Scorecard

West Herts CC 5th XI v St Albans Cricket Club 5XI on Sat 05 Jul 2025 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Lost By 7 wickets

Match report St Albans 5XI made the short trip to West Herts on Saturday in good spirits but left disappointed after a clinical home performance secured West Herts a 7-wicket win.

Saints won the toss and, with only 10 players available, opted to bat first on what proved to be a tricky, bowler-friendly pitch.Openers Hugo Thomas and Nadeem Arif found it tough going early on against some tight West Herts bowling. Nadeem was the first to fall, trapped LBW for 1, and Hugo followed soon after, bowled for 5. With the score still fragile, young Daiwik Khedekar came in at number three and began to steady the innings alongside John Shaw.The pair built a brief but promising partnership before Shaw was dismissed LBW for 13. That brought skipper Imran Ahmed to the crease, who looked to inject some momentum but was caught on the boundary for 8 trying to up the scoring rate.
Daiwik played with maturity beyond his years, top-scoring with a well-made 21, but wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals. Jamie Speller chipped in with 15 and Nasibullah Maroofkhel added 12 late on, but the Saints were eventually finished on 104-9 in 37.2 overs.
West Herts shared the wickets around, with Bilal Khalid (2-19) and Nalaka Thennaakoon (2-17) doing the most damage.

With the Saint’s main strike bowler unavailable, Thomas Coulling and Jacob Broome opened the bowling. Jacob was extremely tight with his line and length, but Tom struggled for control early on, and West Herts quickly reached 32-0 in the first six overs—releasing the pressure and giving the hosts early momentum. Captain Imran Ahmed brought himself on as first change and struck early to provide a much-needed breakthrough. At the other end, Maroofkhel bowled with accuracy and discipline, claiming two wickets and building real pressure. The middle overs belonged to the Saints, with the bowling attack showing character and control. By the 20-over mark, West Herts had been restricted to 67-3, having lost 3 wickets for just 35 runs in the last 15 overs—a standout phase of disciplined bowling and sharp fielding. However, a composed and unbeaten 48 from Dillon Mahawatte eventually saw West Herts over the line, sealing a 7-wicket win.

A tough day for St Albans 5XI, who battled hard despite being a player short for most of the match. While the result didn’t go their way, there were plenty of positives to take. The Saints made West Herts work for their win, taking them 33 overs to chase down the target — another 30 runs could well have made all the difference.
Both of the U15 players put in standout performances. Daiwik top-scored for the 5s with a well-made 21, showing great composure at the crease. With the ball, Jacob delivered a brilliant spell, returning figures of 5 overs, 4 maidens, 4 runs — an exceptional effort that deserved more reward. The focus now shifts to next weekend, with the team determined to bounce back stronger.

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
12w 10b 1lb 
for 10 wickets
23
104		        
Hugo Thomas b K Thangiah 5 1
Nadeem Arif lbw D Lad 1
Daiwik Khedekar ct K Thangiah b A Juneja 21
John Shaw lbw N Thennaakoon 13
Imran Ahmed ct D Patel b B Khalid 8
Jamie Speller ct D Patel b K Wijesinghe 15
Mostufa Fazle Alahi b B Khalid 0
nasibullah Maroofkhel b N Thennaakoon 12
Jacob Broome Not Out  2
Thomas Coulling run out  (D Patel) 4
Tom Hadden  

West Herts CC 5th XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Dakshesh Lad5.02717.001.40
Karthika Thangiah6.0015115.002.50
Kenodh Wijesinghe8.0015115.001.88
Nalaka Thennaakoon7.211728.502.32
Abhivarun Juneja6.0020120.003.33
Bilal Khalid5.001929.503.80

West Herts CC 5th XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
6nb 11w 7b 3lb 
for 3 wickets
27
108 (33.0 overs)		     
Kumaran Thangiah ct Hugo b N Maroofkhel 13 43 1 30.23
Muhammad Azad ct T Couling b I Ahmed 4 46 1 8.70
Dillon mahawatte Not Out  48 70 8 68.57
Dev Patel ct Jacob b N Maroofkhel 8 16 1 50.0
Nalaka Thennaakoon Not Out  8 29 1 27.59
Abhivarun Juneja  
Kenodh Wijesinghe  
Karthika Thangiah  
Bilal Khalid  
Dakshesh Lad  
Sayam Azhar  

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Thomas Coulling3.001600.005.33
Jacob Broome5.04400.000.80
Imran Ahmed8.0016116.002.00
Mostufa Fazle Alahi3.01600.002.00
nasibullah Maroofkhel6.0124212.004.00
Jamie Speller2.01800.004.00
Daiwik Khedekar4.011700.004.25
John Shaw2.00700.003.50