Scorecard

Hemel Hempstead V v Radlett CC 5th XI on Sat 20 Aug 2005 at 1.00
Radlett CC Won 38 runs

Match report With Radlett V 5 points inside the relegation zone, this was a must-win game and we were fortunate to be able to field our strongest team this summer. The heavy rain on Friday meant the toss would be important, but unfortunately the outcome went to form and the skipper, having called tails, saw a rolling coin fall to heads. Hemel elected to bowl on a damp green wicket which looked like it could do just about anything.

The Radlett innings began with a solid partnership between Duncan Fraser and Mike Dexter. With the ball swinging and bouncing erratically it looked like it would be a difficult afternoon, but Dexter and Fraser batted patiently. At 10 overs Radlett had progressed to 34 for 0 and with Fraser starting to fire the ball past the short boundaries a big score looked possible. In the 11th over Duncan struck a short ball powerfully out of the middle of the bat, only to find it stopped by the right cheek of the Hemel captain who was fielding wrecklessly close at short leg without a helmet. With 10 wickets in hand and Hemel down to 10 men the task of winning seemed like it might be a formality.

However, after a bowling change Hemel struck as Dexter edged one to the keeper. Fraser continued to bat competently, but the pitch made it hard to get in and some decent bowling made runs hard to come by even with a short boundary at the top end of the ground and only 10 men fielding. Wickets fell with regularity and much-needed batting points looked like they were slipping away with the game. When Fraser followed Swaminathan for 43, with the score at 85 for 5 the prospects of climbing from relegation looked bleak.

Enter Shamit Nathwani…. Coming in at 85 for 4 and seeing Duncan dismissed at the other end almost immediately, Shamit set about the task of saving the innings. Despite losing Matt Barrett and Ron Comfort cheaply, Shamit batted very sensibly, showing a mature approach belying his youth. With help from Matt Soffair and an exciting 24 from Vikram Rajput, Shamit helped the team put on 84 runs for the 8th and 9th wickets, finally falling for 47 with the score on 195. At this stage the full 10 batting points looked on the cards and the win a possibility. However Vikram was caught soon after and the Radlett innings closed on 196 after 45 overs.

Skipper Barrett galvanized the team at the break and on the back of a splendid recovery at the end of the innings Radlett took the field with confidence and determination. Matt Barrett and Vikram Rajput opened the bowling putting pressure on the Hemel openers with pace and movement and a still unpredictable wicket. Vikram removed the opener and stand-in skipper in the 4th over with the score on 9, which was fortunate both because the batsman looked quite handy and because he had taken a big stride down the wicket to be given LBW.

As the pitch began to settle down the Hemel 2 and 3 set about chasing their target, although some very accurate and economical bowling from John Mansell and Vikram kept the run rate to a miserly 3 per over. However as the overs drifted by, it started to look like Radlett would not be able to claim the 9 wickets required to take the 30 points. At drinks at 26 overs, Hemel had reached about 80 for 1 and Radlett had only 9 points on the day and something needed to happen.

Almost immediately the breakthrough came. Matt Soffair, bowling round the wicket and making the batsmen to play, forced an error and took a catch from a leading edge, 90 for 2. This was the turning point and although the number 3 stubbornly kept his wicket, the wickets at the other end began to tumble. Matt Barrett caught and bowled the number 4 with a clever slow ball. Simon Watman fielded efficiently to run out the number 5. Fraser took a regulation catch behind the stumps to account for 6. At 110 for 5 Radlett had the bit between their teeth, but began to stutter. Barrett tired and the immoveable number 3 had Soffair worked out and the 6th wicket partnership started to take on significance.

The changes yielded immediate dividends; Rajput was reintroduced and his movement was too much for the entrenched number 3, who was caught and bowled for 47 as Hemel began to realize that they would have to push their score along to win the game. Radlett were surprised to see the Hemel skipper, back from hospital and belatedly in a helmet, come out to bat at 8. But after one or two mighty swipes he was well caught on the boundary by Soffair. John Mansell took a catch at square leg the very next ball to dismiss the number 9 for a golden duck as Radlett sensed a victory. However there were still 2 wickets required and only 7 overs left. The skipper’s thoughts were focused on victory, but memories of the recently drawn test match were at the back of his mind. 30 points was a margin more than the 16 Radlett currently had and could have made the difference between relegation and staying up.

Mansell took a deserved wicket when Ramesh Swaminathan took a catch to dismiss the number 10 with 6 overs left. In the next over Vikram outwitted the batsman and found the edge that had looked inevitable during his second spell only to find Shamit Nathwani unable to make the vital catch. Was this an ominous sign with so few overs left?

Matt Barrett came back into the attack finding the number 11 determined to protect his wicket. However the skipper was equally determined to claim victory number 5 and points that would surely guarantee safety. The sixth ball of the over found its way through the batman’s defenses and took the top of middle stump. Radlett won a super cricket match by 38 runs. Credit goes to all the players, who approached the game with a fantastic spirit and who worked tirelessly in the field. Seven catches out of 8 chances and a run out are testament to the performance of the team on the day.

So a determined effort saw Radlett maintain their position in Division 12 next year, but with better availability, hopefully, the team can mount a challenge to return to Division 11. Good Luck!


Radlett CC 5th XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
196
(0.0 overs)		    
Duncan Fraser Caught  43 1
Mike Dexter Caught  11
Vishal Patel Caught  5
Simon Watman Caught  2
Ramesh Swaminathan Caught  18 1
Shamit Nathwani Bowled  47
Matt Barrett Bowled  9 1
Ronnie Comfort Bowled  7
Matthew Soffair Caught  10 2
Vikram Rajput Caught  24 1
John Mansell Not Out  0 1

Hemel Hempstead V Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Hemel Hempstead V Batting
Player name Runs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
158 (0.0 overs)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Radlett CC 5th XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Matt Barrett15.0240313.332.67
Vikram Rajput11.021744.251.55
John Mansell9.0126126.002.89
Ronnie Comfort5.002800.005.60
Matthew Soffair12.0230130.002.50