Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 2XI v Preston II on Sat 18 Aug 2018 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Won 24 runs

Match report It is not often that a baying St Albans crowd are lucky enough to bear witness to an individual masterclass.

Yet today, one man changed everything.

A hub bub of the who and the has been descended upon Clarence Park to witness a spectacle of cricket rarely seen by even the most avid of spectators who manned the Bajan terraces of the late seventies and early eighties.

A typical overcast morn greeted Amit Rajani as he tore open his unbecoming netted curtains this dank Saturday past. A curt remark from Mrs Rajani and the curtains were quickly pulled close.

St Albans batted first, much to the delight of the toss losing Rajani who danced a merry jig as the coin landed unfavourably to Preston's lucid cry.

Murray et Rudlin strode out to unanimous acclaim and proceeded to accumulate runs in a pithy yet ungainly fashion and provided said spectators with moments of glee and disdain.

It wasn't until Goodfellow strode to the crease at notmanyfor-1 that the crowd really started to sit up and take notice.

Goodfellow, standing some six foot two with a body carved from perfect ivory, led a vicious assault on the demoralised Preston attack.

Half a league, half a league, half a league onward, into the valley of death rode Goodfellow atop his steed of elegance and unadulterated power. It was upon these foundations, astutely laid by he and Seagrave, that victory was surely forged.

Messrs Dean, Rosson (J) and O'Toole reaped the bountiful rewards of this foundation with 20s apiece after Goodfellow was shockingly castled for 43. A sign of fallibility which only endeared him further to his teammates.

Rosson in particular boasted a glowing aura during his innings and it was clear for all to see that he knows his way around a crease.

St Albans finished on 193 as a dejected Preston side traipsed from the field.

Adshead and Smith led the charge with the latter seemingly buoyed by recent nuptials taking a brace of early wickets. Nichola must be so proud.

Controversy reigned midway through Smith's spell as the Preston skipper plinked a cover driver straight to Rudlin at short extra cover only to stand his ground in one of the boldest acts of delusion seen since Rosson in the first innings. Yet, to the dismay and disbelief of the St Albans faithful and to the detriment of cricket as a sport, the umpires declared the batsman not out. A plague of locusts descended upon Clarence Park and drinks were an erie red at the halfway stage but St Albans soldiered on.

Preston pressed ahead with gay abandon with the number 3 in particular looking to get on top of the St Albans bowling by attempting to hit each and every ball into the stratosphere.

It's hard to keep Goodfellow out of the game for long however. Rajani and O'Toole derived a plan to snare the number three into the most devious of traps. Vijender the benefactor as the ball was thrust down Goodfellow's throat at deep extra cover.

Seagrave bowled steadily with occasional brilliance and ended with two scalps including the fabled danger man again caught by the ebullient Goodfellow charging in like the 08:53 from Paddington to Penzance to snaffle his third catch of the innings. What inspiration this kind of performance must instill on players such as Seagrave. Goodfellow is not just an all round talent on the pitch but a brilliant mind off it and his tales in the bar after the game had even the wise old owls of Caley and O'Toole declaring him a latter day Aesop.

Once the danger man departed, St Albans strangled Preston into submission with O'Toole's spell in particular crushing the Preston side's last sinew of hope. O'Toole, with his body like a dying goat, ambled in for eight overs conceding only 7 runs.

Victory was sewn up by Smith who tied the knot on an efficient St Albans display. It is not always possible to win with such style and class, as Chelsea demonstrated in the day's late kick off, but St Albans managed to do both much to the credit of Rajani as captain.

The last word must, however, go to Goodfellow:

"Marcet sine adversario virtus!"

St Albans Cricket Club 2XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 6 wickets
0
193		        
Stuart Murray Caught  31
Andy Rudlin Bowled  19
Michael Goodfellow Bowled  43
Harry Seagrave Run out  7
James Rosson Bowled  27
Ashish Dean Caught  23
Amit Rajani Not Out  7
Richard O'Toole Not Out  26
Uttam Vijender  
Ben Adshead  
Charles Smith  

Preston II Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Preston II Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
169 (46.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

St Albans Cricket Club 2XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ben Adshead3.011300.004.33
Charles Smith9.4034311.333.52
Uttam Vijender10.0145315.004.50
Harry Seagrave10.0140220.004.00
Amit Rajani5.0022122.004.40
Richard O'Toole8.05717.000.87

  • Umpire :
    Barry
  • Scorer :