffic saw the squad arrive perilously close to the scheduled match time, and Saints took to the field at the skipper’s request, without an opportunity for a fielding warm up.

Flitwick were unflustered (though this, their home fixture, represented a considerable journey from their home town), and set about the early bowling in no uncertain terms, Timms in particular taking advantage of anything loose. The pitch looked good and the dry outfield was supremely fast. Making early changes, the captain and vice-captain were introduced to the bowling crease and started to exert a little more control.

The score had raced to 74 before Walker picked up a brace of wickets in the 12th over, but Timms was able to continue on his hard-hitting way, even as his batting partner struggled to get off the mark. In the 70s, one of his hard hits carried high to deep mid wicket where the well-placed skipper fumbled and let slip the opportunity, a crucial moment in the match.

Another partnership - Timms and Summerfield - was steadily compiled, the former slowing somewhat after reaching his century, no doubt feeling the effects of the warm weather. Of course, Saints were fielding in these same conditions, and there were some terrific performances from Ralfe, Button and Parkinson in the outfield plus late call-up Hancock behind the stumps. Lady Whitbread, out walking her dogs on the estate, failed to notice; clearly she’s not a cricket fan. West and Islam bowled tidily, and Button returned to claim a pair of wickets, one that of Timms - out for 143, hitting the ball over the tree to cow corner, but seeing the ball end up in Walker’s hands.

A total of 253 was imposing, but after the opening overs this represented a decent recovery from Saints in challenging conditions - the score may well have exceeded 300. Still, to chase down this kind of target would require a big contribution from at least one batsman.

West and Ferguson started calmly, in the knowledge that boundary balls were bound to arrive. However, Fergie was claimed in the slips and Parkinson fell the same way. West had struck a comfortable 26 before playing around one in Qamar’s opening over, to leave Saints at 3/46. The ever reliable Baylis and Hancock found their way into some runs before Hancock was out upon reaching 20. Significantly, Flitwick were holding onto their catches, in contrast to Saints’ own efforts.

Wickets kept falling; no pair could build a partnership and reclaim a little momentum. Baylis played on after a well made 34, and Walker (25) found the boundary a few times before falling to the catch of the day, taken inches off the ground at square leg. The innings fell away and Saints were done with the score on 152, more than a hundred short of their target. A look at the scorecards tells a story: both teams had three batsmen out in the 20s and only one score higher - but those individual tallies of 143 and 34 highlight the significance of Timms’ big knock.

The IIIs, having struggled early in the season with poor availability, are now finding victories hard to come by, even with stronger lineups. It’s no surprise that they’ve slipped to bottom on the league table. A swift turn around is required, and that is within their capability.

Flitwick III Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 12w 5b 5lb 
for 7 wickets
24
253 (50.0 overs)		     
Timms ct  Walker b Button 143
Bodo ct  Telkman b Walker 24
Edwards lbw  Walker 0
Ball b  Ralfe 23
Smith ct  Hancock b West 0
Summerfield run out  R.Baylis/islam 24
Warren b  Button 1
Qamar Not Out  12
Sharpe Not Out  2
   
   

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Joe Button9.0149224.505.44
Dan Baylis2.001900.009.50
Andrew Walker10.0136218.003.60
Jamie Telkman6.002500.004.17
Zach West10.0145145.004.50
Nick Ralfe4.0031131.007.75
Moksudul Islam9.003800.004.22

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
5nb 5w 2b 2lb 
for 10 wickets
14
152		        
Zach West b  Qamar 26 5
Steve Ferguson ct  - b Sharpe 9 2
Charlie Parkinson ct  - b Sharpe 0
Richard Baylis b  Qamar 34 4 1
David Hancock ct  - b Qamar 20 4 1
Moksudul Islam ct  - b Qamar 0 1
Nick Ralfe lbw  b Qamar 6 1
Andrew Walker ct  - b Smith 25 5 1
Joe Button ct  - b Sharpe 7
Jamie Telkman Not Out  2 1
Dan Baylis b  Wing 9 2

Flitwick III Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Wing7.1026126.003.63
Sharpe9.0232310.673.56
Qamar10.033156.203.10
Sheikh4.003800.009.50
Smith4.0021121.005.25
 
Photos and video of Flitwick III v St Albans Cricket Club 3XI on Sat 21 Jul 2018 at 1pm

21/7/2018, St Albans III v Flitwick III - St Albans innings

21/7/2018, St Albans III v Flitwick III - Flitwick innings

Southill Park Cricket Club

Southill Park Cricket Club, on the Whitbread Estate 21/7/2018, Flitwick III v St Albans III at Southill Park Cricket Club