Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI v Hatfield Hyde CC 2nd Xl on Sat 30 Aug 2025 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 6 wickets

Match report The morning began with skipper Sam Davey making an early inspection at SLCG,
charged with the unenviable task of deciding whether the previous night’s drizzle
had left us with a game at all. Fortunately, the sight of a drying outfield and a glowing
sun was enough to lift spirits and rally the troops.

Davey’s instincts were clear: bowl first, knock them over quickly, and chase with
minimum fuss. Fate smiled kindly when Hatfield Hyde, in what felt like a gift
wrapped in green, won the toss and chose to bat. For a side staring relegation in the
face, it was perhaps an act of misplaced optimism.

With the new ball in hand, Altaf Hussain charged downhill while Prathamesh “PD”
Deshpande steamed in from the other end. Both struck early. PD’s trademark
inswinger dismantled the stumps of their opening batter, before Altaf produced a
beauty to castle their number three. The visitors were immediately in strife, runs
proving hard to come by in the opening exchanges.

Only their other opener, the number two bat, showed resistance. He took advantage
of anything loose, playing several crisp shots and building what would ultimately
become a lone hand worth 60 runs, the only innings of substance in Hatfield Hyde’s
reply.

Prath “PK” Khatavkar replaced Altaf and struck quickly, accounting for batters four
and five with probing accuracy. At the other end, Andy Walker ran in tirelessly up the
hill into the breeze and was miserly as ever, creating chances but denied by fortune
on this occasion. At drinks, Hatfield Hyde were marooned on around 60 with nearly
half their side gone.

PK (8–0–27–2) and Walker completed their spells, and skipper Davey turned to
himself and Suleiman “Suli” Nisar. Suli claimed the prized wicket of the set opener,
who miscued a full toss straight into Davey’s grateful hands at mid-on. His second
dismissal was an extraordinary rarity - a hit wicket. The batter attempted a stroke,
bottom-edged onto his own toes, and, while peering upfield to see where he thought
the ball had gone, turned to find he had kicked over his stumps. A moment equal
parts calamitous and comic.

Davey then swept through the tail with ruthless efficiency, returning the day’s best
figures of 4–9 from 4.2 overs. Suli chimed in with 2–16, and Hatfield Hyde were
dismissed for just 113. From that position, their only conceivable hope was the
arrival of heavy rain.

After a brisk tea, Nauman “Manny” Nisar and stalwart Hugo Thomas set about the
chase. Both made a steady start before falling in quick succession, bringing together
Andy Wright and Nasibullah Maroofkhelm, who batted with authority - Wright
contributing 32 and Maroof 33, both peppering the boundary and responding
gleefully to cries from the sidelines to “go big.” Their assault had skipper Davey
pacing back and forth in his pads, nervously hoping they would see things home
without mishap.

The rain did make an appearance, but by then St Albans were comfortably ahead of
the required rate. To their credit, Hatfield Hyde, a good-natured side unlike certain
ill-tempered oppositions of recent memory, were determined to keep the game
alive, perhaps in hope of a miracle. That hope vanished with each thumping blow
from Wright and Maroof.

Both eventually departed with fewer than 20 runs required. Toby Crisp and PD
finished the job, Crisp blocking manfully while PD sealed the victory with a
boundary. Cue the customary pad-rush and warm congratulations for Davey and his
men.

A clinical win for the mighty 4s, achieved with a mix of discipline, flair, and the
faintest drizzle of drama. One final push remains: next weekend’s visit to Old
Cholmeleians. Victory there, and the Saints will close the season with a 3rd-place
finish

Hatfield Hyde CC 2nd Xl Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 9w 2b 3lb 
for 10 wickets
15
113 (36.2 overs)
     
Faizan Choudhry b  P Deshpande 0 12 0
Michael Burson ct  S Davey b S Nisar 60 92 9 65.22
Gaurav Kaundal b  A Husain 9 15 2 60.0
Sean Davies ct  H Thomas b P Khatavkar 1 15 6.67
Senitha De Silva b  P Khatavkar 5 16 31.25
Eddie Wanniarachchi hit wicket  S Nisar 16 44 3 36.36
Sajjad Niazi ct  T Crisp b S Davey 0 3 0
Jawid Oryakhail ct  T Crisp b S Davey 4 7 57.14
Matiullah Tarakhel ct  N Nisar b S Davey 0 6 0
Chris Simpson Not Out  2 5 40.0
Hilal Safi ct  N Maroofkhel b S Davey 1 4 25.00

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Md Altaf Husain6.0121121.003.50
Prathamesh Deshpande6.0210110.001.67
Prath Khatavkar8.0027213.503.38
Andrew Walker8.002500.003.12
Sam Davey4.21942.252.08
Sulaiman Nisar4.001628.004.00

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 4w 4b 1lb 
for 4 wickets
10
114
        
Nauman Nisar ct  G Kaundal b H Safi 18 14 3 128.57 1
Hugo Thomas ct  S Niazi b H Safi 6 15 40.0 1
Andy Wright ct  S Niazi b M Tarakhel 32 50 4 64.00
nasibullah Maroofkhel b  M Tarakhel 33 35 5 94.29 1
Toby Crisp Not Out  0 8 0 2
Prathamesh Deshpande Not Out  15 16 2 93.75
Andrew Walker  
Sulaiman Nisar  
Prath Khatavkar  
Md Altaf Husain  
Sam Davey   1

Hatfield Hyde CC 2nd Xl Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Hilal Safi4.0027213.506.75
Jawid Oryakhail4.001200.003.00
Sajjad Niazi3.001900.006.33
Matiullah Tarakhel7.0030215.004.29
Michael Burson4.502100.004.34

  • Umpire :
    Ourselves
  • Scorer :
    Ourselves