Scorecard

Little Berkhamsted Sahibs v St Albans Cricket Club 3XI on Sat 17 Jul 2021 at 12:00 midday
St Albans Cricket Club Lost by 5 wickets

Match report A slew of dropped catches was the cause of the Threes loss to ladder leading Little Berkhamsted Sahibs, a disappointing result on a warm Saturday afternoon.

For the first time this season Walker won the toss, choosing to bat first in the idyllic setting of the recreation ground in Little Berkhamsted.

Nissar and Murray rebutted the opening salvos of the hosts, before Murray sliced airily; Hussain breezed in and out, and Malik followed shortly after to leave Saints at 52/3. In between, extra spice was added to an already abrasive encounter, when the square leg umpire was unable to adjuticate in the affirmative for a direct hit run out, having had vision of the events obscured by another fieldsman. LBS showed their displeasure in no uncertain terms, but eventually some composure returned and the game proceeded - though not without ongoing references to the aforementioned decision and the morals of its perpetrator.

The arrival of newcomer Law brought a more positive spin to events for St Albans. Although admitting to a nervous start, Law was off the mark with a six, and he and Nisar moved the score along steadily, the run rate touching four an over, and the hosts subdued in the face of this resistance. The tally having passed 100, there followed another unfortunate tumble of wickets. Law departed for a well made 33, Sargen came and went without facing a ball, blameless in a run out, and then Nisar - perhaps losing focus after than run out - was dismissed for another invaluable knock of 35, the kind of innings around which a solid total is built. The collapse was thwarted by sensible batting from Rajani and Adshead who added 36. When the 9th wicket fell with the tally on 156 in the 41st over, Saints looked short of a defendable total. However Adshead rose to the challenge, finding the boundary on numerous occasions. In 25 legal deliveries - throw in a few extra wides from the tiring bowlers - 40 runs was added for the 10th wicket, the number 11's contribution just one. Adshead's 45, top score down at number 9, lifted the target to more challenging levels, and shifted the momentum back to Saints.

After a week when the pandemic became the pingdemic, Saints put forward a new combination of bowlers, after several players were forced into isolation. Curran began fiercely, and might have had an early wicket but for a dropped catch in slip. Rajani nipped out one early, however Awais showed he was prepared to play his shots in the pursuit of victory, before Law induced a false shot to have him caught at mid on. With the persistent Green, adjudged LBW to Walker, also out of the way, Saints were well in the game with LBS on 93/3 in 23 overs. A well deserved drinks break was in order. At the break, the need to keep up the intensity was highlighted, but those wise words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears shortly after, as 9, 14 and 18 runs were taken from consecutive overs shortly after the break, drastically shortening the path to victory. Malik, who had bowled economically once more without taking wickets, finally took one, and Law completed a direct hit run out: 5 wickets down now, and the tail of unknown ability. Saints, though never on top, were not quite out of the game as the hosts batsmen, for all their vigour - to their credit they worked hard for their runs - occasionally got over confident. Regrettably more catches went down and with rousing support from the clubhouse, Little Berkhamsted Sahibs reached their target with five wickets to spare.

This was a competitive game of cricket. at times too aggressive for its own good. In many ways Saints can take positives from this, having fought through adversity several times against a strong, combative opponent, to make for a good contest. In retrospect, the team can only ponder the what ifs - if those catches had been taken, this result might well have been different.

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
18w 12b 8lb 
for 10 wickets
38
196		        
Nauman Nisar b Shish 35 3
Stuart Murray ct - b Mohammed 14 1 1
Humayune Hussain b Patel 8 2
Saqib Malik lbw b Patel 4
Rory Law ct - b Patel 33 4 1 1 1
Alisdair Sargen Run out  0
James Lawrence b Patel 5 1
Amit Rajani b Shehzad 10 2
Ben Adshead Run out  45 5 2 2
Joey Curran b Shahzad 4 1
Andrew Walker Not Out  1

Little Berkhamsted Sahibs Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Mohammed9.0133133.003.67
Shahzad9.0151317.005.67
Shish9.0215115.001.67
Patel9.003548.753.89
Ahmed2.001700.008.50
Bowman6.011600.002.67
Barrell1.00100.001.00

Little Berkhamsted Sahibs Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 10w 9b 2lb 
for 5 wickets
22
197 (37.1 overs)		     
Green lbw b Walker 23 1
Ahmed ct Adshead b Rajani 3
Awais ct Adshead b Law 47 7 1
Jaggers ct Law b Malik 43 5 1
Barrell run out Law 29 3
Eldridge Not Out  20 2
Patel Not Out  1
Shahzad  
Akram  
Shish  
Bowman  

St Albans Cricket Club 3XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Joey Curran7.004700.006.71
Amit Rajani8.1233133.004.04
Saqib Malik9.021527.501.67
Rory Law6.0042142.007.00
Andrew Walker6.0040140.006.67
Ben Adshead1.001000.0010.00
 
Photos and video of Little Berkhamsted Sahibs v St Albans Cricket Club 3XI on Sat 17 Jul 2021 at 12:00 midday

2021-07-17_Little_Berkhamsted_Sahibs_v_St_Albans_III.innings_2

2021-07-17 Little Berkhamsted Sahibs v St Albans III Innings of Little Berkhamsted Sahibs

2021-07-17_Little_Berkhamsted_Sahibs_v_St_Albans_III.photo_1

2021-07-17 Little Berkhamsted Sahibs v St Albans III St Albans at bat, Recreation Ground, Little Berkhamsted

2021-07-17_Little_Berkhamsted_Sahibs_v_St_Albans_III.innings_1

2021-07-17 Little Berkhamsted Sahibs v St Albans III Innings of St Albans