Dacorum cricket round-up: Including a fifth straight defeat for Hemel Town first XI

Hemel Town I find themselves in bottom place in the Herts League Premier Division, having suffered five defeats from their first five 50-over fixtures.
Tring's U9 Lions took home the Rodwell Cup on SundayTring's U9 Lions took home the Rodwell Cup on Sunday
Tring's U9 Lions took home the Rodwell Cup on Sunday

Batting first against Letchworth GC I on Saturday, Hemel lost openers Brett Penny (11) and Hem Ilangaratne (0) inside the first six overs.

There was an attempt at a claw back from Jay O’Nien (44) and Josh Graves (31), but after 42 overs Hemel were still in trouble at 126-7.

A late flurry from number 10 Steve Reader (19 n/o) and number 11 Parth Mehta (14 n/o) meant that Hemel used up their 50 overs and managed to get to a score of 168-9.

It was to no avail, though, as Letchworth rattled their way to 169-3 from just 35 overs.

Tom Simmons opened and scored 83 n/o from 103 balls, while Penny returned bowling figures of 10-5-20-3.

Whilst the first and third teams were losing away from home, Hemel Town II managed to tie their league match against Met Police Bushey.

Choosing to bat first, Met Police were kept under the cosh by Hemel, with only three players – Joshi (27), Swaine (22) and Thomason (20) – managing to make double figures.

There were some good figures for the Hemel bowlers, with Bryan Davies (3-13), Charlie Hoskins (2-16), Nick Hodgins (2-19) and Rory Fraser (2-20) in the mix.

Chasing the score was achievable, but Hemel had a disaster on the batting front, with six players picking up ducks.

Tom Elborn led at the front with 43, but the rest just fell beside him until number 10 Adam Moulster hit 24 and looked to have saved the game.

He and Fraser (5 n/o) put on 19 for the last wicket and got the scores level, but then Ben Goode snapped up Moulster as his last wicket in a spell of 7-25 to tie the game.

Hemel Town III had the misfortune of losing the toss against West Herts II on a blazing hot day at Park Avenue. West Herts also had Dan Woosley returning from injury, playing his way back into first team form.

Woosley just put together 115 runs and Jimmy Phang hit 54 as West Herts amassed a score of 333-5 from their 50 overs. Within that carnage, Aaron Wilson managed quite reasonable bowling figures of 10-0-45-2.

In reply, opener Suren Perera scored 50 for Hemel, while skipper Tom Waterton added 41 and John Clulow hit 37.

But the target proved too much for Hemel and it was left to Andy Turbutt (n/o) and Ryan Wilson (15 n/o) to see the overs out and accept defeat.

Elsewhere, Sawbridgeworth III conceded their game against Hemel Town IV.

Winning on Saturdays may be proving elusive, but Hemel Town Sunday I managed to beat Radlett away in their Chess Valley League Division One game. Hemel amassed 268-5 from their 45 overs, with opener Jay O’Nien rediscovering his form and stroking an excellent 117.

All the following batsmen chipped in with 30s – Hem Ilangartne (31), Josh Graves (39) and Sam Jenkinson (36) – to give Hemel a good total to defend on a usually high scoring Cobden Hill ground.

Sloppy Radlett running saw a couple of early run outs and it was not until Martin Jones (62) and Shane Burger (46) came together that Radlett started to put together a score.

But youngster Aaron Wilson came on and, in his five overs, took 4-24 to run through the Radlett lower order, having already removed Jones. Radlett were all out for 221 in the 43rd over to lose by 47 runs.

There was a comprehensive win in a hastily arranged friendly for Hemel Town Sunday II against local rivals Boxmoor after Cockfosters II called off their Chess Valley League game.

Hemel openers Mike Samuels (41) and Liam Jahn (51) put on over 100 for the first wicket, before Jahn retired having scored 51. Dave Jenkins added a lusty 39, and Adam Moulster (29 n/o) together with Charlie Hoskins (21) drove the score over 200.

In reply, U15 George Cavanah top scored with an outsanding 41 n/o as Hemel’s bowlers tore in.

There were a couple of wickets each for Tony Linfoot (2-11) and Brad Finch (2-19) before Hoskins came on at the end and took 3-2 in 11 balls.

> Tring Park

Tring’s U9 Lions took home the Rodwell Cup on Sunday after a pulsating day of softball cricket at the club’s annual U9 tournament.

An exciting group stage saw the Lions go unbeaten against teams from Old Albanians, Ickleford and Ballinger to reach the final where they faced Tring Park club-mates, the Tigers.

The final was hotly contested, with the Lions ending as winners by 22 runs. The standard of cricket on display from both teams bodes well for the future of the age group.

Congratulations to all of the team: Alexander Davis, Adam Yule, Alex Marsh, Freddie Newman, Nils James, Kristian Korallus, Jack Suddick, Tom Youens-Brown and Harry Woodus.

> Bovingdon

Bovingdon I maintained their 100 per cent winning record in the league with a crushing victory over Hatch End by 106 runs at The Green.

Another classy knock from opener Jack Blackburn (92) laid the foundations for an impressive first innings total of 233-9, with useful contributions from Luke Stickland (25) and Graham Fayers (33 n/o).

Tony Shand (3-45) and Luke Stickland (2-43) then removed Hatch End’s top order before man of the match Jack Blackburn (4-7) came on to mop up the tail.

Paul Fidler (1-11) took the winning wicket to maintain the club’s perfect start to the league campaign.

Bovingdon Sunday I suffered their first defeat of the season in Sunday’s home friendly against FM Arthur.

The visitors posted 190-5 in the first innings, with Tony Shand the pick of the bowlers taking 2-24.

Bovingdon slumped to 106 all out in reply, held together by Nick Baxter (56). The highlight of the innings was club legend Mark Carine celebrating scoring his 5,000th run for the club – only the 15th player to do so.

Meanwhile, Kings Langley-based company Century Engineering and Refrigeration are gearing up for a family-friendly fun day at Bovingdon Cricket Club.

The fun-filled bonanza will take place on Sunday,and features a colts tournament in the morning and a CER 6-a-side competition from 1pm.

Entry is free, and there will be a bouncy castle, hog roast and a raffle, with the bar selling refreshments all day. For more information, please email [email protected]

> Kings Langley

Kings Langley I recorded a comprehensive victory against Old Finchleans as they skittled their beleagured opponents for just 73.

Dan Donaldson bagged a 5fer and Kings them romped home for the loss of only three wickets. David Burnell finished on 29 n/o and Simon Walker was 33 n/o.

Kings Langley II claimed a comfortable win as they saw off Northwood II by five wickets to maintain their unbeaten record this season.

Northwood chose to have first use of a flat deck but did not take advantage, slipping to 50-6 at drinks and then 100-9. However, a last-wicket partnership of 43 ensured they reached 143 all out.

Some excellent tight bowling from Duane Smith (2-7) from his 10 overs was backed up by Scott Rolfe (2-21) and Richard Whitlock (2-10) to help stem the flow of runs.

In reply, Kings lost a few early wickets but a partnership of 60 between Andrew Colquhoun (60) and Matt Langston (18) ensured Langley romped home with 15 overs and 5 wickets to spare.

Kings Langley III claimed 30 points against Sandridge II with a crushing 87-run win.

Having chosen to bat first, Kings’ 12-year-old George Langston led from the front and reached 49 in his first innings in senior cricket.

A knock of 54 from Gordon Sambidge and a quickfire 31 from George Hunt provided the impetus needed after drinks to lead Kings to a healthy 221-6 from their 50 overs.

In reply, early wickets from Gould (2-26) and Hendy (2-24) put Sandridge on the back foot. Despite some spirited hitting, wickets continued to fall and the visitors were all out for 134 as Sambidge finished with 3-21.

> Leverstock Green

A hat-trick from Imran Iqbal – four wickets in four balls, in fact – as well as Ajit Kumar’s 130 not out, 82 by Miles Barnard and an unbeaten 68 from Mike Parkes saw Leverstock Green take a maximum 120 points from their four Herts League games on Saturday.

The most unlikely win of the quartet came at London Colney II, however, where a fine display of bowling saw Leverstock Green III successfully defend their measly 110 all out – skipper Gareth Tucker the top scorer with 23.

An excellent eight-over spell from Chrishan Casey (2-16) set things up for fellow opening seamer Steve May to take 3-30 from his 10 overs.

Karl Turner and Dave Young took two wickets apiece, and Lewis Glasscoe snared the other as Colney were skittled out 20 runs short of victory.

Veteran Parkes carried his bat for 68 as Leverstock Green IV chased Abbots Langley IV’s total of 157 all out for the loss of only four wickets.

Fellow opener Andy Welch struck 34, while Wasim Saleem hit 24 to help with a run chase concluded with nearly five overs in hand.

Earlier, Abbots’ wickets were shared around; Derrick Sheldon, Dave Cardy and captain Greg Coulshed each snaring a brace apiece.

Kumar continued his excellent form for the second XI, hitting a sublime 130 n/o as Levy – having been inserted at The Green – ran up 321-9 from their 50 overs.

Lee Littlejohn powered his way to 60 as he and Kumar put on 128 for the fifth wicket. Luke Weston had earlier helped set the stage for the high-scoring duo with a steady 24.

Kumar and Littlejohn were also the pick of the Green bowlers, with 2-14 and 2-15 from eight and 10 overs, respectively. The highlight in the field, though, was an extraordinary catch by a back-pedalling Weston at mid-off from the bowling of Abbas Ali.

St Albans never threatened to get anywhere near Green’s huge target and seemed content to bat for bonus points as the game meandered to a close with the visitors ending on 192-7.

It’s now five wins from five Division 2A games for Leverstock Green I – the latest success coming by a margin of four wickets at Northwood.

Iqbal’s four wickets in four balls put an end to any hopes the hosts had of setting a target of 200-plus, having elected to bat first.

In-form Iqbal returned figures of 5-35, with earlier run restriction down in no small part to Adam Thomas’ miserly 10 overs costing just 16 runs.

Northwood’s 182 all out started to look well below par once Barnard put 82 on the board at the top of the Green order.

Partners fell regularly around him, though, which will register a slight concern going forward for skipper Dayle Littlejohn. No other batsman reached 20 as Levy reached their victory target with four wickets in hand.

> Chipperfield Clarendon

Chipperfield Clarendon II lost by 34 runs to Old Cholmelians on Saturday.

Losing the toss and being asked to field, Cholas were 103-0 after 21 overs. But Cousens (2-25) stemmed the flow of runs, before Josh Gurney (3-40) managed to restrict the opposition to 223 all out.

Wickets fell early in reply, and at 29-3 it looked a long way to the target. Steve Durrant (61), Josh Gurney (35 n/o) and Jon Paddon (32) gave Chips hope, but they eventually fell short on 189-7.

> Boxmoor

Boxmoor I recorded a comfortable victory over North Enfield II as they reached their target with six overs to spare.

Boxmoor bowled well, taking regular North Enfield wickets, and at 107/7 and then 150/9 the game looked up for North Enfield.

However the visitors’ lower order batted sensibly and managed to take the score past the 200 mark, with Andy Price taking four wickets.

So the Boxmoor openers set about their work of trying to build a platform for the middle order and, with a solid 50 opening partnership, they did just that.

All of the top six contributed runs, as Eran Kasthuriarachichi and Ian Gorringe saw Boxmoor home.

Boxmoor II managed to recover from 21-3 to 181 all out at Hafield Crusaders III, with a difficult pitch doing a lot of damage. Ravi Giriyappa’s counter-attacking 45 gave the Boxmoor bowlers a target to defend.

And they did just that, with tight bowling and fielding being the catalyst – restricting the hosts to just 80 runs in the last 20 overs to set up a nine-run win.

Old Albanians III defeated Boxmoor III, with the visitors being the architects of their own downfall.

A number of chances went down, and they were made to pay, as the hosts racked up 218 off their 50 overs.

In reply the chase never really got going, with David Cope being the only resistance, making 58 with the bat.

Boxmoor IV fared no better at home to Berkhamstead IV as they lost by 54 runs.

Bowling first, the visitors got to 149, with captain George Hutchinson (4-8) leading the way with the ball.

However, the batting also let the home side down, with Nick Cottrell being the only one to make any real dent in the total – scoring his maiden senior 50.

Boxmoor Sunday I chased down 231 with absolute ease, as they got their Chess Valley season off to a flier at home to St Albans II.

On a batting deck, the away side got to 231-5, which was also going to take some chasing.

However, the Boxmoor batting line up set about this, and achieved it with seven wickets and six overs in hand – Ian Gorringe led the way with 59.

Boxmoor Sunday II lost away at Hemel Hempstead II in a friendly fixture. See above.

> Abbots Langley

Abbots Langley I batted first and posted an impressive 249 in their allotted 50 overs against Bushey.

Aussie Chris Chellew continued his fine form with 86 and he was well supported by Michael Burgess (47), Scott Newman (46) and skipper Barry Warner (33).

Bushey stuck to the task but wickets fell regularly, with Nick Gurney claiming 3-31 to leave the opponents 50 runs short.

Abbots Langley II endured a difficult afternoon as John Battam’s side saw Hexton smash a massive 301.

Abbots were never in the hunt and succumbed for 97 as Auden Byrne top scored with 24.

Abbots Langley III enjoyed an excellent win against Cockfosters as Murali Valur claimed three wickets to restrict Cockfosters to 211 in 40 overs.

The Langley reply was spearheaded by veteran Ken Parkins (50) and Lee Rossiter (69) as Abbots got home with three overs to spare.

Abbots Langley IV were beaten by Leverstock Green after scoring 157, mainly due to 68 from Faisal Rehman and 31 from Scott Nixon.

Abbots were unable to restrict Leverstock who reached their target with plenty of overs in hand, despite youngster Joe Woodard taking 2-16.

> Berkhamsted

It was a winning weekend for Berkhamsted CC as three of the club’s four senior sides recorded important victories in the Saracens Herts League.

Berkhamsted I recorded their fourth straight league win on Saturday by impressively dismissing the Rickmansworth challenge in a comprehensive nine-wicket victory.

Ricky batted first and found it tough against Berko’s patient attack as they were restricted to 133 all out. All of the Berko bowlers chipped in, with Riaz Richards conceding only six runs and snaring two victims in his 10 overs.

In reply, Berko’s openers put on a century stand to clinch the victory, with Gareth Preedy (65 n/o) and Andrew Joyce (54) taking the plaudits.

Meanwhile, on a flat track in Harpenden, Berkhamsted II put their recent batting woes to one side and posted an imposing total of 300-5 from their allotted 50 overs.

Man of the match Phil Brown scored a fantastic 132 – including 24 fours and one six – and he was ably supported by George Lewarne (50) and Joe Atkins (31 n/o).

Berkhamsted then took complete control with the ball, bowling out their hosts for only 121, with Darren Gower-Jackson bagging 3-28.

Elsewhere, an impressive total of 252-6 on a good batting track was not enough for Berkhamsted III as Parkfield & Headstone easily chased down the target to win by six wickets in a real run-fest.

Berko’s total was aided by a fine 82 from Ian Putman, supported by Phillip Brown (43) and Mike Stone (32). However, Parkfield proved too strong and inflicted Berko’s only defeat of the afternoon.

It was better news for Berkhamsted IV as they won their first match of the season to leapfrog Boxmoor.

Posting a modest 149-8 from their 45 overs, thanks largely to Garth Taljaard (43) and Andy Chambers (41), things looked tough for Berko.

However, a fine 60-yard run out from Derek Pratt started the Boxmoor collapse, and Berkhamsted bowled well to dismiss their hosts for just 94. Ian Sudbery snared 4-19 to cap a fine afternoon’s work for his side.