Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI v Hatfield Hyde 3XI on Sat 16 Jul 2022 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 25 runs

Match report Saturday 16th July and the St Albans 4th XI continued their pursuit of promotion with a close-run victory over the visiting Hatfield Hyde at Sandpit Lane.

The 4th XI arrived buoyed by recent results and with a sense of optimism, hoping to replicate previous weeks performances by setting a big total and bowling the opposition out cheaply. Skipper for the day Winfield duly obliged and won the toss, inviting the opposition to take the field in the 27 Degree heat.

Melling and Arif were trusted with opening the innings and took to the crease in cautious fashion, seeing off the opening 4 overs with the addition of only 4 runs. However, the two quickly picked up the pace, adding a total of 46 in a partnership that would prove to be one of the most successful in the game.

Arif was the first man to fall, for 21, having struck some lovely fours he was bowled after a slight lapse in concentration. Melling followed shortly after, bowled by the ‘Hyde first change bowler for 19 having looked increasingly fluent. In truth it was a good bowling spell for the visiting openers, their first bowler ending with figures of 2-26 off his 8 overs, and St Alban’s confidence was seriously checked.

Cunnington and Mistry were trusted with rebuilding the innings at 49-2, but unfortunately both were out cheaply, the former being caught by a good low catch at mid-off and the latter walking in front of a straight ball.

Batsman 5 and 6 joined the game with St Albans needing a partnership and they took the Bazball approach, Vijender striking a quick fire 21 and Button an even quicker 14. Both were however out in quick succession, Vijender finding the toe end of the bat to be caught and Button trying to hit a full straight ball for a second 6 but missing completely.

The less said about the lower middle order the better, as Deshpande, Davey and Berry all got out without seriously troubling the scorers.

At 99-9 St Albans needed a hero, and Winfield and Khatavkar duly obliged, with the tail wagging in a 10th wicket partnership of 37. Both batsman struck multiple boundaries, with Winfield ending on 26* and Khatavkar falling for 10. A momentum-seizing end to the St Albans innings, however a final score of 137 felt well below par.

After a short break, the 4th XI took to the field knowing that a strong bowling and fielding performance was needed. With bowling talent across the team the opening spells were trusted to Khatavkar and Berry, with Berry having enjoyed a 7 wicket haul last time out against Hatfield Hyde. Both would bowl with good pace and accuracy, but it would be Khatavkar who broke the opening stand of 27 with the first of his 3 wickets. He would then take his 2nd and 3rd wickets in subsequent overs, all three caught well in the field, finishing with figures of 3-43 off his 8 overs.

Despite 3 wickets falling the Hyde batsman had been able to accumulate well, adding to the score with regular boundaries, a result of some agricultural batting technique. At drinks, the batting side found themselves in a strong position at 73-3, well in front of the rate and with wickets in hand.

Cometh the hour, cometh the men; skipper Winfield introduced himself and Arif into the attack, a change that would yield wickets almost instantly. The first, a catch off the bowling of Winfield, dismissing the dangerous number 4 batsman who had scored a good 19. The second, another catch in the field, this time off Arif yielding the wicket of Batsman 5, comfortably Hyde’s best player on the day. After this breakthrough, wickets would come at regular occasions for the skipper, finishing with outstanding figure of 5-32 off his 8 overs. Two of these would be bowled in trademark style, with the batsman left bamboozled by the ‘Sandpit Lane Swinger’, and the remainder caught in a strong fielding performance.

Arif’s bowling should also be mentioned, his second wicket being a caught and bowled, with the bowler sprinting 10 yards to claim the catch. Safe to say he won’t be able to turn down any quick singles anymore when batting after showing considerable pace to claim the catch.

In the end Hatfield Hyde were all out for 109, falling 28 runs short of the required target. St Albans victorious, but not in the way they would have hoped. Special mention must be given to the all-round fielding performance, which was of a good standard and remained positive throughout. We must also mention Button in this subject, who took 3 catches, and on his third proclaimed he didn’t care about the team he just wanted the fantasy points. In a similar light Winfield must also be mentioned again, who kept up the habit of taking the wicket of 13-year-olds, his second in three weeks.

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 3w 8b 1lb 
for 10 wickets
13
136		        
Peter Melling b J Melia 19 4
Nadeem Arif b Y Shah 21 4 2
Marcus Cunnington ct V Kajar b Y Shah 1 1
Sam Mistry lbw N Vaghadia 2 1
Uttam Vijender ct V Kajar b A Pikesley 21 3 1
Joe Button b N Vaghadia 14 2 1 3
Prathamesh Deshpande ct V Kajar b A Pikesley 0
Sam Davey b A Pikesley 0
Lucas Berry b A Pikesley 8 1
Tim Winfield Not Out  26 5
Prath Khatavkar b J Melia 10 2

Hatfield Hyde 3XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Yash Shah8.0126213.003.25
Faizan Choudhry5.011200.002.40
Jacob Melia6.3029214.504.46
Nilesh Vaghadia8.0326213.003.25
Alan Pikesley7.013548.755.00

Hatfield Hyde 3XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
3nb 5w 2b 1lb 
for 10 wickets
11
109 (25.0 overs)		     
Rupang Mistry ct Uncsure b Unsure 26
Samuel Giles ct Unsure b Unsure 12
Vishal Kajar ct Unsure b Unsure 2
Chirag Patel ct Unsure b Unsure 19
Yash Shah ct Unsure b Unsure 24
Akshaj Purandare b Unsure 6
Faizan Choudhry ct Unsure b Unsure 6
Nilesh Vaghadia ct Unsure b Unsure 1
Alan Pikesley ct Unsure b Unsure 0
Harry Pikesley Not Out  2
Jacob Melia b Unsure 0

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Lucas Berry5.002100.004.20
Prath Khatavkar8.0043314.335.37
Tim Winfield8.023256.404.00
Nadeem Arif4.001025.002.50