Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI v Gully Boys XI on Sat 15 May 2021 at 12 noon
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 6 wickets

Match report
There was a fair amount of uncertainty whether we would play given the heavy rain over night and the ominous forecast for further showers for the rest of the day. The idea of playing cricket in wet and cold conditions was edging the decision to cancelling the match however, with the oppo already on their way and eager to play, we decided to give it a go.

Losing the toss led to St Albans being put into the field with 10 men whilst we awaited the arrival of our late replacement Saqib who kindly volunteered after the 2's were called off.

Despite having only 10 on the field we started well with our 2 opening bowlers Finlay Kilner and Tom Bentley using the new ball to good effect on the hard, skiddy Astro wicket. An ill-advised quick single to Jack Benjamin at cover led to the loss of the first wicket, which was quickly followed up with catches taken by Tommy behind the stumps and George at mid -wicket.

With the score at 8 for 4 off 6 there were thoughts of early finish and Tom hoping for a 5 for. However, a middle-order partnership helped pull the score up to a more respectable level. Their umpires playing one day leg side wide rules also added significantly to the score!

Tidy spells from Lucas Berry 4 overs for 16 and Tom Cocks 4 overs for 12 kept the run rate modest. The introduction of spin from Jack Benjamin and Fin McNab helped prise out the 2 set batsmen with Jack returning an excellent 2 for 11 off 5 and Fin returning a miserly 2 for 29 off 9.

With the innings spluttering to end it was time for the return of Tom Bentley eager to wrap up the innings and bag his 5’fer for which he duly did, returning an excellent 5 for 27 off 8. All-in-all a very satisfying session in the field with some notable bowling performances. Some excellent catching too with 3 for Tommy Hutchison behind the stumps and an absolute worldy from Tom Coulling - one handed high to his right at slip (we won't mention the one that got shelled though!)

So, with 122 as the target and still no rain in sight our openers Saqib and Lucas strode out to the middle. The bowling was tidy and had a bit zip to it. However, neither opener were presented with any real challenges and runs flowed at a comfortable rate. The outfield, having dried off considerably, still wasn't giving much value for your shots and there were plenty of one and twos being run. With both the opening bowlers being seen off it was Lucas (4) the first to fall finding backward square who was as surprised as the rest of us that he held on to a well struck ball. With the score at 47 for 1 off 11 the captain joined the fray adding 11 before being caught at the 3rd chance he had given. 65 for 2 saw George Thomas come to the wicket and seemed comfortable enough although followed in his father's footsteps and offered one too many chances before departing for 6. Jack's time at the crease was short lived, offering up another catch and falling for 2. Tom Cocks (6 not out) joined a well set Saqib who was closing in on a stylish 50 and with the clouds gathering and rain starting to fall Saqib decided to close out the game quickly with a flurry of well struck boundaries finishing on 70 not out.

In the end a comfortable victory against a friendly newly formed team who are keen to return. Apologies to anyone I may have missed out or incorrectly recognised - the oppo's scoring was not the best and having 4 Tom's and 2 Fin's in our team there were a number of errors!


Gully Boys XI Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 25w 2b 1lb 
for 10 wickets
30
121 (38.0 overs)		     
Sarang Run out  2
Nikesh ct  Bentley 4
Dhavel ct  Bentley 0
Vishal ct  NcNab 29
Dani ct  Bentley 0
Prahk ct  Bentley 40
Phyank ct  Benjamin 4
Jay ct  Benjamin 0
Hamal ct  McNab 12
Paritash b  Bentley 0
Tijas Not Out  0

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Tom Bentley8.002755.403.38
Finlay Killner7.001700.002.43
Thomas Coulling2.00800.004.00
Tom Cocks4.001200.003.00
Fin McNab8.0026213.003.25
Lucas Berry4.001100.002.75
Jack Benjamin5.00824.001.60

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
19w 3b 1lb 
for 4 wickets
23
122		        
Saqib Malik Not Out  70
Lucas Berry ct  Dani 4
Hugo Thomas ct  Sarang 11
George Thomas ct  Dani 6
Jack Benjamin ct  Dani 2
Tom Cocks Not Out  6
Tommy Hutchinson  
Thomas Coulling  
Tom Bentley  
Finlay Killner  
Fin McNab  

Gully Boys XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Vishali4.001000.002.50
Prahk4.001400.003.50
Sarang8.0041141.005.13
Dani8.0052317.336.50
Dhaval0.20000.000.00