Scorecard

Southgate Compton 2XI v St Albans Cricket Club 4XI on Sat 29 Jun 2024 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Lost by 3 wickets

Match report After England’s allocated week of summer, the 4s travelled to north London, to take on title aspirants Southgate Compton. As Saints surveyed the pitch, a mini-tornado spun up, spinning the freshly cut grass into the air, quickly engulfing the team, and then carrying on its merry way across the ground. This seemed a portent of something, but of what exactly?

Batting first on a wicket that was understandably dry, Nisar smashed the first ball of the day straight down the ground for a boundary - but fell, to a juggled catch in gully, just two balls later. First blood to the hosts.

However, Khan and Khatavkar played sensibly to lift Saints. With a fast outfield and some shortish boundaries (and an annoying ball-trapping hedge) Khan welcomed the occasional loose delivery with relish, sending the ball across the rope. More circumspect, his batting partner nevertheless turned over the strike neatly, skilfully working the ball behind point. After a partnership of 58, Khan perished for a well made 41. At the halfway point, Saints had reached 73 for the loss of two wickets.

A few overs later, Khatavkar was out for a patient 25, having done his job well. Through the middle overs, Mahoney and Tailor bowled with good control, but with their spells done, surely Saints could move at a better rate. With Ahmed at the crease and looking solid this certainly seemed plausible.

As it happened, aside from Ahmed’s 32, no-one could find the necessary momentum. Instead, a sequence of poorly judged shots saw the 4s tally no more than 136, having lost 5/9 at the end. Perhaps this unravelling of the batting order was what that pre-match tornado had portended? While it is not the tail’s place to score runs, tailenders should still put a high price on their wicket, but they did not today. Advantage Southgate Compton.

Early wickets seemed to be key. Telkman and Winfield were charged with that task, but neither could make inroads, with a couple of catches going down. Heads were dropping with the 50 mark comfortably passed.

Wickets in consecutive deliveries to Walker opened the game up a little; in the same over an edge landed on first slip’s boot, an impossible chance but another “nearly” moment in a chase where Saints needed the breaks to go their way. Ahmed - a tidy spell of 1/16 - nabbed a wicket to keep the game within reach, however sensible batting from Fernando and Mahoney took the total beyond 100. The former should have considered himself fortunate, further tough chances going down, and a curiously denied LBW appeal going his way as he struck 46. Walker’s excellent spell was completed with a final delivery wicket to give him figures of 3/30.

Davey now took over, nabbing three quick wickets, the best of them an excellent caught and bowled. His 3/24 meant that Saints were just about in the game with 20 runs required and 3 wickets to be taken. Saunders, whose entry to the bowling crease was delayed after a leg niggle, and the returning Telkman and Winfield, all made things difficult for the batters. However, Tailor and Patel, numbers 8 and 9 in the batting order, set about doing what their St Albans counterparts had failed to manage - put a high price on their wickets. They might have taken their time to reach the target, but duly they did, deep into the second last over of the game.

So, victory to Southgate Compton, disappointment for St Albans. Saints are now very much mid-table and will want to turn the week’s lessons into a better result next time out.

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
4w 1b 5lb 
for 10 wickets
10
136		        
Nauman Nisar ct - b Nirban 4 3 1 133.33 1
Prath Khatavkar b Mahoney 25 1
Najib Khan b Mahoney 41 46 6 1 89.13
Imran Ahmed ct Nirban b Pant 32 48 5 66.67
Sam Davey ct - b Siva 8 14 1 57.14 1
Joe Button b Siva 1 9 11.11
Hugo Thomas ct Bench b Siva 13 15 2 86.67 1
Andrew Walker ct Kapoor b Patel 1 7 14.29
Tim Winfield Not Out  0 2 0
Jamie Telkman b Patel 1 6 16.67
Andy Saunders b Patel 0 1 0

Southgate Compton 2XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
K. Nirban8.0129129.003.63
A. Patel5.0030310.006.00
K. Tailor8.022400.003.00
E. Mahoney8.011929.502.37
K. Sivagurunathan6.031635.332.67
J. Aranze1.001100.0011.00
R. Pant1.00212.002.00

Southgate Compton 2XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4w 9b 3lb 
for 7 wickets
16
137 (38.5 overs)		     
D. Fernando lbw b Davey 46 7
K. Kapoor b Walker 25 3 1
L. McConachy b Walker 0
R. Pant lbw b Ahmed 1
E. Mahoney ct Thomas b Walker 17 1
M. Barrett ct Nisar b Davey 4 1
K. Nirban ct & b Davey 0
K. Tailor Not Out  15 2
A. Patel Not Out  13 2
   
   

St Albans Cricket Club 4XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Jamie Telkman8.021800.002.25
Tim Winfield7.502900.003.70
Andrew Walker8.0230310.003.75
Imran Ahmed5.0016116.003.20
Sam Davey6.012438.004.00
Prath Khatavkar2.00700.003.50
Andy Saunders2.01100.000.50