Tweeting Success

At 7:49 pm on Sat, Sep 03, 2022, @ LetchworthGCCC tweeted....

1s WIN AND STAY UP!

After a tough year, back-toback wins completes the great escape.

Thanks to Twitter we learned a lot about Letchworth Garden City, this season, and there was a lot to admire.

In mid-July they put out seven teams while on 21 May, they proudly announced that with the exception of their overseas player.....

“every single member of this Saturday’s 1st XI - now aged 31 to 16 - has represented LGCCC at the age of 15 or younger.”

Talking of youngsters, a week earlier we learned that Joe Davidson would be making his 1st XI debut aged 16, the youngest player to do so since Tom Simmons in 2008. “The kid can play,” it said.

Which he proved, taking 2-24 on debut and proving the most economical of the six bowlers used that day, It wasn’t all plain sailing, as we saw on 27 August when four of the club’s teams were bowled out for under 100.

But as they also pointed out...

"Still getting 5 teams out and giving 55 blokes a game of cricket.”

Week 9, 2 July

By the end of today we had reached the half way point of the season, so a good time to look at the tables and those teams with titles in their sights. The top of the Premier is the place to start, as the clear leaders, Radlett and Potters Bar, faced up to each other today. Victory by Bar, by 96 runs, meant they replaced Radlett in 1st place. Would that change before they met again on the last day of the season? Only 25 points separated the five clubs in the bottom half of the table, so the fight to avoid the one relegation place would create a dramatic 2nd half to the season.

At the top of the Championship, Old Owens were determined to earn their Premier place and avoid the play-off, which caused such disappointment at the end of the previous season. By this half-way point, they were nearly 30 points ahead of 2nd placed Shenley and more than 60 points ahead of the rest of the pack. Only 13 points separated the bottom four clubs in the relegation dog-fight.

In all other divisions, playing limited overs only, most had an even look among the top teams. An exception was in 5A, where Old Camdenians had opened up a gap of 70 points ahead of the rest. They were also one of only five teams throughout the whole league which could boast an unbeaten record. At the opposite end, seven teams were still looking for their first win.

The ‘No Result’ columns gave us the evidence of this season’s good weather. In the Premier, three matches had failed to produce a result through rain, while only four other divisions recorded cancellations, with just one match lost in each of those.

On the field today, that top-of-the-Premier clash went the way of Potters Bar mainly thanks to a 3rd wicket stand of 227 between Reece Hussain (140*) and Steve Gale (102). Having posted 298-3 in their 60 overs, Bar dismissed Radlett for 202 inside 47 overs.

Other stand-out efforts at the top level included James Latham’s 159 for Harpenden, who beat Stortford, and six wickets for Welwyn’s Kapil Dave, setting up their victory over Hoddesdon.

Closest finish of the day came in 3A, when basement team Dunstable 2nds set leaders West Herts II a target of 243, and saw them hit a boundary off the last ball to win the match by two wickets. Several onewicket victories made for exciting finishes, including at Southgate Adelaide who had 11 balls in hand (Thomas Lethbridge 103), when they passed the Northwood Town total of 233, in 4A; Redbourn II saw the last pair put on 20 to win, chasing the 204 of Stevenage II, in 4B; a one wicket victory for Minchendenians in the battle of the top two in 8A, chasing Aldenham’s 40-over total of 173; Boxmoor II also thanked the last pair for overhauling Totteridge III 189 in 8B; and finally in 10 North, where Preston 4ths needed only 113 to beat Tewin II but it went to the last ball, with the last pair at the crease.

There was one other finish which was even closer, with Bushey 3rds in a tie with Stevenage 4ths in 9B. Both scored 171 (Stevenage losing 8 wickets, chasing) but, as described earlier, Bushey had all results voided with their exit from the League, so this was their last and most memorable match of the season by any measure. For individual performances, there was a smattering of excellent centuries throughout the League today, with the top score accolade going to Asif Bacchus of

Edmonton, in 11 East, for his imperious 154 out of a total of 350-5 and a victory by 236 runs over Broxbourne IV. Not far behind was Matt Potton, with 145 for Boxmoor, scored off just 114 balls (16x4; 8x6).

Week 10, 9 July

The eye-catching score from the top end of the League today was Radlett’s 3572, at Welwyn. Chiefly responsible for the mayhem were Dom Chatfield (173*; 17x4, 5x6) and Kabir Toor (157 off 132 balls; 12x4, 9x6). They came together when opener Christopher Arul had to retire, on 19*, and were eventually parted with the score on 338, ahead of a declaration after 57 overs. WGC received 59 overs in return but never threatened to reach the target, holding on for a draw at 187-7. Potters Bar thus held on to top spot, increasing their points advantage over Radlett after beating Harpenden by 54 runs. Today’s schedule marked the reverse fixtures from the opening day, so, many eyes were on Hoddesdon, dismissed by Totteridge for just 21 in week 1. Could they put that behind them? The answer was not really, as they were dismissed inside 37 overs today, for 84. They never recovered from 5 for 3 and 27 for 5, chasing 192, and slipped into the bottom two in the table.

Elsewhere, it was all about close matches, including two terrific ties.

In 3B. Wheathampstead were defending 151 against Hemel 2nds, who were knocked off course when 132-6 became 136-9 and the last pair of Stanley Hayden and Tom Willetts only just failed to get them over the line. 20 points each.

For real drama, we turn to 8A where leaders Old Minchendenians visited St Albans 3rds, who were chasing 187 for the win. The final over began with Saints requiring nine runs for victory, with two wickets in hand. Four singles from the first five deliveries meant a near impossible five to win off one ball. Tom Wilton, on 50, hit it straight and a slight misfield allowed two runs. With nothing to lose, Wilton turned for a third as the ball was thrown to the bowler, who, just metres from the stumps, elected to throw down the stumps when, with a couple of steps, he could have run out Wilton. Three runs completed and, miraculously, the bowler’s throw was wild enough to allow the batters to turn and the all-run four meant Saints had stolen a remarkable tie. As a footnote, Tom Wilton, who finished on 54*, hadn’t expected to be playing, having spent the morning at work but answered the very late call after a Covid-related withdrawal.

It was almost as dramatic in division one, where Ampthill squeezed home by one wicket, off the last ball of the match and with the last pair at the wicket. Having restricted Langleybury to 222-9, the chase was going well at 166-3 but less so at 171-6 and when the ninth wicket fell in the 47th over, 19 runs were required. After a cautious couple of overs, 11 were still needed off he last over but Will Sneath and Louis Evans scored off every ball, with a single off the last ball getting them home.

No less exciting was the one-run win in 2A for Holtwhites at Watford, defending 1919, even though the hosts had six overs in hand at the end. Similar drama in in 3A, as Knebworth, chasing Chipperfield’s 196, slipped from 157-4 to 184-9, mainly through Andrew Oliver’s 6 for 17, before the last pair crossed the line with two overs in hand. Same in 4A, where, Southgate Adelaide’s 214 wasn’t quite enough, as Tewin’s last pair saw them home, with just four balls to spare, with no. 8 Tom Wood’s 56*, the highest score, responsible for all the runs in that victorious partnership. A similar scenario in 7A but Flitwick 3rds had only two balls left and nine wickets down, when they passed the Datchworth 2nds score of 134. Then in 11 East, Old Owens III’s 125-4 in 40 overs was just enough, as they held back Hertingfordbury II, reducing them from 92-4 to 101-9, before taking the last wicket and victory by one run.

Bowlers were apparently finding it hard going on the dry pitches, so let’s single out the performance of Mark Waters for Preston II in 5A. In just 5.2 overs he took 7 of Bentley Heath’s wickets at a cost of 19 runs, to dismiss them for 40 to give his team victory by 207 runs.

On the other hand, many batters were enjoying life. Such as Inayat Rahman, who plundered the Allenburys 2nds attack for 163, in Hatch End’s winning total of 298-4, in 7B. Close behind was Hamza Bashir, who hit 156 to set up Markyate’s victory over Redbourn 4ths in 10 North.

All-rounder of the day must be Dan Sherry whose efforts enabled Old Cholmeleians to beat Weston by 13 runs, in 7A. Dan (left) scored 113* and took 5 for 45. Weston must groan when they see Dan’s name on the team sheet – he scored 90* in the reverse fixture and in a match around seven years ago scored a ton against them, to win the match.

And, finally, a mention for Hoddesdon stalwart and former 1st team captain, Nick Gandon. He hit 107 just a week ahead of his final game for the club before moving away. It wasn’t enough for Hoddy 3rds, however, who couldn’t defend 260 and went down by 8 wickets to Hertford 4ths, in 9A.

Week 11, 16 July

Things were hotting up, in every sense, as today’s fixtures were played just three days before Britain recorded its highest ever temperature (40.3°). The batters certainly enjoyed conditions in the Premier, with every team comfortably passing 200. Similar in the Championship, where only three teams failed to score more than 200.

The lowest scoring match in the Premier was also the closest, with Radlett defending a score of 227, after Dom Chatfield, 173* last week, went first ball today! His teammates did well to recover from 24-4, with the last pair putting on a vital 47 runs. Fast forward to the day’s last over and the last Totteridge batter was run out, enabling Radlett to squeeze home by just two runs, with one ball to spare. (Run out captured here, captured from the live feed).

The Championship’s lowest scoring game also matched that excitement, starting with Old Owens being dismissed for 133, the last six wickets going down for 21 runs. They were top of the table for a reason, however, and reduced Reed to 64-6, before a recovery made them favourites, only for Owens to take the last three wickets within five balls, for no runs, giving them the victory by five runs.

That was one run better than Broxbourne’s win over Shenley. There were two centurions in the Broxbourne innings, Jack Plumb (108*) and Conor Ridley (103), who put on 180 for the third wicket towards a total of 289-4. Liam Robinson’s five wickets looked to be the match-winning contribution, only for Shenley’s last pair to put on 44 runs, to scare the home team, before their six-run victory.

Centurions at the top level included James Latham (119) for Harpenden, Reece Hussain (115) for Potters Bar and Priyamal

Perrera (106*) for West Herts. Flitwick’s veteran, George Thurstance, led the way in the Championship, with 136*.

Tied matches are not unusual but Lutonian broke new ground by recording their 2nd tie of the season. They achieved parity with Northwood on 28 May and today scored 151, before bowling out Eversholt for the same total. Both innings followed similar patterns, with the loss of early wickets, then rescue acts by players scoring halfcenturies but the end was interesting as Lutonian turned to Zahid Khan, their 9th bowler, to try and dislodge the last pair who were carefully approaching the victory target. With his 2nd ball and the scores level, Zahid ended the innings.

Among the run-fests, Tewin v Stortford 2nds, in 4A, saw over 680 runs scored in the match. Stortford’s Jonathan Gaffney (154*) set the standard and Tewin responded with three half-centurions of their own, before they went down by 25 runs. Two teams could boast two centurions to applaud today. At Berkhamsted, the home 2nd team’s Matthew Brown (102) and Daniel Chrispin (100) put on 164 of their side’s total of 294-7, ahead of victory over Welwyn 3rds by 208 run (pictured celebrating their centuries). Similar scores in Holtwhites 4ths, where Arjun Popat (102*) and Tom Newman (104), set up a 53 runs victory over St Margaretsbury 4ths, in 12 East. Other stand-out innings included Will Hales 136 for Redbourn in div. one (with his brother, Ed, scoring 96 at the other end); and Robert Urwin, 142, in 10 East, for Broxbourne 3rds (to go with the cub’s two other centurions in the 1st XI, above).

Among all this run-making, one man carried the flag for bowlers. And how! Louis Champion of Knebworth Park came on as 4th change, and in 8.3 overs took an outstanding 8 for 18. And why was he 4th change? Because Louis (pictured) spent the first half of innings as ‘keeper (he kept for most of the season) and it was only the second time he had bowled in a league match in over five years. What an all-rounder! His superb effort which was good enough to get him onto the national honours board on play-cricket.com

There was an interesting footnote to the performance of Flitwick IV in 11 North, who beat Hitchin V by ten wickets, chasing 89. In the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Flitwick’s openers scored 281 without being parted. So in their two matches, the Hitchin bowlers had failed to take a Flitwick wicket.

The most regrettable incident of the day came at Rickmansworth. The first team’s match with Allenburys, in 3A, was recorded as cancelled but that followed behavioural issues early in the game, which caused the match to be abandoned. One player caused the issue, playing his first (and only!) match in the Herts League. Both captains also served a one-match ban. A regrettable story of how the behaviour of one rogue player can ruin the enjoyment of a game for the remaining 21 players, officials and spectators. A lesson for all clubs.

Week 12, 23 July

Potters Bar held on to top spot in the Premier, beating West Herts by 32 runs, with just 10 minutes left to play and in spite of some brilliant resistance from Priyamal

Perrera, who scored 134 from 93 balls (18x4; 6x6).

2nd placed Radlett beat 3rd placed Mymms by nine wickets through the combined brilliance of Josh De Caires (159* off 131 balls) and Kabir Toor (104* off 97 with 6x4 and 7x6). They put on 222 to win the match. Josh (pictured left) had already taken four wickets and helped to restrict Mymms to 288-8, where the highlight was a 3rd wicket partnership of 177 between Chanaka Ruwansiri (101) and Guganeshan Muralitharan (81).

Meanwhile, the basement battle between Hertford and Hoddesdon went the way of the Balls Park hosts, by seven wickets, after dismissing Hoddy for 216. Five wickets for Jon Ryan. Hoddy dropped to bottom place, as a result. They had been 4th at the start of the month.

There was a similar battle to avoid relegation in the Championship, where Luton lifted themselves off the bottom with a three wickets win over Reed, who dropped to ninth. Having bowled out Reed for 246 in the 60th over (five wickets for Divyesh Patel) Luton did well to recover from 85-5, getting over the line with one ball left of their 55th over.

Still in the Championship, a word for Conor Ridley of Broxbourne. Last week he was a batting hero with a century. Today he took 7 wickets for 52, in the win over Preston. The highlight in division one was a high scoring tie at Langleybury, where Letchworth chased the home side’s 254-7. They seemed well on their way at 232-3 in the 45th over but a clatter of wickets, including top scorer Christy O’Brien for 99, created a tense finish. Five required from the last over, with three wickets in hand, but 2,dot,1,1,W,W left cricket as the only winner.

Sawbridgeworth’s total of 248-3 was the next highest in div. one but the player taking the plaudits was Michael Burrell who took his 300th league wicket for the 1st XI.

Top scorers below the Premier both came in the regional divisions. Faisal Tanoli’s 143* off 119 balls, for Shenley 4ths in 10 East was matched in 11 East by Edmonton’s Kevin Hemans, whose 143 came off 102 balls, before he was dismissed. Not far behind them was Tom Garraway with 136* for Old Elizabethans in 2A.

A rare hat-trick to report, with Boxmoor’s Amit Mahajan performing the feat against Flamstead in 5B but with his five wicket haul he was the lone star as Flamstead reached 211 and won by 81 runs. Finally, North Enfield 2nds were sitting pretty on top of 10 South but their nerves must have been shattered after the three successive tight finishes. Two weeks ago they chased the 192 target set by Mill Hill 3rds and got there off the last ball. Last week they needed 213 to overhaul Holtwhites 3rds and managed it in the very last over. Today it was another run chase, after Old Elizabethans 3rds had scored 185-7, and again it went down to the final ball as they passed the post with six wickets down, a win that should have been more comfortable after being 181-2.

Week 13, 30 July

In the batter-friendly conditions which prevailed this season, let’s celebrate some top bowling performances today, starting with two in the Championship. Reed’s Toby Fynn took 7 for 34 to inflict a heavy defeat on Hitchin, by 163 runs. Seven wickets also for Flitwick’s Apoorv Wankhade, for 40 runs, to set up the victory over Hemel, with Apoorv then smashing 42 off 33 balls with four 6s, in the chase. The third member of this special club 7 was Sai Chaitanya Nanduri, who took 7 Bovingdon wickets for just 15 runs to help his Potters Bar 3rds to a 7 wickets win.

I described a Boxmoor hat-trick last week as a rare event. Then, like buses, two come along together. Today it was Parteek Malhotra who achieved the feat during his match-winning spell of 6-22 v Sawbridgeworth 2nd XI. This wasn’t a oneman show, however, as Daniel Hobbs (115) & Anum Hamdani (80*) had put on 180 at the start of the Boxmoor innings, leading to a defeat for Sawbo by 224 runs Close finishes were in plentiful supply today, starting in division one, where Harpenden II made hard work of chasing down Letchworth’s modest total of 156, with only three batters reaching double figures and the last pair at the wicket when the win was achieved. Harpenden had several overs in hand at the end, whereas Kings Langley, in 2B, had only six balls remaining when their nos. 10 & 11 grabbed the win over Eversholt. In the same division, Letchworth’s 2-wicket win over Northchurch wasn’t quite so tight but in a match of nearly 600 runs, it was an impressive chase, led by David Albon, with 126.

Similarly in 3B, Parkfield had two wickets in hand when they passed Bayford’s 284-6 but with only five balls remaining. The win stood out, however, because of a remarkable innings by A Khan. Coming in at no. 8, he hit 162*, with the next highest score being just 32 – by the no. 9! Division 3B was the place for exciting cricket today, with Cockfosters overcoming Reed 2nds by just three runs and Welwyn II defeating Hemel II by the same margin, with a 49th over climax which included four runs, three wides and two wickets.

In 4B, Chorleywood 2nds one wicket win over St Albans 2nds, with three balls remaining, followed the same exhilarating pattern. As did Northampton Exiles defeat of Radlett 3rds, with a one run margin, in 5A. While it was even closer in 7A, where Abbots 2nds went past Old Cholmeleians 177-4 with nine down and just one ball remaining.

By comparison, in 8A, the margin of victory for Wheathampstead 2nds over Watford 3rds, five runs, might seem pedestrian

1700 and counting!

We acknowledge the huge contribution made by umpires and scorers to the success of the Herts League. One scorer who often appears on these pages, reached another milestone last year. Richard White scored his 1,700th game for Sawbridgeworth, including a little matter of 644 1st team league games, the last 634 in a row since missing the match v West Herts on 28 July 1984. That’s a tremendous record of achievement and deserved better performances from Sawbo 1sts to help him celebrate. On the day the picture below was taken, at Langleybury, the home team recorded the highest ever league score suffered by Sawbo, and on the day of Richard’s milestone, the league game at St Albans, Sawbo were bowled out for just 54!

but it was achieved after the first six Wheathampstead batters had departed for just 22 runs, with no. 10 Thomas Bates top scoring on 53*. Most of those same lateorder batters were then the bowlers who ensured the close but successful finish. By contrast, there was a ten wicket win in 12 East for St Margaretsbury 4ths. So what? Well opponents Mymms 3rds scored an impressive 209-1 in their 40 overs, after an opening stand of 201, thanks to Jon Mather (92*) and Yadhav Birindhapan (72). The ‘Bury response came from Michael Anstead (57*) and Steve Price (114*). So 419 runs scored and just one wicket fell in the whole match. Incidentally, 15 of the 22 players had a bowl, in the true spirit of cricket at this level.

Today’s summary started with some great bowling performances, so let’s end with memorable batting efforts, starting with Stuart Gadsden (139*) for Hitchin V who won by 43 runs over Letchworth V in the local derby in 11 North. Not far behind came Paul Rothery (129*) for Sandridge II in 9A, and, finally, Matthew Brown, a centurion for Berkhamsted 2nds two weeks ago, in 6A, today scored 123 in their defeat of Knebworth II by 201 runs.

Week 14, 6 August

You know that it’s a hot summer when a hosepipe ban is imposed and that’s what happened this week. The Government didn't appoint a Minister for Drought, as happened in 1976, but the water situation was getting serious. The ban applied to households, so groundsmen happily watered away and, judging by the scores, batters appreciated the conditions.

Of the five matches in the Premier, four of them saw the team batting first pass the 300 mark. At the top, Potters Bar had a memorable day with the bat but they left Totteridge with only a winning draw, which kept them ahead of victorious Radlett but the lead was cut to 16 points. James Seward and Reece Hussain put together a mighty 2nd wicket stand of 300, with James eventually out for 184, off 180 balls, with 10 maximums and 19 fours. Chasing 342, Totteridge lost wickets regularly and ended on 287 for 6 from 58 overs.

Not to be outdone, Radlett rattled up a match-winning score of 338-3, thanks mainly to David Burnell (107*) and Nathan

Smith (142) whose stunning knock came off just 84 balls, (14x4; 7x6). Hoddsdon’s reply never really got going and they lost by 119 runs, with five wickets for Anthony Hill. There were two other centurions in the Premier, Scott Galloway (121) for Harpenden and Alastair Lewis (138*) for West Herts.

Still four games to go, after today, but Old Owens became the first team outside the regional divisions to celebrate promotion. It was the clash of the top two today and they beat Shenley by three wickets, after six wickets for Rhys Carter, not only to secure a place in the Premier for the first time but they would also go up as champions. The club described their rise to the top as ‘monumental’ which started in Division 7 in 2004. Here’s their record:

2004 - Champions of Div 7

2005 - promoted in 4th from Div 6

2009 - promoted in 2nd from Div 5

2011 - promoted in 4th from Div 4

2013 - promoted in 4th from Div 3

2016 - promoted in 2nd from Div 2A

2018 - champions of Div 1

2020 - champions of Championship (Covid)

2022 - champions of Championship

At the other end of the Championship the two bottom clubs were in opposition and it was a low scoring nail-biter. Luton lost a wicket to the 2nd ball and never recovered. Broxbourne had to chase only 92 to earn the 30 points but also found themselves 0 for 1. Then the relative comfort of 67-5 became 67-9 and calm heads were required. The last pair, Terry White & Robin Glassberg, duly did what was required and delivered the victory which lifted Broxbourne out of the relegation zone.

Today’s real run fest came in division one, with Rebourn and Leverstock Green amassing 711 runs between them. Ed Hales gave Redbourn the ideal start, scoring 182 off just 96 balls (21x4; 10x6). Remarkable. The first 50 came up in the 4th over and the final score of 371-6 was surely insurmountable. Leverstock, and in particular Sol Tomlinson, had other ideas and went for it. When Sol was third out in the 37th over, for 209 (119 balls; 24x4;

9x6), the score had already passed 300 but six wickets went down for 12 runs and with the score on 340, it was all over. Exhilarating. And quite a day for Sol, on his birthday (pictured left, with Dave Tyson). His was the highest individual score ever by a Leverstock player in the Herts League and his fourth ton of the season. And his team’s total was the 2nd highest ever, by just two runs, by a team batting 2nd.

Incidentally, Leverstock’s batters made hay the sunshine in their top three teams, with scores of 340, 317-8, and 277-7 (in 40 overs), respectively.

Still in div. one, runs galore also at Langleybury and a record of sorts, with the home side racking up 339-8, which meant Sawbridgeworth had conceded their highest ever score in the League. Mo Manzoor top scored with 115 and 14-year old James Frans, a week after his first team debut for Sawbo, took a wicket with his first ball. A vital win for Langleybury, by 114 runs, as they looked to escape from the bottom two. Harpenden 2nds were already beginning to look safe and today, in their defeat of Old Albanians by 236 runs, they had two centurions in Barney Francis (126) and Mike Howard (116).

A double also at Markyate, in 10 North, with Mohsin Sageer 110 and Fezan Bukhari 113. Other big centuries to applaud were scored by Phil Warren, 144 for Great Gaddesden in 9A, and William Bryant, 126* for Chorleywood II in 4B.

One problem fixture today, largely as a result of the dry summer. In 6B, the match between Luton 3rds and Cheshunt 2nds had to be called off, because the pitch wasn’t considered safe. Although a Council ground, the Luton players took it on themselves to do repairs & maintenance, with the result they were able to complete their programme of home fixtures.

Aldenham's Big Year

Aldenham’s fourth promotion in six years was just one highlight for the club, as, in its 50th year, it also lifted the Herts Village Trophy. Promotion from 8A, behind Pinner, was assured before the final weekend, leaving the squad free to concentrate on the Village finals at Knebworth. In this T20 competition, they beat Offley & Stopsley by 70 runs in the semis and faced Potten End in the final, where they set an imposing target of 190-5. Perennial runmachine, Chris Munroe, led the way with 46 off 23 balls. At 112-1 off 13 overs, Potten were looking favourites, but the bowlers came to the party, restricting the stroke makers and taking crucial wickets, and at 159-8 Aldenham were the cup winners by 31 runs. Around 150 people attended the 50th anniversary event in mid-season, to celebrate a memorable landmark for the club. Skipper Chris Munroe told the Watford Observer: “We pride ourselves on being a friendly, family-orientated club that is open to everyone. It’s a huge credit to all involved that this approach continues to bring us success on the pitch, as well as maintaining a great atmosphere off it."

Week 15, 13 August

Today’s fixtures were preceded by a health warning. On the Thursday, the Exec. Committee put out a statement, due to Saturday’s forecast temperatures in the shade expected to exceed 30°C and potentially 35°. The League and clubs thus had a duty of care to mitigate this risk. Among the measures offered were earlier start times, (up to two hours), reducing the number of overs (by up to 20 overs, an extended interval between innings during the peak of the heat, and additional drinks breaks, not more than 45 minutes apart. When the Premier divisions revert to the 50 over format, as they did today, we know we are in the season’s home straight. In their nine ‘timed’ matches, Premier leaders Potters Bar had taken 247 points out of a possible 270, with 7 wins and 2 winning draws. That seems like title winning form. Except… Bar lost to Mymms today, by just one run! Mymms had scored 256-8 and Bar were behind the run rate with ten overs left, when they needed exactly 100 with only five wickets left. By the start of the 49th over things had changed and the score stood at 248-8, so nine to win. The over went: 6,1,W,W and Mymms were home.

Bar picked up 11 points but Radlett won, so the gap was reduced to just two points. At the other end of the table, Hoddesdon’s batters found some real form at last, as they hit 329-1, with Jayden Broodryk (138*) leading the charge but it still wasn’t enough. Harpenden, who were sitting in 3rd place, squeezed home with just two balls to spare, largely thanks to Chad Barrett (130 off 99 balls) plus three half centuries and ten runs scored in the last over.

With Shenley winning and Hemel losing, those teams swapped places in the Championship race for the play-off spot, immediately below champions-elect Old Owens. Junaid Anwar, who took 5 for 18, proved to be Shenley’s match winner, while Hemel were going down to Reed, by one wicket, in the tightest of matches. In the 50th over, Reed’s no. 8, Sean Tidy, went to his half century with two maximums and after two wides and a run out, he saw them home with a single off the last ball.

In 3a, big wins for West Herts II and Knebworth Park secured their promotion and with just seven points separating them, the fight for the title would go to the wire. For West Herts, Simon Walker dominated proceedings with an imperious 160 (24x4;1x6). Another promotion secured today was by Old Camdenians in 5A.

Two more big centuries to celebrate today, starting with Basil Letts of Aldenham. He contributed 146* to their total of 323-4, which was 242 too many for Chipperfield 2nds, with only one batter reaching double figures and Rajendra Chandel taking 5-8.

In 11 East, Edmonton entered the list of alltime winning margins, with their defeat of Old Minchendenians II by 324 runs. Kazim Bacchus was to the fore in the Edmonton innings, with 156.

League officer Pete Dudley reported a quirky incident when his Berkhamsted 5ths side visited Watford 5ths, which, he said, emphasises the friendly nature of matches at div. 12S level. They had just taken a Watford wicket and went into a team circle to discuss what to do next when they noticed the not out batsman standing in the circle nodding in agreement. He was asked for his thoughts, and replied: "You are bowling very well, keep going"! Which they did and won the match by 67 runs.

Week 16, 20 August

It was no change at the top and bottom of the Premier and much the same in the Championship, except Shenley’s win and defeat for 3rd place Hemel meant Flitwick moved closer to the play-off place, with a match against Shenley to come a week later. Shenley’s defeat of Hitchin, by six wickets, owed everything to the bowling performance of Vibes Gadhvi. He had taken just two league wickets all season but today finished with figures of 7 for 30.

Langleybury had been fighting to get out of the relegation places and today they had their 4th win on the trot and what a scalp, defeating top-of-the-table St Albans, by four wickets. The Saints dropped to third, as a result. The individual effort of the day in this division came from Sawbridgeworth’s Sean Black against Harpenden 2nds, with his 1st team’s first league hat-trick for six years.

Division 5B was the place for high scores today, with the teams batting first passing 300 in three of the four matches which took place and centurions in two of them.

Flamstead’s 316-8 v Ickleford 2nds was the highest and they also had the day’s top scorer in Sandaru Baddegama, whose 151 came off 131 balls. A century also for Jack Brown (113) in Clifton’s winning total of 303, against Boxmoor.

One rung lower, in 6B, the game of the day saw Old Owens II beat 3rd-place Berkhamsted II, to clinch the title, matching the achievements of their 1sts. It was close thing, however, with the last pair at the wicket and only two balls to spare. Close finishes elsewhere included Gaddesden chasing Hoddesdon III’s total of 238-4 (Rob Harcombe 113*), in 9A, and getting home with one ball left. In 11 East, Old Owens III completed a good day for the club by scoring 254-6, which was enough for a one-run victory over Broxbourne IV. Freddie Cecil-Smith’s 115* for Broxbourne was thus in vain.

In 12 East, Southgate Compton II’s score of 400-8, in 40 overs, was an eye-opener and set up one of the highest ever margins of victory, 329 runs. But Holtwhites 4ths had only eight men, so it’s credit to them for playing the game rather than conceding. Concessions were sadly the order of the day in 12 North, where only one match went ahead but that was the tussle between the top two. Kimpton and Lutonian III swapped places as a result of Kimpton’s convincing victory by 140 runs and in spite of six wickets for Lutonians’ Hasan Dar.

Week 17, 27 August

The penultimate weekend and a few more promotion and relegation issues were settled but not the Premier title, which would go to the final match, after both

Potters Bar and Radlett won. Radlett’s defeat of Stortford was quite close, just 11 runs in it, whereas Bar’s victory margin of 88 runs was comfortable and arguably more significant, as it condemned opponents Hoddesdon to relegation.

That’s because, just above them, Welwyn in 8th place and Herford in 9th were battling against each other, and it was Hertford who earned the 25 points, by six wickets. That put Hertford just four points behind Welwyn, ahead of the final weekend, but West Herts and Stortford above them were also in danger of dropping into the relegation playoff place.

For West Herts it was a frustrating day, losing by just three runs to Harpenden. In the other Premier match, Totteridge beat Mymms in a low scoring match (111 beat 86) and the two clubs swapped places, which put Totteridge into the final place for the play-offs.

The Championship’s big game, Shenley (2nd) v Flitwick (3rd) saw a tense finish in the extreme. With Joe Lowe taking five wickets, Shenley were dismissed for a very gettable 176 but Flitwick still needed 100 runs when the sixth wicket fell. There was hope, however, so long as skipper George Thurstance (below) was still there and at this point he was on 39. Marshalling the tail like a true leader, and ignoring the carnage at the other end, including the 9th wicket going down on 164, George duly completed his century while hitting the next 15 runs to win the game, carrying his bat to finish on 112*.

The next highest score was Joe Lowe’s 12! Epic. It was the 4th century this season for the Flitwick and Bedfordshire skipper, and his second against

Shenley (104* on 25 June). He would finish the season with 893 league runs. Incidentally, just before they met back in June, Flitwick had been next to bottom of the table.

Let’s stick with Flitwick but many rungs lower, because their 4ths also made headlines today, in 11 North. They rattled up 275-4 (John Bell retired on 102*) before bowling out Letchworth 5ths for just 12! Destroyer-in-chief was Flitwick’s leading lady, Holly Reeder (above) five wickets and figures of 6.2-4-3-5.

This was quite a day for Letchworth, by their own admission. The 5th team score was the 3rd lowest league total of all time but most of the club’s other teams, below the 1sts, fared little better. Below is the club’s own Twitter contribution, that Saturday.But, as they say, they fielded five teams that day (while others were conceding).

Letchworth 1sts avoided the club’s low scoring phenomenon today, which was important as they aimed to escape the relegation zone in division one. They beat Ampthill by five wickets, and although staying 9th, they wer within13 points o the two teams above them. Another one going to the wire.

Langleybury stayed 8th but their fifth straight win was perhaps also the most memorable, beating divisional leaders Redbourn, by just two runs. In the same division, Sawbo hosted Leverstock Green in an important match for the 3rd placed visitors, but victory for the hosts was even more memorable for Amit Gupta, who had a catch dropped first ball, took 4-46, then took over as wicketkeeper, taking two catches, before scoring 49* in a match winning 5th wicket partnership of 93*. That left

Leverstock six points behind 2nd placed Redbourn, with St Albans returning to the top after a win by five wickets over Harpenden II, led by Joe Regan with 130 off 116 balls.

In 2A, 1st played 2nd, with Old Elizabethans, chasing down the 219-8 of leaders Chorleywood, with two wickets in hand, to set up an interesting last day, although a 19 points difference. The top two in 2B, Radlett 2nds and Lutonian, both made sure of promotion but the individual highlight was provided by Kashif Khan who bowled Lutonian to victory, with figures of 6.1-1-12-8. That rather over-shadowed his team-mate, Zahid Khan, who scored a marvellous 147.

Rickmansworth’s Azeem Hussain took 7-31 to bowl his side to victory at Potton in 3A but that’s only half the story. Potton were dismissed for 111 today, that’s just one run less than the first fixture in June. That first meeting was also played at Potton, due to a festival on the Ricky home ground and in that game his team-mate Aamir Ishaq had taken 7-33. This must be the first time that two players have taken seven-wicket hauls on the same ground, against the same opponents, in the same league season. Talking of great bowling, in week two we were singing the praises of the evergreen Tim Smith, for his seven wickets for Stortford 2nds. Now, two weeks from the end, he was still taking wickets in 4A, with the marvellous analysis of 7.5-4-10-6 to dismiss Southgate Adelaide for 46 and a victory by 185 runs. He would finish the season, a week later, with 31 wickets at just 7.48, to top the divisional averages, and he took at least one wicket in every match (11 of them) he played.

In 5B, the top two met and Clifton were deposed by Mill Hill, comprehensively, bowled out for 98, with Potten End moving into 2nd, after bowling out Old Albanians II for just 47.

Among all the promotion frenzy, 22 guys still produced a great mid-table match in 6A, because it mattered to them, with Knebworth 2nds chasing Hemel 3rds total of 240-9 and winning off the last ball, thanks mainly to the Knebworth tail, after they were 142-7.

There was another clash of the top 2 in 6B, where leaders Botany Bay outscored Greenwood Park by 52 runs, in a match of more than 500 runs. The win was largely built on another outstanding performance by Botany’s Kasey Harris, whose 169 came off 149 balls (21x4; 5x6). Next highest score – 31!

At this critical time of the season, top two clashes provide perfect entertainment and there were three more to savour. In 8A, 2nd place Pinner overwhelmed leaders Aldenham, by 199 runs. Aldenham were missing a few regulars but Bhavie Raiyarela, with 6 for 12, proved the Pinner match-winner, after the batters had done their bit. Preston 3rds, top of 9B, were similarly convincing in beating nearest rivals Cheshunt, by eight wickets, which made Preston champions, while Cheshunt dropped to 4th. The third big clash came in 10 North, and another win for the 2nd place team, with Markyate defending 141-9 and then bowling out Tewin for just 73, to go top. It was a big moment for Markyate, who had been battling the deduction of 60 points at the start of the season, for the lack of a Safeguarding Officer. Markyate had lost only one match all season, against Tewin, back in June.

Among all these important matches, there was one nail-biter which ended in memorable low-scoring tie. Old Finchleians, already promoted as champions of 3B, took on Welwyn 2nds but they were both bowled out for 96, with the outstanding player being Paul Woolley’s, who took 6-32 for Welwyn.

Week 18, 3 September

As we reach the season’s climax, in this year of record temperatures and drought, it was fitting that the weather had the final say. It rained! Not enough to wipe out too many fixtures but it ruined the climax in the Premier. Potters Bar, ahead of Radlett by two points, visited Cobden Hill and had reached 104-6 in the 37th over, when the rain swept in. When it stopped, they tried to get a result, with Radlett beginning their innings in late afternoon, as time had run out for Bar’s batters. After a couple of overs, however, the umpires decided conditions were unsafe, so called an end to proceedings – leaving Potters Bar as champions! Harpenden and Totteridge joined those two in the last-ever play-offs. With Old Owens winning the Championship, the town of Potters Bar certainly seems to be the powerhouse of Hertfordshire cricket, currently.

At the foot of the table, Hoddesdon were already down and defeats for both Hertford and Welwyn left the former facing the relegation play off, by a margin of just six points. But who would they play?

Shenley’s seven point margin over Flitwick, with Hemel a further four points behind, became irrelevant as Shenley beat Reed by eight wickets (five wickets for Fahim Akbar) to secure 2nd place. Flitwick and Hemel also won but in vain. For Flitwick, George Thurstance continued his great form, scoring another 71, to take his total for the season in the League to 893 runs. For George it was also the end of an era, and the same at Hemel for Nick Hodgins, with both highly respected captains retiring (see article).

Similar to the Championship, the top two in division one also won, so St Albans and Redbourn went up, while there was a shuffle at the foot of the table, with Letchworth beating 3rd place Leverstock, to overtake Harpenden 2nds, beaten by Redbourn. Langleybury, in 8th place, also lost but crucially earned 13 points, against Harpenden’s nine, meaning Langleybury survived with a total of 340 points, against Harpenden’s 337! Harpenden II had also suffered a 5 points penalty for failing to provide facilities marks after one game in August. How costly was that!

Elsewhere, among the more exciting happenings on this final Saturday, the bottom of 3A shredded a few nerves, with just 12 points separating Potton in 4th place and North Enfield in 9th, and those two teams played each other, while Datchworth were 10th and last, a further 12 points behind. On the day, Dunstable were unluckiest –rained off, so just 10 points. Below them, at the start of play, North Enfield and Datchworth both won, so in the final shake-up Dunstable II finished bottom, on 315 points, with Datchworth in 9th, on 322, just two points fewer than both Chipperfield and Rickmansworth, in joint 8th.

Points Penalties 2022

• 470 points deducted for failing to enter teams/teamsheets

• 310 deducted for late facilities reports

• 270 deducted for no safeguarding officer (3 clubs)

• 95 deducted for no umpire or scorer

• 60 deducted for playing unregistered players

• 35 deducted for reporting result late

• 20 deducted points were deducted for captain without DBS

• 10 deducted for inadequate facilities

• 5 deducted for registration issues

• 5 deducted for late cancellation

That’s 1,280 hard earned points thrown away!

Nothing much to play for in 3B but a sad day, as it turned out to be the last league match for Parkfield & Headstone (and their 2nds in 10 South). They were losing their ground and unable to continue.

Another team to suffer through penalties but slightly less seriously, was Lutonians in 2B. They finished 2nd and missed out on the title by just one point but had been fined 25 points, during the season, for team sheet transgressions.

Also costly were Edmonton’s penalty points in 11 East. The team boasted a perfect record, played 14, won 14, compared to the won 7, lost 8 record of Broxbourne IV who finished top. The reason was massive fines, totalling 150 points, for having no Safeguarding Officer early in the season. Pinner duly held off Aldenham to win 8A and were particularly singing the praises of left arm spinner, Bhavie Raiyarela. Six wickets last week and now another five today meant he’d taken 20 wickets at an average of 3, since joining the club in midseason. Another champion team worthy of a mention is Hemel 4ths, whose success in 9A was centred on three Under 15 players, Callum Humphrey (24 wkts), Jacob Hodgins (also 24 wkts), whilst Max Clark (291 runs and a consistent run-scorer at number 4). The only other division to see a change in the leaders on the final weekend was in 10 West. Northwood III were in the box seat but were up against West Herts IV today, lying 2nd, with Berkhamsted III hard on their heels. West Herts romped home by 40 runs and so took the title, with Northwood’s slip allowing Berko to take the runners-up spot. In a division decided on an average points system, the three teams were finally separated by 0.36 points.

As for action on the field, the rain was a limiting factor but Old Owens II, new champions of 6A, were involved in a thriller, scoring 192-8 against Letchworth 3rds, who replied with 192-4, for a tie.

Finally, one player to mention, is Nathan Derrick of Baldock 3rds (left). He scored 156* today, against Hitchin 5ths. Play-cricket.com tells us that Nathan only played six league matches and scored 50+ in five of them! 408 runs at an average of 136 but sadly not enough innings to qualify for the averages.

Another season done and dusted, which is probably an appropriate term, given the weather for most of the time.

Leading Players

Some of the stand-out features include the consistency of the leading batters in the Premier, with all the top 10 averaging more than 50. Remarkably, half of that top ten play for Radlett.

Totteridge may have finished only 4th but they had the top batter and bowler, in Simon Webster and Sam Smith.

In contrast to the Premier, the Championship had only one player with a 50+ average and that was Flitwick’s George Thurstance, who averaged almost 75.

Also in the Championship, evidence that bowlers win matches came at champions Old Owens, whose bowlers filled the top four places, with a further one in the top 10. Those five had a combined haul of 133 wickets.

Very few batters can average over 100 in a season but David Murphy (left) managed it for St Margaretsbury, after scoring 848 runs. Seven not outs in 15 innings helped, resulting in an average of more than 121. ‘Bury also had the top bowler in Joe O’Gorman (left)

Another batter averaging over 100, was Kasey Harris with 1262 runs which helped Botany Bay to win the title in 6B. This puts him 2nd in the list for runs scored in a League Season at any level. His picture (left) was taken a year ago, with a liquid award after scoring a record six centuries that season.

For the highest average of all, however, you have to look at 10 South where Kieran Jones of North Enfield II, finished with 173.2 over his 12 innings (7 not outs).

There’s no league table for top fielders but play-cricket.com shows Hertford’s Hugh Cavener took 21 catches in the League (31 in all matches, as pictured), followed closely by Simon Walker of West Herts (20).

Hugh’s ‘haul’ included four against Stortford on 13 August. Top Herts wicket-keepers on play-cricket.com were Potters Bar’s James Seward with 34 catches and 9 stumpings, just ahead of Shenley’s Will Thomson with 32 and 7.

The leading averages start on page 118, with a full list on the website

Post season updates

The champions of 7B were decided in the committee room, rather than on the field. That was the result of a serious disciplinary issue with Little Berkhamsted Sahibs. Their final match was declared void and after sitting on top of the division for several weeks, they were subsequently demoted to 8A for the 2023 season. Southgate Adelaide 2nds and West Herts 3rds, separated by a single point, moved up instead.

Teams withdrawn during the season: Langleybury IV, Baldock IV, Hoddesdon V. Plus Bushey 1st, 2nd & 3rd XI

Post-season withdrawals: Edmonton, Parkfield & Headstone, Tye Green.