Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club Sunday 2nd XI v R.N.V.R. CC on Sun 12 Jul 2026 at 2pm
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 235 runs

Match report It doesn't get much better than this. On a baking 31-degree Sunday afternoon at Clarence Park, with its bone-dry outfield, the pitch looking like it had been borrowed from the Oval's most parched corner, the Sunday 2s turned in about as complete a performance as this fixture list has seen.

The two skippers agreed at the toss to modify the timed format to a maximum of 70 overs, with the side batting first restricted to a maximum of 37 overs and the side batting second able to bat the remainder of the total. Stand-in skipper Hingston won the toss and, with Manny whispering in his ear from afar, unsurprisingly chose to bat first. The decision would prove well-founded.

St Albans batting tone was set early on with Zac Johnson playing some excellent strokes on the way to a punchy 24, and Nadeem Arif took up the baton with a lusty 39 off 29 balls including eight fours delivered with no fuss, and exactly what the innings needed at the top of the order. Finn Newton played with real fluency and showed excellent timing for his 19, giving the middle order a solid platform to build on, and Hingston chipped in with 50 retired not out to keep the innings moving, followed by a smooth and composed 18 from Dulon before he was unluckily trapped LBW.

Then came Kamran Rafique, on debut for SACC and reportedly a “semi-semi-pro”, who applied his credentials to devastating effect: 41 off 17 balls, eight fours, and one quite magnificent reverse-sweep six over point that provoked equal parts admiration and disbelief from those watching.

Sunday Gun Altaf followed and, showing perhaps a more patient side to his game than we are always accustomed to, blocked out the good balls and picked off the bad ones with equal satisfaction, quietly accumulating 53 retired not out off 36 balls with 11 fours. After our other SACC debutant Ahsin Ali weighed in with a handy 15, Sunday 2s debutant Freya Witty had the profound misfortune of receiving an unplayable first ball from RNVR's best bowler. The lower order then gleefully piled on: Nathan Roos chipped in with 16 off 10 including a characteristically enthusiastic slog sweep over cow for six, James Witty contributed a tidy 11 not out, before Hingston came back in to push the total over 300 before declaring on a formidable 307-8 after the halfway point of 35 overs.

The tea interval (special thanks as always to club shirt sponsor Tavah) provided a chance to reflect, rehydrate, and consider whether RNVR fancied their chances of chasing 308 at a required rate of 8.8 per over. Spoiler: they did not.

Father and daughter pairing of James and Freya Witty shared the new ball at Clarence Park on a Sunday afternoon (hopefully the first of many!). The combination of James's probing outswing and Freya's dangerous inswing made for an uncomfortable introduction to the innings for the RNVR openers. James bowled with his customary tidiness, finishing with 1 for 17 off 5 overs including 2 maidens, though he did take pointed exception when the skipper moved his gully, who had yet to field a ball there, across to extra cover. The skipper duly moved the fielder back to gully at James's insistence, whereupon the batsman executed a rather lovely cover drive for 4 through the now-vacant extra cover region. These things happen. Freya was outstanding on debut: 3 for 19 off 5 overs, bowling with a composure that belied the occasion, delivering a spell that any opening bowler would have been proud of, and one that her father will have quietly noted with considerable satisfaction.

Nathan Roos then entered the attack and, apparently unaware that this was supposed to be his first and likely only game of the season, picked up 3 for 10 off 4 overs including 2 maidens. An quite exceptional spell (that a certain Saturday skipper would have quite liked to have had the day before) that kept RNVR firmly under the thumb throughout the middle overs.

The final word belonged to Ahsin Ali, whose 3-ball intervention produced 2 wickets for 0 runs, delivered with a bowling action that drew inevitable and gleeful comparisons with Murali, and with similarly lethal results. Ahsin would have been on a hat-trick had RNVR been able to produce an 11th batter. The cricket world may never know.

RNVR were bowled out for 72 off 19 overs, with the margin of victory a resounding 235 runs. An outstanding all-round Sunday 2s performance with bat, ball, and in the field with the whole XI contributing.

And finally, a warm mention for AWOL Sunday 2s regular Ciarán Walsh, who briefly graced Clarence Park with his presence, fresh from finally making good on his mother's birthday afternoon tea in London, a promise that had apparently been on ice since May while Sunday 2s duty repeatedly took precedence. We are told she was delighted. We are also told Ciarán was very relieved. The Sunday 2s: bringing families together, one postponed birthday treat at a time.

POTM – All 11 Sunday Legends

St Albans Cricket Club Sunday 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 2w 4lb 
for 8 wickets
7
307		        
Zac (Isaac) Johnson ct Alex Beard 24 32 26 5 92.31
Nadeem Arif b Alex Beard 39 40 29 8 134.48
Finn Newton b William Buckland 19 52 22 3 86.36
Ben Hingston Not Out  64 54 36 11 1 177.78
Dulon Ahmed lbw William Buckland 18 28 12 3 150.0
A.N. Other ct William Buckland 41 15 17 8 1 241.18
Md Altaf Husain Retired Not Out  53 55 36 11 147.22
A.N. Other ct William Buckland 15 29 14 2 107.14
Freya Witty b William Buckland 0 2 1 0
Nathan Roos b Davinder Ranu 16 26 10 2 1 160.0
James Witty Not Out  11 11 8 2 137.50

R.N.V.R. CC Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Davinder Ranu7.0059159.008.43
Alex Beard8.0057228.507.13
Brian Shipley7.007800.0011.14
William Buckland9.0159511.806.56
Mriksh Bhanushali4.005000.0012.50

R.N.V.R. CC Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 2w 1b  
for 9 wickets
4
72 (18.3 overs)		     
Tim Hardman b Freya Witty 0 12 0
Mriksh Bhanushali lbw James Witty 5 6 1 83.33
Ben Dale ct Freya Witty 1 8 12.50
John MacDonald-Brown b Nathan Roos 28 37 6 75.68
Bertie Vacher ct Freya Witty 8 6 2 133.33
Alex Beard b Nathan Roos 9 14 2 64.29
Robyn Hounsell b Nathan Roos 2 16 12.50
Davinder Ranu ct Ahsin Ali 5 8 1 62.50
William Buckland Not Out  10 5 200
Brian Shipley b Ahsin Ali 0 1 0
   

St Albans Cricket Club Sunday 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
James Witty5.0217117.003.40
Freya Witty5.011936.333.80
Nathan Roos4.021033.332.50
Finn Newton4.002100.005.25
A.N. Other0.30020.000.00

  • Umpire :
    Ourselves
  • Scorer :
    Ourselves