Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI v Sandridge 2XI on Sat 07 Sep 2024 at 1pm
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 2 runs

Match report With Sandridge’s square now subsumed by a football pitch this fixture was switched to the SLCG Astro, the only option available as the steady encroachment of football on the cricket season continues apace.
After the arrival of Winfield senior with two small bottles of Oasis and Ribena after being asked to bring some juice for drinks was processed by the confused skipper and the somewhat casual approach to the start time by the opposition which meant a late toss – lost by Saunders of course- Saints were put into bat on the artificial surface.

As always Manny Nisar and Ashish Dean opened proceedings and spent the first few overs getting accustomed to the unfamiliar bounce but soon both were knocking the ball around and running well between the wickets, something this pair have done well all season.

Manny was the first to fall , bowled by a decent nut and Prath ‘PD’ Deshpande joined Ash at the crease. With Ash growing in confidence and surviving a big caught behind appeal, (which was unnecessarily aggressively pursued by the opposition), PD played the supporting role, his calm approach complimenting the more aggressive stroke play of his batting partner. The pair put together an excellent 83 partnership, with Ashish reaching his 4th half century of the season, before PD departed on 32.

Wicketkeeper George Hingston was promoted up the order to “give it some tap” and duly obliged, a quickfire 21 adding impetus to the innings. Toby Crisp had a brief stay at the crease, which then saw Sam Davey and youngster Ethan Witty come in to see out the remaining overs, with Davey hitting a typically brutal 31 off just 13 balls including four 4’s and a six and Witty adding a valuable 19, which included a delightful pick up 6 over the square leg boundary.

With 209 posted from their 40 overs Saints felt confident as they took the field though mindful of the batting friendly opportunities on offer from the Astro if the bowling was anything but tight.
The early overs saw Ashish and Tim Winfield take the new ball and between them they dismissed the top three for less than 50 in the first 13 overs , including the dangerous Paul Rothery whose century making feats are the stuff of legend in the lower divisions, who was well caught by Saunders at midwicket off the bowling of Winfield, who also claimed the wicket of Ngugen , brilliantly caught by PD in the covers.
Wickets then fell at fairly regular intervals with Sam Davey and Ethan Witty taking up the attack, both bowling superbly and taking wickets – including a smart stumping by BenHingston off the bowling of Witty - and at drinks Sandridge found themselves 82-6 - a long way from victory.

After the break a partnership between Zubhair and Murphy started to gain traction, with hard running between the wickets from the pair seeing them accelerate the run rate, all the more impressive given Murphy’s knackered hamstring. Saunders slowed things down from one end but as the field became more defensive in an attempt to limit boundaries the runs continued to accumulate, and what looked at one point like a formality was starting to become a nervy affair.

In the gathering gloom first Zubhair and then Murphy reached their half centuries and with less runs needed from the final overs than was desirable the skipper brought back Ashish and then Sam to steady the ship. With Davey finally snaring Zubhair, caught behind by Ben Hingston, and then picking up the wicket of Samarakoon soon afterwards the contest looked settled, but a flurry of runs in the final two overs saw 6 required off the last delivery . A comical and frankly disgraceful fumble on the boundary by Saunders saw the ball trickle over the line for 4 to the justifiable disgust of Davey but ultimately it mattered not as a two run victory was secured.

At the final reckoning the 4s finished solidly mid-table, only a couple of games off third and will perhaps rue a few performances throughout the season that might have seen them pick up points in games they should have won; but overall this is team that on its day has the talent and character to challenge anyone. Roll on 2025!

(Match report by Andy Saunders)

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 11w 3b 1lb 
for 5 wickets
16
209		        
Nauman Nisar b A Zubair 13 21 1 61.90
Ashish Dean b Z Murphy 73 73 9 100
Prathamesh Deshpande b Z Murphy 32 45 2 71.11 1
Toby Crisp ct Unsure b A Zubair 4 9 44.44
Ben Hingston ct A Zubair b A Taylor 21 25 1 84.00 1 1
Sam Davey Not Out  31 23 4 1 134.78
Ethan Witty Not Out  19 8 2 1 237.50
George Pelham  
Jithin Kalarickal George  
Tim Winfield  
Andy Saunders   1

Sandridge 2XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Andrew Halsey8.002700.003.38
Atif Zubair8.0045222.505.63
John Murphy5.402500.004.41
Kapila Samarakoon8.013300.004.13
Zlatko Murphy6.2052226.008.21
Alastair Taylor4.0023123.005.75

Sandridge 2XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
11w 5b 6lb 
for 7 wickets
22
207 (40.0 overs)		     
Adam Temple b A Dean 9 5 1 180.0
Paul Rothery ct A Saunders b T Winfield 30 11 6 272.73
Nick Nguyen ct P Deshpande b T Winfield 1 1 100
Will Rose b S Davey 5 3 166.67
Alastair Taylor st B Hingston b E Witty 12 24 6 1 50.0
Atif Zubair ct B Hingston b S Davey 53 24 6 1 220.83
Kapila Samarakoon ct Unsure b S Davey 2 2 100
John Murphy Not Out  62 36 6 172.22
Kevin Murphy Not Out  11 4 1 275.00
Zlatko Murphy  
Andrew Halsey  

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ashish Dean8.0221121.002.63
Tim Winfield6.0137218.506.17
Sam Davey8.012739.003.38
Ethan Witty6.0040140.006.67
Andy Saunders8.013900.004.88
Jithin Kalarickal George4.003200.008.00