Scorecard

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI v Northwood CC, Middlesex 4th XI on Sat 26 Jul 2025 at 13:00
St Albans Cricket Club Lost by 1 run

Match report Saints 5XI welcomed Northwood CC 3rd XI to Sandpit Lane, fondly known as the Home of Cricket. Having won the toss, Saints opted to bowl first—partly influenced by the overcast weather conditions, and also due to a more batting-heavy side this week.

Saints got off to a solid start with both opening bowlers, veteran Tim Winfield and the ever-reliable Tom Hadden, bowling with real aggression and discipline. It was Tim who made the early breakthrough, clean bowled Northwood’s aggressive opener for just 4. After 10 overs, Saints were firmly in control with the scoreboard reading 27/1.Skipper Imran Ahmed came on as first change and bowled a tidy spell, maintaining excellent line and length to keep the scoring in check. At the 20-over drinks break, Northwood were 68/1, and the team huddle message was clear: restrict them to under 140.
However, Northwood began to accelerate after drinks. Imran struck again soon after the break, dismissing a set batter thanks to a sharp catch by Jamie Coffer. Imran (8-2-17-1) and Tim Winfield (8-0-32-1) both completed their spells economically. Jamie Coffer then made an immediate impact by clean bowled another well-set batter on 25. Unfortunately, Jamie couldn’t complete his full quota due to a back injury, which left Saints a bowler short.Imran turned to all available options, but several struggled with line and length, particularly from the top end where swirling wind and uneven surface played a part—although Northwood’s bowlers didn’t seem to face the same issues, much to Immy’s frustration.Tom Hadden returned to finish his spell brilliantly, bowling with pace and precision and picking up two key wickets. He ended with excellent figures of 8-2-23-2. Despite the fightback, Northwood posted 215/7 from their 40 overs, aided by a costly final 15 overs from Saints with wayward bowling and some sloppy fielding, giving away 40-50 unnecessary runs.

The Chase

During the break, the message was loud and clear—back yourselves and go hard at the target.Andy Melling and Abdul Alim opened the innings for Saints. Unfortunately, Abdul was run out for 0 in the second over, bringing young talent Daiwik to the crease. Andy looked in fine form, continuing where he left off last week, while Daiwik played some lovely shots before being stumped for 11.Skipper Imran joined Andy and immediately looked positive. The pair quickly added 30 runs, but Andy fell for a well-made 35, caught brilliantly by the bowler in his follow-through. Mostafa came in next and played sensibly, rotating the strike and supporting Immy, who was scoring freely.
At drinks (20 overs), Saints were 97/3—very much in the hunt. But shortly after the break, Immy fell for 41, and Matt Shadwick came in at number six. He and Mostafa added some quick runs before Shadwick fell for 18 attempting a scoop shot—an unnecessary risk with the run rate under control. Mostafa soon followed, caught for a well-played 28.With Saints now needing 63 runs from 60 balls, the equation was simple: bat sensibly, take the chase deep and the game was ours. John Shaw and Jonathan Harris took on that responsibility and batted with calm heads, working the singles and finding the boundary when possible. But disaster struck again when John Shaw was given out caught behind on 24—a controversial decision, as he was convinced he hadn’t nicked it. Still, he had to walk.and Jonathan followed soon stumped on 24. At the end of the 38th over, Saints were 201/8. Jamie Coffer and Tom Hadden were at the crease. Saints needed 16 off 12 balls. The 39th over yielded just 4 runs and the wicket of Jamie, leaving the equation at 12 needed off the last over with one wicket in hand. Tim Winfield joined Hadden. They started the final over well, taking singles and running hard. But with 6 required off the last ball, Tom timed it beautifully—only to see the ball stop just short of the rope for four, and Saint 5XI lost by 1 run.

It was a heartbreaking loss, but a fantastic team effort. Saints showed grit, determination, and belief throughout the match. Despite the defeat, the team took the maximum 16 points from the game—a real silver lining.

Positives:
Strong batting performances from Andy, Imran, Mostafa, Matt, John and Johnathan
Disciplined bowling spells from Tim, Imran, and Tom
Excellent attitude and fight shown throughout

Areas to Improve:
Bowling discipline and fielding—particularly in the final 15 overs, Backing bowlers up with energy in the field. Keeping composure in pressure situations

Saints 5XI must tighten up in these areas to avoid relegation—but there’s still everything to play for.

Northwood CC, Middlesex 4th XI Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
5nb 19w 4b  
for 7 wickets
28
215 (40.0 overs)		     
John Tucker b  T Winfield 4
James Heuston ct  J Coffer b I Ahmed 33
Richard Mackey b  J Coffer 25
Joseph Hill b  T Hadden 27
Thushara Fernando ct  M Fazle Alahi b T Hadden 69
Gaurav Pokhriyal st  M Shadwick b J Shaw 24
Rahul Shukla Not Out  2
Chris Heuston run out  (I Ahmed) 0
Arnav Bhargava  
Adi Soundalgekar  
Jack Glanville  

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Tom Hadden8.0223211.502.88
Tim Winfield8.0032132.004.00
Imran Ahmed8.0217117.002.13
Jamie Coffer6.0135135.005.83
Daiwik Khedekar3.001700.005.67
Abdul Alim1.001100.0011.00
Jonathan Harris1.00600.006.00
John Shaw3.0021121.007.00
Andrew Melling1.001700.0017.00
Mostufa Fazle Alahi1.00600.006.00

St Albans Cricket Club 5XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 11w 5b 3lb 
for 9 wickets
21
214		        
Andrew Melling ct  & b A Soundalgekar 35
Abdul Alim run out  (Unsure) 0
Daiwik Khedekar st  R Mackey b C Heuston 11
Imran Ahmed ct  Unsure b G Pokhriyal 41
Mostufa Fazle Alahi ct  Unsure b A Soundalgekar 28 1
Matt Shadwick b  J Hill 18 1
Jonathan Harris st  R Mackey b J Heuston 24
John Shaw ct  R Mackey b J Heuston 18
Jamie Coffer st  R Mackey b J Heuston 9 1
Tom Hadden Not Out  5
Tim Winfield Not Out  2

Northwood CC, Middlesex 4th XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Arnav Bhargava4.022100.005.25
Jack Glanville4.001800.004.50
Joseph Hill8.0048148.006.00
Chris Heuston8.0021121.002.63
Adi Soundalgekar8.0050225.006.25
Gaurav Pokhriyal5.0027127.005.40
James Heuston3.002036.676.67