Scorecard

Abbots Langley 3XI v St Albans Cricket Club 4XI on Sat 06 Aug 2022 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 80 runs

Match report Saints 4s travelled to Frogmore to face Abbots Langley 3s on a hot Saturday afternoon; a team they had previously bested in the reverse fixture at Sandpit Lane earlier in the season. Having won 7 on the bounce and knowing that a win against the team below them in the table would keep them in the hunt for promotion, Saints were up for the challenge today.

On what was definitely a ‘win the toss and bat first’ day, skipper Tim Winfield did just that - much to everyone’s delight. Run machine Manny was particularly pleased with the result of the toss, as he had the opportunity to pass the 7000-run mark for the Saints on what he deemed a good batting track.

With dry outfields and a strong batting lineup, there was optimism in the Saints camp as Pete Melling and Manny Strode out to commence play. Saints started quickly, with the boundaries flowing and Manny looking in fine form as he capitalised on the loose bowling from the Abbots openers. Melling fell early, which brought Moksy (who had arrived on time today) to the crease. Moksy adopted the Manny approach, with both playing fluently and putting the Abbots bowlers to the sword. Moksy was going well but was unfortunately caught for 36 in the 12th over, however thanks to his and Manny’s efforts Saints were sat on an imperious 103-2 at drinks in the 15th over.

In the second session, runs were a bit harder to come by for Saints thanks to some tight bowling from Abbots, in particular 16-year-old Kieran Thomas, who skipper Winfield fairly adjudged as Abbots best bowler. Despite this, Manny dug in and showed his class by keeping the runs ticking along and elegantly punishing anything loose - it was fair to say he looked set to surpass the 7000 run mark today. Utti chipped in with 13 runs, and Marcus Cunnington looked very nice for his 20 before being bowled by one which didn’t bounce, all while Manny steadily went about his innings.

At the second drinks break, Manny and Alfie Button were at the crease and Saints were 157-4 - a few more runs required to satisfy Winfield’s desires for a total of 250.

After the second drinks break, Skipper Winfield gave the batters a license and the tempo was upped by Button and Manny as Saints piled on the runs in the final 10 overs of the innings. Manny had passed his 50 and was seeing it nicely, once again dispatching the ball to all parts. There was no rest at the other end, as Button joined Manny in finding the fence consistently, playing some nice shots. The runs were flowing, however Manny departed for an outstanding 84, adjudged LBW in the 35th over. Nadeem partnered Button and continued where Manny left off, capitalising on loose bowling and smashing a quick 17*; Button finished on 38*. Thanks to the flurry of runs in the last 10 overs, Saints finished on 246-5 from their 40 which meant the skipper was happy.

After a quick tea break, Saints took to the field to defend their total. A strong bowling outfit instilled a sense of confidence within the 4s, and PK set the tone in the first over starting the innings with a maiden. Button opened up from the other end, and after finding his areas got the first breakthrough, bowling the Abbots opener. PK continued to bowl well for no reward (cricket is a harsh game) restricting the runs with some tight bowling and good wheels - he finished his 8 over spell with figures of 0-25. Button had more luck at the other end, finishing his 8 over spell with 3-37 after dismissing the Abbots top 3. On a pitch where runs were plentiful, restricting Abbots to 63-3 by the end of the 17th over was a very good effort. Jithin (5-0-18) was the first change and bowled nicely but to no avail, whilst skipper Tim (8-1-26) came on at the other end and in typical Tim Winfield style gave very little away.

It’s fair to say the game stagnated a little bit as the Abbots batters scored very slowly, showing no intent to chase the total, and Saints struggled for a breakthrough. However, Mr Reliable Tim Winfield finally got the 4th wicket, an important one as the Abbots number 4 was settled. At the 30th over Abbots were 111-4 and would have to score a lot quicker if they wanted to get near the target of 247. Wickets fell steadily in the final 10 overs of the second innings, as Moksy (7-2-25) and PD (4-2-27) picked up 2 each, snubbing out any hope Abbots had of winning the game.

Abbots finished 166-8 from their 40 meaning Saints won comfortably by 80 runs and came away from Frogmore with a vital 30 points in the hunt for promotion. A fantastic all round team performance with both bat and ball, however it must be mentioned that the fielding was fantastic on a bobbly outfield. Marcus was very sharp behind the stumps as well.

Big win, happy skipper and a contribution to this week’s league sweep - 8 wins in a row and counting for the 4s!

A special mention to Manny who did make it past the 7000-run mark today, an exceptional achievement - well done mate!


St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
11nb 7w 2b 3lb 
for 5 wickets
23
246		        
Nauman Nisar lbw  J Baldwin 84 12
Peter Melling b Soloman 5 1
Moksudul Islam ct b. Thomas 36 8 1
Uttam Vijender b Thomas 13 2
Marcus Cunnington b Carter 20 2 2
Alfie Button Not Out  38 5 1
Nadeem Arif Not Out  17 3 1
Prathamesh Deshpande  
Jithin Kalarickal George  
Prath Khatavkar  
Tim Winfield   1

Abbots Langley 3XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Abbots Langley 3XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 10w 10b 3lb 
for 8 wickets
24
166 (40.0 overs)		     
G Thomas ct Arif, b Button 23
A Valson b Button 0
A khan ct Cunnington, B Button 23
J Baldwin ct Button, b Winfield 43
R Stevenson ct Cunnington, b Deshpande 27
V Soloman lbw Islam 6
A Anil ct Winfield, b Desphpande 7
A Carter ct c&b Islam 4
Jo Wolf Not Out  0
K Thomas Not Out  14
   

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Prath Khatavkar8.012500.003.12
Alfie Button8.0137312.334.62
Tim Winfield8.0126126.003.25
Jithin Kalarickal George5.011800.003.60
Moksudul Islam7.0125212.503.57
Prathamesh Deshpande4.0027213.506.75