Scorecard

Radlett CC 5th XI v Hitchin III on Sat 13 Aug 2011 at 1.00 p.m.
Radlett CC Lost by 7 wickets

Match report Radlett fifths slumped to their eighth straight defeat against Hitchin III. Despite the bitterly disappointing defeats of the previous two matches and the spate of drop-outs during the week -- including Rob Millard with a sprained ankle in the morning -- Radlett still expected to put up more of a battle than the seven-wicket defeat at Queens' School that has left the team at the bottom of the Division 10 table 38 points from safety with only three games left to play.

Radlett's game plan, after losing the toss, was to bat out the 53 overs knowing that this would lead to a defendable target. We started watchfully with five maidens from the first six overs, but we were already a wicket down by the end of the fourth. We then thought we would get our customary collapse out of the way early with another two wickets falling for just four runs.

Youth and experience in the form of veteran Andrew Griffiths and Under-13 colt Alex Cook were tasked with the rebuilding exercise. This reporter cannot give you much information on this partnership as he was on an epic journey in search of the toilets at the ground. Those of you that have played here will know how futile a task this is and by the time I returned Radlett had lost another wicket.

At 53 for five the plan was to get to drinks without losing another wicket, and Ender Tahsin and Dan Garfield duly delivered with some sensible batting that proved that the Hitchin III bowling attack was nowhere near as venomous as the scoreboard suggested. This pair put on 22 untroubled runs at just under three an over without taking any undue risks and showed that, at this level, runs will come just by occupying the crease.

Sadly the partnership was broken as Tahsin became the third batter of the innings to claim they were incorrectly dismissed, having been adjudged caught behind when the only contact with the ball was off his forearm. Garfield went on to top score and with Hitchin giving their colts a bowl we stumbled to 104 all out, with extras being the 2nd highest contributor.

Spirits were low, but the effervescent Darren Fabray did his usual best to keep the team motivated knowing that several early wickets were needed in the 14 overs to be bowled before tea if Radlett were to have any chance of pulling off an unlikely victory. Fabray and Rahman were not quite at their best, but did enough to create a few chances that were either dropped or just evaded the fielder. Despite Hitchin being halfway to their target, a delicious tea was had that even bitterness of the Radlett performance could not prevent from being enjoyed.

There were some positives though, with an excellent debut from Cook, aged 13, performing well with both bat and ball. John Mansell also bowled a good line and was justly rewarded with two wickets.

Radlett CC 5th XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
104
(0.0 overs)		    
Oshan Bandara Caught  1
Mike Dexter Caught  3
Arif Rahman Bowled  7
Andrew Griffiths Lbw  14
Alexander Cook Caught  16
Samay Shah Caught  0
Ender Tahsin Caught  8
Daniel Garfield Caught  22
Darren Fabray Caught  9
John Mansell Bowled  2
Jamie Sidlin Not Out  2

Hitchin III Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
No records to display.

Hitchin III Batting
Player name Runs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 3 wickets
0
105 (0.0 overs)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Radlett CC 5th XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Darren Fabray6.002100.003.50
Arif Rahman4.002300.005.75
Alexander Cook5.011600.003.20
John Mansell6.011326.502.17
Samay Shah2.3016116.006.40