Scorecard

Stevenage II v St Albans Cricket Club 2XI on Sat 06 Aug 2022 at 12:00
St Albans Cricket Club Won by 6 wickets

Match report In the latest iteration of the St Albans 2s captaincy merry-go-round, it was Jimmy Rosson's turn to lead. He began his day as interim supreme leader by losing the toss and was unsurprisingly asked to field given the excellent weather and currently typical hard-but-dry wicket.

Baylis and a freshly rested Curran were given the new ball, with Baylis was causing one Stevenage opener a significant amount of trouble and Curran repeatedly looked close to having the other caught on the drive. Nothing, however, was going to hand and the ball was racing to the boundary once it beat the inner ring, with third man and fine leg alternately proving particularly profitable scoring areas. After the disappointment of last week and with the score at 78-0 after 11 overs, it was looking a bit ominous for the 2s.

Fortunately, change bowlers Hall and Chennells managed to regain some control to the innings, with the former delivering a shock maiden first over instead of his usual "one more please" repertoire. Chennells began his golden arm day with two wickets in an over, both gracefully accepted by Law at midwicket from a full toss and half tracker respectively. Stevenage number's 3 in particular failed to impress, with Curran confidently declaring that he would bat in the opposition's top 4 based on that showing. Chennells would pick up two more wickets to finish with impressive figures of 32-4 from his allocation, including the crucial wicket of the opener who had made a half century. (Chennells also picked up a run out despite the questionable decision to have a shy at the stumps on the final ball of the innings.)

After an uncharacteristically inaccurate first over, Hounslow wannabe Sharif settled into an excellent rhythm and made life very hard for the Stevenage middle and lower order, including bowling 5 maidens in his spell. At the other end, Ralfe replaced Hall and also bowled with impressive accuracy in control, meaning that runs were hard to come by. Usefully assisted by the Stevenage captain's seeming disinterest in actually moving his bat with some momentum in order to hit the ball off the square, overs 30-40 went for a mere 26 runs – a far cry from the type of free flowing run scoring at the beginning of the innings. Despite some fairly shambolic fielding towards the end of the innings (a special mention to Ralfe for turning a 1 into a 4 and Baylis conceding a 2 in the ring; your author humbly suggests that fielding practice would be an undeniably useful addition to training as the season's climax approaches), St Albans had managed to restrict Stevenage to 212-9 off their 50 overs, which was deemed to be eminently gettable.

Indeed, anchored by the excellent Perrin (93*), it was a clinical chase from the 2s as they cruised to a 6 wicket victory with nearly 10 overs to spare. As Rosson later reflected, it was a performance very dissimilar to previous St Albans chases and an indication of the club's progress this year. Like Stevenage, openers Perrin and Sharif got the innings off to an absolute flyer, putting on a 57 partnership in just 6 overs as both batsmen dispatched a series of loose deliveries with consummate ease, including the two AASOTD contenders from Adil. Having scored 32 from just 20 deliveries, Sharif fell softly with some catching practice for mid-wicket, but Rudlin came in and tamed his naturally aggressive game to ensure that this didn't spark a top order collapse. Another 57 partnership followed; whilst the first came in just 7 overs, the second came in 23 overs. This did not represent, as some foolishly suggested, Perrin “chewing” balls (cue conversations about whether England’s players ever accused Sir Alistair Cook of “chewing” balls at the peak of his powers), or Rudlin’s inability to produce the now infamous “carnage” that he promised at Ampthill a few weeks ago. Rather, it was measured and sensible batting as Stevenage’s spinners bowled with reasonable control and the ball softened.

Despite loudly declaring himself to have his “got his eye in” whilst at the crease, Rudlin then departed for 26, to be followed by a determined Rosson who enjoyed the offerings of Stevenage’s third and fourth change bowling, especially the Stevenage skipper who was having a day to forget. 6 off 12 overs with the bat and 4 overs for 30 with the ball was compounded by the St Columba’s Holy Moment of the Day, as a youthful Stevenage fielder sprinted past the skipper to excellently dive and flick the ball back to keep it in play, only for it to hit the captain’s leg and go for four anyway in front of the amused spectators. One of those cricketing days that I’m sure we can all relate to. Rosson’s innings was generously described as an “absolute delight to watch” by umpire Saud (again, a massive thank you to Saud for giving up his time), and it was a shame to see him depart for a run-a-ball 42 in another solid partnership of 63.

Upon his return to the sidelines, Rosson declared that Perrin was suffering fatigue from the incessant chat of some of Stevenage’s fielders, encouraging the 2s to make their support known for their talismanic batsman. Unsurprisingly, Curran needed no invitation to make his voice heard and even took to heckling the Stevenage bowlers, shouting from the scorebox that although one of Stevenage’s bowlers had bowled out they could “give him another one” after Perrin had begun to motor on with five 4s in just six deliveries. Finishing with a bang, it was another fine knock from Perrin who batted with admirable determination and concentration to finish again just agonisingly short of a first Saturday ton for the Saints.

All in all, it was a fairly accomplished performance from the 2s, especially given the challenges early in the day. Hopefully, it will give the team momentum as they play their next must win fixture at Clarence Park as they host Hatfield Hyde who sit second in the table and just 5 points above the Saints – hopefully it goes better than the last one!

Stevenage II Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
1nb 12w 7lb 
for 9 wickets
20
212 (50.0 overs)		     
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

St Albans Cricket Club 2XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Dan Baylis6.003700.006.17
Joey Curran5.003600.007.20
Jonny Hall9.0239219.504.33
Aidan Chennells10.023248.003.20
Nick Ralfe10.013900.003.90
Adil Sharif10.0524212.002.40

St Albans Cricket Club 2XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
17w 1lb 
for 4 wickets
18
213		        
Steven Perrin Not Out  93 118 16 78.81
Adil Sharif Caught  32 20 7 160.0
Andy Rudlin Caught  26 51 4 50.98 1
James Rosson Bowled  42 42 6 100
Zach West Bowled  1 7 14.29
Rory Law Not Out  1 2 50.0 2
Nick Ralfe  
Jonny Hall   1
Dan Baylis  
Joey Curran  
Aidan Chennells   1

Stevenage II Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

  • Umpire :
    Saud
  • Scorer :