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| Henley Well In The Groove |
Date:Saturday 17th July 2010
Venue:The Brakspear Ground, Henley
Weather:Overcast and breezy at first, brighter later.
Toss:Won by WGC who fielded first.
Result: Win for Henley, Henley 25 pts, WGC 7pts.
Highlights: Carl Crowe 61 & 4-54, Kyle Hodnett 41 and 4-80; Matt Hill 55
Catering:Another Alex Lett spectacular.... The ratatouille was excellent and the sausage casserole got rave reviews.
Report:
Victory over Welwyn Garden City in a tense and thrilling encounter, perhaps one of the most exciting games seen at the Brakspear Ground in recent years, saw Henley leapfrog the former Division1 League leaders and go top by a margin of 14 points. It was an especially sweet victory, born out of adversity in which Henley’s top class fielding, teamwork and never say die spirit were firmly to the fore.
A green seaming wicket was the order of the day and in cloudy and breezy conditions, it was a toss to win and insert the opposition which Welwyn duly did. Batting first was not going to be easy and so it proved. Dave Barnes was first to go as he rather hung his bat out to a Laraman delivery and was caught behind. He was soon followed by Jonno McLean who was adjudged lbw, perhaps harshly. Meanwhile, Michael Roberts could do little about a ball which swung away only to come back in off the pitch and though the gate, flooring his off stump. 25-3 became 52-4 as Todd Ferguson played on, and then 75-5 as the excitable Walker had Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt caught at slip, precipitating an unseemly and excessive celebration by the bowler with whom the umpires had already had a word. By lunch, Henley were 94-6 as Dave Allaway could only parry a ball that popped on him, over his head to the slips. The omens were not good and the prospect of another low and undefendable score against Welwyn loomed large, the three Welwyn seamers having done a good job.
However, things swung Henley’s way as Kyle Hodnett and Carl Crowe led a fight back, assisted in no small degree by a discernable post-lunch lethargy and a general drop-off in the field by Welwyn. By now, Laraman had long since left the field of play feeling unwell, Walker’s bowling had lost its earlier fizz and Grant and White lacked menace. That is to take away nothing from the performance of both batsmen who exploited the field and took the bowling by the scruff of the neck.
Henley have grown used this year to Crowe turning in key performances with the bat, but Hodnett, in the side for his bowling, is also an extremely accomplished batsman and displayed a full repertoire of shots, timing and driving the ball sublimely. Ewan Brock and Tom Lambert added another 28 vital runs between them and used up more overs. When Brock was bowled by Hewitt, Henley had amassed 210 runs, which, earlier in the day, would have been regarded as fantasy.
But, with plenty of batting and 64 overs to do it in, the money was still on Welwyn. Hewitt survived a compelling first ball shout for lbw but perished soon after, thanks to a take by Allaway of the “catch or eat” variety. But thereafter, there was little that Mordt and Hodnett could do to staunch the flow of runs as Blacktopp and Hill, the latter a recent graduate into the first team, positively motored along. Lambert nursing a sore back could only manage a couple of overs, but Nick Denning has taken crucial wickets this year and did so again to remove Blacktopp, courtesy of a spectacular catch by Roberts. As Blacktopp skied one towards the allotments, Roberts, initially backpedalling, turned and ran towards the boundary, taking the catch over his shoulder, so vindicating all those fielding drills on training days. One gets two and Ferguson, whose alert athleticism was to save a critical number of byes, took a snappy stumping to dismiss Grant. Still, at 110-3, the game appeared to be Welwyn’s for the taking. Another sharp catch by Roberts, this time at point, saw off Southgate and tea was then taken with the score on 119-4.
All Welwyn needed to do was to pick off the runs, but Walker and Laraman, the latter replacing young Hill, whose excellent innings was ended by Crowe, fatally decided otherwise. Hodnett seemed to be a red rag to a bull to both batsmen who sought to clatter him to all parts, whilst Walker has the sweetest reverse sweep and put it to good effect against Crowe who nevertheless kept wheeling away and removed Laraman, caught by Allaway at long on. Welwyn were now 171-6 with nearly all their dangerous batsmen back in the pavilion. Only Walker remained and whilst a more conservative approach to the job might have been in order, plainly that is not in his nature.
With fielders ringing the boundary, Walker, kept up his assault on Hodnett until the latter decided that bowling full and straight might be the answer. And so it proved as Walker, doubtless surprised by such a delivery, had no answer and was bowled out. Hodnett’s next ball was equally full and straight and equally effective to dismiss White. The hat-trick eluded him but now the game was Henley’s to win. Barker was snapped up off the always dangerous Crowe by Allaway at mid on and the equation was now one wicket or 16 runs. With nerves jangling all around and excitement at fever pitch, it was fitting that Hodnett should see off the keeper Greenall with another full and straight one. Henley and their supporters were utterly jubilant and breathless from the excitement. Despite everything, Henley unlike their opponents, had held their nerve and recorded what may prove to be a key victory.
Scorecard
Henley CC
Michael Roberts b Aaron Laraman 14
David Barnes ct Simon Greenall b Aaron Laraman 5
Jonno McLean ct Simon Greenall b Nicholas Walker 4
Todd Ferguson + b James Hewitt 5
Bjorn Mordt * ct Chris Grant b Nicholas Walker 35
Carl Crowe ct Nicholas Walker b Chris Grant 61
David Allaway ct Daniel Blacktopp b Nicholas Walker 1
Kyle Hodnett ct Simon Greenall b Simon White 41
Euan Brock b James Hewitt 13
Nicholas Denning ct Simon Greenall b Chris Grant 0
Tom Lambert Not Out 15
Extras ( ) 16
Total ( all out , 55.1 overs) 210
Bowling
Nicholas Walker 21 4 84 3
Aaron Laraman 8 5 17 2
James Hewitt 7.1 1 16 2
James Southgate 3 0 16 0
Simon White 9 3 32 1
Chris Grant 7 0 29 2
Welwyn Garden City CC
James Hewitt ct David Allaway b Bjorn Mordt 8
Matthew Hill LBW b Carl Crowe 55
Daniel Blacktopp ct Michael Roberts b Nicholas Denning 36
Chris Grant st Todd Ferguson b Carl Crowe 7
James Southgate ct Michael Roberts b Kyle Hodnett 5
Nicholas Walker b Kyle Hodnett 43
Aaron Laraman * ct David Allaway b Carl Crowe 14
Paul Barker ct David Allaway b Carl Crowe 9
Simon White b Kyle Hodnett 0
Raymond Hodge Not Out 0
Simon Greenall + b Kyle Hodnett 0
Extras ( ) 18
Total ( all out , 40.1 overs) 195
Bowling
Kyle Hodnett 14.2 2 80 4
Bjorn Mordt 5 0 28 1
Tom Lambert 2 0 10 0
Nicholas Denning 6 0 18 1
Carl Crowe 13 1 52 4
Umpires:Cliff Pocock Martin Thomas
Scorers:Linda Carter T Davidson
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|
| Double Dutch |
Date:Saturday 3rd July 2010
Venue:Tring Park, Tring
Weather:Very Hot and sunny with a hint of breeze from the west. Another perfect day
Toss:Won by Henley who batted first.
Result: Draw, Henley 13 pts, Tring 10pts.
Highlights: Bjorn Mordt 84; Keith Dutch 93.
Catering:Reports indicate that the team enjoyed a good lunch. Your correspondent and Brian Tanner enjoyed yet another excellent picnic (this time avec du vin)
Report:
Henley emerged from a tricky trip to Tring with their unbeaten run intact and the better end of the draw, taking 13 points to Tring’s 10, and, in the process, eating into Welwyn’s lead at the top, if only by three points, as Welwyn could only draw at home to bottom of the table High Wycombe. Who knows, three points might be all important at the end of the season.
Another blistering hot day, perhaps the hottest Saturday this year greeted the players. Skipper Bjorn Mordt won the toss yet again and, this time, decided to bat. This appeared to be an excellent choice as Michael Roberts wasted no time in despatching Stanway, Luke Cherry and Harper to all areas with a cocktail of on and off drives, cuts and pulls. The slower starting Dave Barnes was just warming to his task when he pinged one to Brooks at backward point. Still 68 -1 in the 17th over was not a bad start.
But sport can play funny tricks and things went rapidly downhill in the 20th as, first, Roberts’ impatience with Stanway got the better of him, picking out Kyle Nipper at square leg, and Todd Ferguson called Jonno Mclean through for a dodgy run only for the latter to see the stumps shied by a direct hit from Brooks. All of a sudden it was 76-3 and time to consolidate which Ferguson, now accompanied by Mordt duly did through to lunch, Nipper and Tring skipper Keith Dutch spinning away to little effect and being steadily picked off. 114-3 at lunch, and Henley had just about shaded it.
After lunch, Dutch ditched spin for seam. In the course of the innings Stanway would bowl 26 overs and Harper 24. On a flat and increasingly lifeless pitch which had the impression of having been glued together, runs were hard to come by. The slow, low and unpredictable deck certainly contributed to Ferguson’s lbw as he went to pull a ball that kept low. For once Carl Crowe’s innings was shortlived as he played around one. As the game went on Tring’s field settings became uber-defensive with up to 6 – 7 players ringing the boundary. For all Mordt’s and Allaway’s crisp striking of the ball, returns were low as they were reduced to rotating the strike and taking singles, the odd two and very rare boundaries. Towards the end, Dutch and Sam Cherry and spun out the rest of the Henley batsmen. Last but one to go was Mordt who, with 84 hard earned runs to his name which included just six 4s, smoked one to extra cover where he was well caught by (S) Cherry. With one ball remaining of the Henley innings, Cherry bowled Brock and that was that.
Tring made a similarly speedy start to their run chase. Hopwood was an early lbw victim, courtesy of one of many balls that kept very low and Mordt soon realised that serried ranks of slips were a waste of time. But Dutch and Jones were unfazed by more populated covers and carved Tom Lambert and Kyle Hodnett all over the shop. Mordt restored order by removing Jones (another low ball lbw) and Michael Payne lasted just three balls as Crowe bowled him.
But any thoughts of a Tring collapse were soon scotched as South African Kyle Nipper joined Dutch. Nipper is plainly not one to hang about and both he and Dutch went at it with gusto and for a while were allowed to score far too freely. It took a Mordt “assist” off the bowling of Ewan Brock to dismiss Nipper when Mordt at deepish mid-off could only parry a stinging shot which looped up and was caught by an alert McLean. Nipper’s wicket was probably the effective end of any aspirations Tring had of chasing down 255 in 54 overs. Dutch battled away but times were changing and now it was his turn to feel the frustration of defensive fielding. Crowe bowled Cherry and Brooks soon perished, caught by Brock at deep midwicket off Nick Denning. Dutch, impatient at being pinned down tried to smash Denning down the ground only to be brilliantly caught by McLean at long-on, low down into the setting sun, so ending the best innings of the day and any lingering aspirations of a home win. With Tring now 7 down and with 12 overs left to get the remaining three wickets, Henley scented victory. However and somewhat surprisingly, the wicket taker of the moment, Denning, was unaccountably removed and though Mordt tried himself and all his other bowlers, it was to no avail as Harper and the vastly experienced Paul Atkins, aided by a compliant and dead pitch saw it out.
Overall though, a good performance from Henley on a day when the pitch made it difficult for batsman and bowler alike. Roberts and Mordt apart, there were useful contributions from Ferguson and Allaway who have not had much opportunity of late, although all credit to Tring who, pragamatic fielding aside, probably had the bowling more suited to exploit the conditions.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Kyle Nipper b Simon Stanway 46
David Barnes ct Thomas Brooks b George Harper 22
Jonno McLean ro Thomas Brooks 4
Todd Ferguson + LBW b George Harper 37
Bjorn Mordt * ct Sam Cherry b Keith Dutch 84
Carl Crowe b Simon Stanway 3
David Allaway b Sam Cherry 33
Kyle Hodnett ct Luke Cherry b Keith Dutch 2
Euan Brock b Sam Cherry 7
Nicholas Denning b Sam Cherry 2
Tom Lambert Not Out 5
Extras ( 7lb 2nb ) 9
Total ( all out , 65.5 overs) 254
Bowling:
Simon Stanway 26 8 72 2
George Harper 24 3 96 2
Luke Cherry 2 0 15 0
Keith Dutch 8 0 42 2
Kyle Nipper 2 1 2 0
Sam Cherry 3.5 0 20 3
Tring Park CC
William Jones + LBW b Bjorn Mordt 23
Richard Hopwood LBW b Tom Lambert 4
Keith Dutch * ct Jonno McLean b Nicholas Denning 93
Michael Payne b Carl Crowe 0
Kyle Nipper ct Jonno McLean b Euan Brock 23
Sam Cherry b Carl Crowe 13
Thomas Brooks ct Euan Brock b Nicholas Denning 10
George Harper Not Out 7
Paul Atkins Not Out 14
Luke Cherry Did Not Bat
Simon Stanway Did Not Bat
Extras ( 2lb 2nb ) 4
Total (7 wickets, 54 overs) 191
Kyle Hodnett 10 2 31 0
Tom Lambert 6 1 33 1
Bjorn Mordt 9 2 28 1
Carl Crowe 19 3 55 2
Euan Brock 7 1 29 1
Nicholas Denning 3 0 13 2
Umpires: David Burden Nick Hall
Scorers: The Jugster Linda Carter
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| Butting In |
Date:Saturday 3rd July 2010
Venue:The Butts, Aston Rowant
Weather:Hot and sunny with a hint of breeze from the west. A perfect day
Toss:Won by Henley who fielded first.
Result: Win for Henley, Henley 25 pts, AR 5pts.
Highlights: Carl Crowe 4 – 40, Bjorn Mordt 3 – 25, Bjorn Mordt 71; Brian Tanner fielding with his right hand whilst holding a plate of food in his left and not leaving his seat.
Catering:The team enjoyed an excellent lunch of baked spuds with delicious filling + a veggie option. Tea was excellent. Your correspondent and Brian Tanner enjoyed a sumptuous picnic that included quails eggs, crab meat, crab terrine, gala pie and sundry salads and cherries. Only a fine bottle of white burgundy was missing but we’ll fix that at Tring.
Report:
Henley’s march towards the top of Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League continued with a fourth consecutive victory, this time over neighbours Aston Rowant who, in a game played in excellent spirit, were restricted to a modest score which Henley saw off with relative ease albeit on a strip which was variable in both pace and bounce and not by any means easy to play on.
There can be few more scenic places to play cricket than Aston Rowant and the surroundings were matched by a glorious summer’s day with just a hint of cooling breeze, the large outfield baked brown by weeks of sun and no rain. The peace and quiet of such a rural setting, punctuated only by the red kites wheeling overhead, was such that all on-field utterances could be heard from the boundary.
Once again, Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt won the toss and, as is his way, invited the opposition to bat. Rowant were soon in trouble when Alex Jewell became Kyle Hodnett’s first and only victim of the day, adjudged lbw. He trudged sadly back to the pavilion was soon joined there by Watling who went to flick a ball to leg, misjudged the line and was bowled by Tom Lambert. Mordt replaced Hodnett and struck in his first over trapping Todd lbw, which brought Rowant skipper Wesley Morrick to the crease. Morrick showed plenty of ambition swinging his bat at anything that moved, but rather paid an early price for an aggressive approach, becoming Mordt’s second lbw victim of the day, Mordt having swapped ends in the meantime. This passage of play saw an excellent spell from Steve Horne (who would later be awarded his First XI “Baggy Green” cap at the end of play) whose four overs went for just 5 runs and included 2 maidens.
With lunch looming, Mordt opted for spin and Crowe soon had the ball turning. It was not long before Morgan’s steady progress was brought to an abrupt halt as he glanced a Crowe delivery to keeper Todd Ferguson. That was it until lunch (90-5) as Eaton and Lyon made sure that it came with no further loss of wickets, albeit at the price of not going for shots.
In the first over after lunch, whilst a big appeal by Lambert for lbw was in the course of being turned down, the unthinking Lyon wandered out of his crease and was run out by the quick witted McLean. From there on, progress with the bat was, for the most part, slow. Eaton, another batsman to have got a start, was caught behind off Crowe and Cooper was Mordt’s third lbw victim. As ever, the fielding was sharp and tight as Horne took a top catch low down at long off to dismiss Penhale. But Lewis was determined to have his day in the sun and swing his bat with intent and effect. It could not last and in the 59th over, surrounded by fielders, Humphreys was deceived by a straight one from Crowe and that was that at 164 with a feeling that it could and should have been twenty or so less.
Henley suffered an early reverse with the dismissal of Barnes who could only parry a Morrick delivery which positively reared off the unpredictable pitch and into Morgan’s grateful grasp at gully. Morrick, who would bowl nonstop throughout the 41over innings, has an innocuous looking run up and the pace comes out of the shoulder and arm. Whilst not express, he is clearly a very accomplished bowler and bowls good areas. He then bagged Jonno McLean lbw but Mordt and Michael Roberts got down to business. Although batting was by no means easy, neither was unduly troubled by Morrick or by Lewis who was removed after just one expensive over. Morrick then brought on Humphreys a left-arm medium pacer with an unusually high stepping run up that suggested that he was running over hot coals. Perhaps thinking this was the opportunity to cash in, Roberts went to hit him over mid wicket and was caught. Roberts’ departure led to a certain loss of momentum as the runs dried up over the next few overs, a frustrated Crowe playing and missing. But Henley were in no hurry and had plenty of overs at their disposal, and in due course, the runs came and the game began to turn inexorably away from Rowant. By tea, just 59 runs were required for victory. Once again, a 7 wicket victory with one of the top four getting a score and Crowe playing best supporting actor beckoned, but it was not to be as Mordt went for an expansive drive and was bowled by Humphreys. Dave Allaway joined Crowe and contributed a couple of elegant boundaries before Crowe brought proceedings to an end with a timely boundary but not a big enough one to give him a 50. So, yet another, well crafted and undefeated innings from Crowe who is proving to be the rock on which the last four teams to play Henley have foundered.
All this took Henley to second place, just 7 points behind leaders Welwyn who could only draw with Oxford.
Scorecard:
Aston Rowant CC
Alex Jewell + LBW b Kyle Hodnett 12
Tim Morgan ct Todd Ferguson b Carl Crowe 32
Chris Watling b Tom Lambert 10
Aaron Todd LBWb Bjorn Mordt 6
Wesley Morrick * LBW b Bjorn Mordt 9
Chris Eaton ct Todd Ferguson b Carl Crowe 19
Rory Lyon ro 8
Leigh Lewis Not Out 40
Thaddeus Cooper LBW b Bjorn Mordt 4
Karl Penhale ct Steven Horne b Carl Crowe 9
Paul Humphreys Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 11
Total ( all out , 59 overs) 164
Bowling:
Kyle Hodnett 6 0 38 1
Tom Lambert 13 5 47 1
Bjorn Mordt 16 5 25 3
Steven Horne 4 2 5 0
Carl Crowe 18 5 40 4
Euan Brock 2 1 1 0
Henley CC:
Michael Roberts ct Rory Lyon b Paul Humphreys 15
David Barnes ct Tim Morgan b Wesley Morrick 4
Jonno McLean LBW b Wesley Morrick 8
Bjorn Mordt * b Paul Humphreys 71
Carl Crowe Not Out 49
David Allaway Not Out 9
Todd Ferguson + Did Not Bat
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Steven Horne Did Not Bat
Kyle Hodnett Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 9
Total (4 wickets, 42 overs) 165
Bowling:
Wesley Morrick 21 4 73 2
Karl Penhale 6 1 21 0
Leigh Lewis 1 0 9 0
Paul Humphreys 11 2 362
Rory Lyon 3 0 190
Umpires: M Southerton& Terry Owen
Scorers: Brian Butler Linda Carter
|
| Harpenden Blown Away By Lambert |
Date:Saturday 26th June 2010
Venue:The Brakspear Ground
Weather:Very hot and sunny
Toss:Won by Henley who fielded first.
Result: Win for Henley, Henley 25 pts, Hapenden 4pts.
Highlights: Tom Lambert 7-34; Jonno McLean 67 Not Out; Ben Frazer 69
Catering:Another stunning display from Alex - poached salmon, baked chicken lasagne and super salads. A perfect meal for a summer’s day. The Skipper also deserves a mention for his excellent BBQ cuisine in the evening
Report:
Henley’s clinical defeat of Harpenden in their Week 8 encounter in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League followed the form book and reflected the gulf that exists between sides promoted out of Division 2 and established Division 1 sides. Given the strength and content of the Henley line up, the observation by one of the Harpenden players that it was a bit like taking on a minor county rang true.
But for a spirited 69 from Harpenden skipper Ben Frazer, who battled on despite taking a painful blow to his foot, the target for Henley would have been considerably less as Tom Lambert made hay whilst the hot sun shone and wreaked havoc in the Harpenden batting order. First to go was opener Winchester who paddled back a simple caught and bowled, soon to be followed by Lamb who top edged one skywards which Todd Ferguson authoritatively called for and held. Farenheim could only look in horror as a left ball dislodged the bails and when Clements was adjudged lbw, perhaps a tad unluckily, it was 20-4. Bates was now joined by Frazer as Henley, scenting the need to dispose of Frazer early, set aggressive fields which neither Lambert nor Kyle Hodnett could capitalise on. Hodnett would end up with a blank sheet, but could feel a bit unlucky as he bowled with pace and carry, frequently beat the bat and helped to generate pressure which Lambert cashed in on.
A degree of steadying the ship then ensued as Bates supported Frazer who played his shots from the off and looked pretty comfortable. A change of bowling did the trick though as Mordt had Bates caught behind. Bates, who felt very hard done by, departed the scene and was soon followed by Foster who was cleaned up by Nick Denning who is bowling better than ever. Frazer, now having been bashed on the foot, played on, with effect, through the pain and with Cooper providing support from the other end, lunch arrived with Harpenden on a “Nelson” at 111-6.
Spectators still taking lunch would have missed the next two wickets as Cooper perished, bowled Carl Crowe caught David Barnes, and finally Frazer, defiant to the end, fell courtesy of a catch by Crowe at slip that owed more to his midriff than his hands – but not before Frazer had nonchalantly flicked Lambert into the allotments for six for the shot of the day. That was the effective end of Harpenden’s resistance as Lambert took his tally to 7, clean bowling Stewart and Mahoney.
As with Potters Bar the previous week, Henley got the job done for the loss of only three wickets, with one of the top order, this time Jonno Mclean, ending unbeaten on a substantial score. Barnes was, somewhat controversially, adjudged caught at slip and Roberts, having smashed Mahoney to the boundary with a trademark pull shot, gave another half tracker the same treatment, only this time to pick out Pankhurst on the boundary at deep backward square. Harpenden were briefly jubilant. Dave Allaway launched a few mighty straight hits down the ground and struck an elegant drive, only to spoon a very easy chance to Winchester at backward point. But by now, McLean who had been dropped at mid off, was well set and with Crowe applying himself diligently at the other end, the writing was on the wall as both players showed maturity and concentration and played each ball on its merits. Frazer rang the changes with his bowlers, but was himself only able to bowl one expensive over. As heads dropped, Harpenden had little to offer in the field and it was all over by 4.15 in the 29th over as, fittingly, McLean closed his account and the game with a massive six and an elegant cover driven four.
So, a third win in as many games and Henley find themselves well placed in third place, now only 18 points behind leaders Welwyn Garden City who succumbed to their first defeat of the season away at Radlett.
Scorecard:
HarpendenCC
Nick Lamb ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 7
Adam Winchester ct Tom Lambert b Tom Lambert 0
Ben Clements LBWb Tom Lambert 8
Rob Farenheim b Tom Lambert 1
Will Bates ct Todd Ferguson b Bjorn Mordt 25
Ben Frazer * ct Carl Crowe b Tom Lambert 69
Patrick Foster b Nicholas Denning 1
Gregg Cooper ct David Barnes b Carl Crowe 16
Tom Stewart + b Tom Lambert 0
Jake Pankhurst Not Out 1
Ben Mahoney b Tom Lambert 1
Extras ( 6lb 2nb ) 8
Total ( all out , 40.1 overs) 137
Bowling
Kyle Hodnett 7 1 25 0
Tom Lambert 12.1 4 34 7
Bjorn Mordt 4 0 18 1
Nicholas Denning 6 0 21 1
Carl Crowe 10 2 27 1
Euan Brock 1 0 6 0
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Jake Pankhurst b Ben Mahoney 7
David Barnes ct Rob Farenheim b Ben Mahoney 0
Jonno McLean Not Out 67
David Allaway ct Adam Winchester b Jake Pankhurst 17
Carl Crowe Not Out 36
Bjorn Mordt * Did Not Bat
Todd Ferguson + Did Not Bat
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Kyle Hodnett Did Not Bat
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( 8b 6lb ) 14
Total (3 wickets, 29 overs) 141
Bowling:
Patrick Foster 9 1 42 0
Ben Mahoney 7 1 21 2
Ben Frazer 1 0 15 0
Jake Pankhurst 5 0 20 1
Will Bates 3 0 16 0
Nick Lamb 4 0 13 0
Umpires: John Reed & Geoff Callaway
Scorers: Linda Carter&Angela Arnold
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| Henley Walk The Walk |
Date:Saturday 12th June 2010
Venue:The Walk, Potters Bar
Weather:Overcast and chilly and windy
Toss:Won by Henley who fielded first.
Result: Win for Henley, Henley 25 pts, Potters Bar 5pts.
Highlights: Tanweer Sikandar 50; Michael Roberts 76 n.o., Carl Crowe, 4-41, Bjorn Mordt 3-26
Catering:No report
Report:
On winning the toss for the second week in succession, Henley’s skipper, Mordt, decided again to take advantage of overcast cold conditions and elected to bowl. This was an action which must have been taken with some trepidation, not least as Potters Bar had the previous week scored 350-4 decl. against High Wycombe. However, the decision proved to be the correct one and the Potters Bar openers were soon separated when Milton was well caught by keeper Ferguson off Hodnett for one. Prolific run scorer Gale soon followed lbw to Lambert and at 17-2 Henley appeared to be on top. However, Sikander then proceeded to display a full array of strokes in reaching a speedy 50 before being caught by Crowe off Mordt’s second ball. The Potters Bar middle order then proceeded to bat without purpose or ambition and, apart from Van Der Matt who was eventually stumped by Ferguson off Crowe for 37, few batsmen appeared to be willing to build an innings or to know quite what to do in the circumstances. Both Crowe and Mordt bowled excellently to bring back the score to just over three an over, bowling out Potters Bar for a below par 169. Crowe and Mordt finished with the excellent figures of 4-41 and 3-26 respectively. Once again the excellent keeping of Ferguson was a highlight as he took two stumpings and two well taken catches.
It was probably not surprising that Henley wished to end the game early, as the temperature had now reached the dizzy heights of around 13 degrees with a cold northerly wind blowing across the ground. However, Barnes was soon bowled for 8 by Choudery, but Roberts and McLean put on 74 before McLean was out for 46. Both batsmen showed a full range of their batting skills with some excellent driving and pulling square of the wicket. Roberts was joined by Mordt who looked in no difficulties before unluckily falling lbw to Gale for 26. However, Roberts and Morris soon knocked off the few runs needed for Henley to end on 173-3; another excellent victory by seven wickets to give them the full 25 points available.
This was a considerable victory against a side which appeared to flatter to deceive. Indeed, Potters Bar appeared to lack ambition for much of the game. The Henley players were probably grateful as it allowed for an early departure to the Berkshire County game in Herefordshire.
Scorecard:
Potters Bar CC
Steve Gale LBWb Tom Lambert 13
Matt Milton ct Todd Ferguson b Kyle Hodnett 1
Tanweer Sikandar ct Carl Crowe b Bjorn Mordt 50
Shaftab Khalid ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 12
Nesan Jeyaratnam ct Euan Brock b Carl Crowe 5
Will van der Maat st Todd Ferguson b Carl Crowe 37
Jared Norman ct Carl Crowe b Bjorn Mordt 2
David Breeze + b Carl Crowe 18
David Rock st Todd Ferguson b Carl Crowe 17
Lenny cooper * Not Out 4
Salman Choudhry ct David Barnes b Bjorn Mordt 3
Extras ( ) 7
Total ( all out , 52.4 overs) 169
Tom Lambert 12 0 51 2
Kyle Hodnett 13 3 47 1
Carl Crowe 14 3 41 4
Bjorn Mordt 13.4 3 26 3
Michael Roberts Not Out 76
David Barnes b Salman Choudhry 8
Jonno McLean ct David Rock b Shaftab Khalid 46
Bjorn Mordt * LBW b Steve Gale 26
Todd Ferguson + Did Not Bat
James Morris Not Out 3
David Allaway Did Not Bat
Carl Crowe Did Not Bat
Kyle Hodnett Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 10
Total (3 wickets, 34.3 overs) 173
Tanweer Sikandar 11 0 64 0
Salman Choudhry 9 3 31 1
Shaftab Khalid 9 1 37 1
Nesan Jeyaratnam 4 0 28 0
Steve Gale 1.3 0 8 1
Umpires:Nick HallKulan Mills
Scorers: Linda Carter
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| All Over By Tea |
Date:Saturday 12th June 2010
Venue:The Brakspear Ground
Weather:Overcast and coolish to begin with before morphing into a nice sunny summers day.
Toss:Won by Henley who fielded first.
Result: Win for Henley, Henley 25 pts, Banbury 4pts.
Highlights: Bjorn Mordt 4 – 14 (10.1 overs and 4 maidens) + a good all round bowling performance; Jonno McLean 52
Catering:Excellent fare as ever, much appreciated by our visitors from Banbury as much as ourselves. Chicken in a garlic sauce top of the class supported by the usual attractive pasta and salad dishes + cheese board and fruit.
Report:
Bradders writes:
“Over the years, this match has always produced some excellent cricket and, with Banbury sitting second in the Premiership table, Henley had a lot to prove after a rather disappointing early start to the season. On winning the toss, skipper Mordt decided to insert Banbury to try to make use of the overcast conditions which prevailed at the time. This proved to be a wise decision, with Hodnett and Lambert restraining the Banbury openers who found it difficult to get the ball away during the first half hour, when they survived a number of unsuccessful appeals before Phillipps was caught by McLean off Hodnett with the score on 19. Haupt and Sabin also proceeded slowly against the new ball attack to take the score to 55 before Haupt was bowled by Mordt, playing round a straight ball. Banbury still found scoring difficult but at 66 – 2, and having the advantage of being able to bat for 66 overs, they seemed set for a reasonable total. However, this was not to be as Mordt and Denning struck quickly and two wickets fell with the score on 66, whilst further wickets fell at steady intervals before the innings closed on 144 all out. For Banbury, only Hawtin looked comfortable at the crease amongst the lower order batsmen, and when Ryan was run out for 15 others offered little resistance, with Mordt finishing with the excellent figures of 4-14 off 10 overs. Denning and Crowe also bowled well to take two wickets apiece. Another excellent feature of Henley’s cricket was the exemplary keeping of Todd Ferguson who took two excellent catches and always placed pressure on the batsmen when up to the stumps.
Competitive as ever, Banbury struck early with Henley opener Roberts being out for 0 to his third ball. Both Barnes and McLean scored slowly against a Banbury attack which combined both pace and spin. However, both batsmen soon proceeded to attack the bowling of Phillipps and Blanchard, who went for 41 runs in three overs. McLean was particularly severe on the bowling, whilst Barnes began to show the form of which he is capable, before being run out by a magnificent piece of fielding with point having only one stump to aim at and throwing the stumps down from around 40 yards. Their partnership of 87produced an array of fine strokes, particularly through the covers and long on. McLean continued to attack before he was out to Ryan for 52, the home straight being completed by Mordt and Crowe who hit 24 n.o. and 29 n.o. respectively.
After the match, Henley Chairman, Paul Bradbury, said that “I am pleased that the middle order has now shown some form. This was a comfortable win for Henley who thoroughly deserved their 25 points. However, the team is aware that complacency is not allowed in this competitive premier league, where every side is capable of posting high totals and beating another side. The game on Saturday 19th June is away at Potters Bar who, on Saturday last, scored 351-4 against High Wycombe! The trip up the M25 may be interesting in more ways than one”.”
So, an excellent result against the second placed site and good to see Kyle Hodnett overcoming injury and making his mark in the side. This second win of the season moved Henley up to fourth on 81 points, a point ahead of Tring and Potters Bar. Banbury dropped to third (91 points), leapfrogged by Oxford who (99 points) who inflicted resounding defeat on Harpenden. Welwyn still lead on 116 points but could only draw against Tring.
Scorecard:
Banbury CC
Lloyd Sabin LBW b Bjorn Mordt 38
Edward Phillips ct Jonno McLean b Kyle Hodnett 7
Craig Haupt b Bjorn Mordt 9
Nathan Hawkes LBW b Nicholas Denning 4
John Christopher Richard West ct Todd Ferguson b Nicholas Denning 0
Shahbaz Ali ct Bjorn Mordt b Carl Crowe 10
Ian Hawtin * + ct Todd Ferguson b Bjorn Mordt 29
Luke Ryan ro Euan Brock 15
Ashley Blanchard ct Jonno McLean b Bjorn Mordt 18
James Phillips LBW b Carl Crowe 1
Todd Guthridge Not Out 0
Extras ( 8b 2lb 3nb ) 13
Total ( all out , 49.1 overs) 144
Bowling
Tom Lambert 12 2 34 0
Kyle Hodnett 10 3 27 1
Bjorn Mordt 10.1 4 14 4
Nicholas Denning 6 0 34 2
Carl Crowe 11 1 25 2
Henley CC
Michael Roberts LBW b Todd Guthridge 0
David Barnes ro Ashley Blanchard 33
Jonno McLean ct Craig Haupt b Luke Ryan 52
Bjorn Mordt * Not Out 24
Carl Crowe Not Out 29
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Todd Ferguson + Did Not Bat
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Kyle Hodnett Did Not Bat
David Allaway Did Not Bat
Extras ( 2b 1lb 4nb ) 7
Total (3 wickets, 30.4 overs) 145
Bowling:
Todd Guthridge 11 4 36 1
Luke Ryan 13 2 44 1
James Phillips 2 0 29 0
Ashley Blanchard 1 0 12 0
Nathan Hawkes 3 0 15 0
Lloyd Sabin 0.4 0 6 0
Umpires: David Burden Peter Hinstridge
Scorers: Linda Carter Rod Clarke
|
| No win yet but a winning draw for Wycombe |
Date:Saturday 5th June 2010
Venue:The Brakspear Ground
Weather:Hot and sunny, cloudy and sultry at times
Toss:Won by High Wycombe who batted first.
Result: Match Drawn, Henley 9 pts, HW 4pts.
Highlights: Matt Eyles 94, Stewart Davison, Henley player of the day.
Catering:Another stellar weekend on the catering front, top marks to the excellent poached salmon, but everything was top draw. A Michelin star beckons.
Report:
A draw trying to chase down chasing down a substantial score by High Wycombe in twelve less overs was probably the best Henley could have hoped for in their week 4 clash last Saturday at the Brakspear Ground.
Both sides were keen to bat but it was Wycombe who won the toss and put Henley in the field on a warm, sultry and slightly hazy morning. Wycombe’s openers Matt Eyles and Nitin Sehgal set off at an alarming rate, showing little respect for the bowling of Tom Lambert and skipper Bjorn Mordt. Sehgal rather got himself out when he skied one to Steve Horne at mid on, but that did little to stem the flow of runs as Mordt shuffled his bowlers replacing Lambert with Sussex returnee Chad Keegan and then bringing Lambert back. Duncan was caught at slip of Mordt and between them Nick Denning and especially Carl Crow managed to apply the brakes. Sawyer fell just on the stroke of lunch but at 122-3, it was Wycombe’s morning.
Post lunch, Wycombe’s Eyles and Gitsham found to going harder as spinners Crowe and Jamie Morris kept the lid on things. Mordt bowled Gitsham whose workmanlike 39 would prove to be the second highest score of the day for Wycombe. Eyles persevered towards what would be his first century of the season but it was not to be as he was smartly stumped by Stewart Davison who, replacing the marrying Todd Ferguson, made an excellent all round contribution with the gloves and bat. Newell and Robbie Jones weighted in with a useful contribution as Wycombe finished with creditable 264-9, Keegan cleaning up a couple of tail enders and Crowe ending with figures of 4-76.
Henley never really looked like chasing the score down. Almost all the top order got starts and for a while it looked as though it might be the day for a bog score by Jonno McLean. But wickers fell regularly and in the end the draw owed much to some level headed and patient batting by Crowe and Davison which put on 69 for the eighth wicket. Wycombe might have scented a win in the closing stages but it was not to be as Crowe and Denning held form and saw it out.
Wycombe were happy to have stopped the losing habit as a big score by Eyles and some wickets from Sketchley, not to mention the rub of the green in winning the toss seemed to make all the difference. Henley for their part had much to thank Davison and Crowe for as the top order did not really deliver and lower down, Horne and Keegan went cheaply.
Scorecard:
High Wycombe CC:
Matt Eyles * st Stewart Davison b Carl Crowe 94
Nitin Sehgal ct Steven Horne b Bjorn Mordt 33
Alan Duncan ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 12
Paul Sawyer ct Bjorn Mordt b Carl Crowe 17
Mathew Gitsham b Bjorn Mordt 39
David Cranfield-Thompson + ct Stewart Davison b Carl Crowe 5
Robbie Jones ct Stewart Davison b Carl Crowe 23
Keith Newell Not Out 20
Christopher Sketchley LBWb Chad Keegan 10
Sohail Hussain ct James Morris b Chad Keegan 4
Peter Connell
Not Out 0
Extras ( ) 7
Total (9 wickets, 66 overs) 264
Bowling:
Tom Lambert 8 1461
Bjorn Mordt 13 1392
Chad Keegan 8 0442
Nicholas Denning 72220
Carl Crowe 21 2764
James Morris 9 2320
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Keith Newell b Paul Sawyer 17
David Barnes ct Robbie Jones b Peter Connell 11
Jonno McLean ct David Cranfield-Thompson b Christopher Sketchley 38
James Morris b Alan Duncan 18
Bjorn Mordt * ro 16
Chad Keegan ct David Cranfield-Thompson b Christopher Sketchley 5
Carl Crowe Not Out 42
Steven Horne LBWb Peter Connell 0
Stewart Davison + st David Cranfield-Thompson b Christopher Sketchley 40
Nicholas Denning Not Out 0
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 8
Total (8 wickets, 54 overs) 195
Bowling:
Paul Sawyer 8 2251
Peter Connell 133462
Alan Duncan 9 0361
Christopher Sketchley 172513
Mathew Gitsham 51120
Matt Eyles 20190
Scorers: Linda CarterChris Saunders
Umpires: Peter Tomlin & Andrew Grose
|
|
| Henley Denied The Chance At Cowley |
Date: Saturday 29th May 2010
Venue: The Rover Ground
Weather: Cloudy, chilly, breezy and occasionally drizzling then heavy shower to end the game.
Toss: Won by Henley who bowled first
Result: Match abandoned, Henley 6 pts, Oxford 6 pts.
Highlights: Stefan Van Dyk 54,Jamie Perkin 46 not out, C Crowe 3-58, N Denning 2-31
Catering:Only present for tea which was very good, especially the flapjack.
Report:
Henley’s Week 4 game away at Oxford in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League was the only game that actually got under way last Saturday as rain caused wholesale cancellation throughout the League.
No play was possible until 2pm. With the game shorted to 41/33 overs, a depleted Oxford side without skipper Harrison, Laudat and Charlesworth, lost the toss and were asked to bat. An extremely cautious approach by the opening pair pretty much wiped out Oxford’s overs advantage as just 16 runs came from the first 10 overs. After Chris Sandbach had departed in the 15th over, Oxford Blue Dan King joined former Wycombe man Stefan Van Dyk and between them, the pair began to impose themselves until a 57 run partnership ended with Nick Denning bowling King. His replacement Nick Ferraby was dropped first ball but was out next over caught by Jonno McLean at deep mid-wicket again off Denning’s bowling. Ian Crosby went first ball and Van Dyk swung and missed to make it 108-5with 11 overs to go. But Jamie Perkin and Stuart Hole displayed some impressive strokeplay to push on until some poor calling led to Hole’s run out. Meanwhile, a couple of lapses apart, some excellent fielding kept the lid on things as Oxford reached 177.
Tea was then taken as those present looked forward to a 33 over run chase. Sadly it was not to be as the heavens opened and a heavy shower brought proceedings to a close. Whether Henley would have chased down the Oxford total we shall never know, but on paper, it was readily attainable and victory on a day when everyone else did not play would have been a real bonus.
Scorecard:
Oxford CC:
Christopher Sandbach ct James Morris b Tom Lambert 23
Stefan Van Dyk b Carl Crowe 54
Dan King + b Nicholas Denning 24
Nick Ferraby ct Jonno McLean b Nicholas Denning 3
Ian Crosby * b Carl Crowe 0
Jamie Perkin Not Out 46
Stuart Hole ro 19
Jonno Evans b Carl Crowe 3
Ian Evans Not Out 1
Philip Evans Did Not Bat
Richard Gilbert Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1b 3lb ) 4
Total (7 wickets, 41 overs) 177
Bowling
Tom Lambert 13 5 55 1
Bjorn Mordt 9 2 29 0
Nicholas Denning 8 0 31 2
Carl Crowe 11 0 58 3
Henley CC
Michael Roberts Did Not Bat
David Barnes Did Not Bat
Jonno McLean Did Not Bat
Bjorn Mordt * Did Not Bat
Carl Crowe Did Not Bat
David Allaway Did Not Bat
Todd Ferguson + Did Not Bat
James Morris Did Not Bat
Steven Horne Did Not Bat
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 0
Total (0 wickets) 0
UmpiresIan Royle & Martyn Thomas
ScorersPeter Coleman & Linda Carter
|
| Radlett Raddled and Rattled |
Date: Saturday 22nd May 2010
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Very hot and sunny
Toss: Won by Radlett who bowled first.
Result: Henley won, Henley 25 pts, Radlett 4pts.
Highlights: Carl Crowe 107*, Todd Ferguson 59, Tom Lambert 6-27.
Catering:The gastronomic odyssey continues and very soon, the Michelin inspectors will be snooping around. Poached salmon, shepherd’s pie, chicken pie, some excellent roasted peppers and top notch salads made for yet another memorable lunch for which, apart from the players, Brian told 22 tickets no less. Tea was equally formidable. There are some fine wines now to accompany this quality fare and the while Rioja definitely gets the thumbs up. The bar is now up and running with pumps and a fine pint of Brakspears can be had, thanks to the chiller unit in the cellar.
Report:
A hot sunny day and a belter of a track were the perfect backdrop for an entertaining day’s cricket that saw Henley get their 2010 title challenge in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League under way, chalking up their first victory of the season against Radlett, in the end, quite easily as the visitors, perhaps short of two or three key players, wilted under the heat and remorseless pace and bounce generated by Tom Lambert who returned figures of 6 – 27.
Little of the morning session suggested that this might be the outcome as Radlett won the toss and decided to have a bowl. Radlett skipper Shane Burger took the new ball, and, together with Matt Corran, put the Henley openers Michael Roberts and Dave Barnes though a rigorous workout. In the 11th over, Burger’s efforts were rewarded with Barnes’ wicket as a delivery got full on the batsman which he could only parry to the slips. One wicket gets two they say, and Jonno McLean was soon next to go as he struck a fairly innocuous delivery from Heath Paynter rather leisurely to point where it was well taken low down by Lewis. This brought Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt to the crease and an absorbing battle developed between bat and ball as Mordt and Roberts consolidated and accumulated and the Radlett bowlers looked for breakthrough. That came when Mordt left a Paynter delivery which nipped back and bowled him. Next, Roberts having done all the hard work and looking well set went to sweep rather extravagantly just on the stroke of lunch and was out lbw, all of which meant that Radlett went into lunch with their tails up and the score on 87-4.
A post-lunch torpor seemed to envelope the game in the afternoon session and runs were extremely difficult to come by as Kabir Toor and Fakir Dungaria exerted a stranglehold on the Henley batsmen. Toor captured the wickets of Dave Allaway and Steve Horne, but Carl Crowe brought all his experience and professionalism to the fore as he grafted away and calmly accumulated, refusing to be drawn into anything rash. Now joined by Todd Ferguson, Crowe’s 50 came up in the 54th over but even then , it looked as though Henley might struggle to make 200.
It was however as though a switch had been turned on as Crowe and Ferguson suddenly let rip at the Radlett bowlers, despatching them with spectacular style and power to all parts of the ground. Ferguson in particular developed a penchant for the garden of the Little Angel, hammering the hapless and formerly miserly Toor for 3 sixes in a single Even Burger decided to try his hand at spin but no avail as he was set about by Crowe and Ferguson and smashed for 16 in a single over. Crowe’s 100 duly arrived in the 64th over as Paynter was hammered for 20 runs. Ferguson was out in the over following his demolition of Toor, but not before he had notched up 59 runs in 33 balls including four 4s and four 6s. Amidst the mayhem, Chris Ellison joined in and added a useful 19 in no time at all and by the end of the 66th over, Henley had added 125 in just 12 overs, Crowe undefeated on 107 (11 4s and 3 6s).
Faced with chasing down almost 300 runs in 54 overs was always going to be a big ask, but drained by 66 hot and sapping overs in the field and shell-shocked by the Henley batting onslaught, Radlett soon found themselves in deep trouble as Tom Lambert took them apart. Radlett had no answer to Lambert’s fiery pace and seam movement. In no time at all Radlett were 43-5 and their star batsmen back in the pavilion. By tea, Nick Denning’s sharp and well directed medium pace had claimed Dungaria and Crowe had picked up a neat caught and bowled to dismiss Patel. At tea with the score on 48-7, the end was nigh. But for Mike Crocker’s stubborn resistance, it might have come sooner. Denning claimed a second and Lambert his sixth, but skipper Mordt doubtless sensing a bowling change might yield dividends, was proved correct as he collected a catch at slip to dismiss the youngster Charles off Ellison’s second ball.
Afterwards, an exhilarated Lambert was fulsome in his praise of the wicket as having plenty of pace bounce and carry, but that is to take nothing away from his bowling. He is right back at the top of his game and puts it down to having an injured hand in the early part of the year that led to an enforced but seemingly beneficial rest. As ever, Henley’s fielding was top class and the highlight was Ellison’s reaction catch at short cover to dismiss Dungaria. All in all, an excellent game and result, thanks to three standout performances.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts LBWb Kabir Toor 34
David Barnes ct Graham Dill b Shane Burger 12
Jonno McLean ct James Lewis b Heath Paynter 1
Bjorn Mordt * b Heath Paynter 28
Carl Crowe Not Out 107
David Allaway ct Shane Burger b Kabir Toor 13
Steven Horne ct Mike Crocker b Kabir Toor 10
Todd Ferguson + b Fakir Dungaria 59
Chris Ellison ct Shane Burger b Heath Paynter 19
Nicholas Denning Not Out 0
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 8
Total (8 wickets, 66 overs) 291
Bowling:
Shane Burger 13 4 37 1
Matt Corran 10 1 37 0
Heath Paynter 13 2 84 3
James Lewis 7 2 18 0
Kabir Toor 17 1 77 3
Fakir Dungaria 6 0 31 1
Radlett CC
Andre Sharma ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 0
James Lewis ct Carl Crowe b Tom Lambert 15
Graham Dill ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 4
Shane Burger * ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 10
Kabir Toor ct Nicholas Denning b Tom Lambert 8
Fakir Dungaria ct Chris Ellison b Nicholas Denning 10
Mike Crocker Not Out 47
Sheilen Patel ct Carl Crowe b Carl Crowe 1
Matt Corran ct Carl Crowe b Nicholas Denning 2
Heath Paynter b Tom Lambert 4
Ben Charles + ct Bjorn Mordt b Chris Ellison 8
Extras ( ) 0
Total ( all out , 29.2 overs) 109
Bowling
Tom Lambert 10 2 27 6
Bjorn Mordt 5 2 19 0
Nicholas Denning 9 1 41 2
Carl Crowe 5 2 18 1
Chris Ellison 0.2 0 4 1
Umpires: John Reed & Dave Burden
Scorers: Linda Carter & Doreen Browne
|
|
| Henley Hara Kiri |
Date: Saturday 15th May 2010
Venue: Digswell Park, Welwyn Garden City
Weather: Warmer than of late, sun and broken cloud though chilly when the sun went in.
Toss: Won by WGC who bowled first.
Result: Win for WGC, WGC 25 pts, Henley 6 pts.
Highlights: Aaron Laraman (see below);
Catering: Those spectating brought their own though the catering lady kindly offered us ploughman’s lunches (which we shall remember for future reference)
Report:
Henley’s below par start to the season continued last Saturday away at Welwyn Garden City as they were soundly beaten, in the process recording their lowest score (95) since 2001 when Burnham’s W. Ahmed (subsequently a Henley player) reduced them to 49 all out.
Henley’s much vaunted batting outfit failed to fire amidst a catalogue of soft and unnecessary dismissals, generally inept batting across the board, an inability to put together partnerships, and, for some, a basic need for batting practice. Only skipper Bjorn Mordt could claim to have been unfortunate, victim of a tight lbw decision, and it was left to new signing Kyle Hodnett, who is in the team for his bowling rather than his batting to show the way with a doughty and industrious 29. That too added insult to injury, for whilst batting when he should have been sitting watching the upper and/or middle order plying their trade, he suffered a recurrence of a groin injury that had kept him out of the opening game of the season. His now expected to be out for three weeks.
Dave Allaway and Carl Crowe made it somewhat scratchily to double figures before Crowe rather leisurely spooned up a delivery from Grant to mid-on for a dolly of a catch, though it took an excellent catch low down at point by Welwyn’s skipper and all round man of the match Aaron Laraman to dismiss Allaway. It was not as though the Henley batsmen could claim that the bowling was difficult and fiery. True, the pitch had a touch of early morning nip in it and the ball swung a bit from the Monks Rise End. A greenish top it may have been, but it had none of the capriciousness associated with green and grassy wickets. In truth, there was nothing too hot to handle about the medium paced Welwyn bowlers as Mehta, a new boy this season and not a first choice bowler recorded figures of 4-44 and Laraman took 3-10 off just 10 overs that included 5 maidens.
Though Henley survived to lunch (73-8), the end came soon afterwards. It is to Henley’s credit, and Mordt’s and Tom Lambert’s in particular, that Welwyn were six wickets down by the time they attained the target, so gaining six valuable bowling points. But in truth, the result was never in doubt. Opener James was, like Mordt, the victim of a tight lbw call, the often prolific Walker went cheaply and Southgate was sharply caught by Todd Ferguson whilst Jonno McLean replicated Paul Collingwood’s brilliant catch in the ICC T20 Final to dismiss Grant at short mid-on. Hewitt seemed to want to take the game by the scruff of the neck before being bowled by Mordt and Blacktopp made a useful 20 before becoming Lambert’s second victim of the day. It was left to Laraman who showed none of the nerves sometimes associated with chasing down low scores to bludgeon Welwyn to victory with a scintillating 49 off just 25 balls that included six fours and three sixes. Laraman, particularly strong through the offside smashed Lambert for successive sixes and despatched Mordt in particular to all parts, wrapping up the game before tea by taking 15 off Nick’s Denning’s first and the last (20th) over.
In the result, a poor day by anyone’s standards. Elsewhere, Radlett bounced back from their Week 1 defeat at Oxford to condemn High Wycombe to a second successive defeat whilst Aston Rowant suffered the same fate at home in the clash of the newly promoted sides as Harpenden scored a feisty 320 and then dismissed Rowant for 166. Tring beat Potters Bar and Banbury defeated Oxford.
Scorecard:
Innings of Henley CC:
Michael Roberts ct Simon Greenall b Mehta 8
David Barnes c&bb Mehta 5
Jonno McLean ct Martin James b Aaron Laraman 1
Todd Ferguson + ct Simon Greenall b Aaron Laraman 6
Bjorn Mordt * LBWb Mehta 0
Carl Crowe ct Nicholas Walker b Grant 17
David Allaway ct Aaron Laraman b Nicholas Walker 12
Steven Horne b Grant 1
Kyle Hodnett ct Mehtab James Southgate 29
Nicholas Denning ct James Southgate b Mehta 4
Tom Lambert Not Out 4
Extras ( 5w 3nb ) 8
Total ( all out , 39.1 overs) 95
Bowling:
Aaron Laraman 10 5 10 3
J Mehta 11 4 44 4
C Grant 11 5 14 2
Nicholas Walker 6 2 22 1
Paul Barker .1 0 5 0
James Southgate 0.1 0 0 1
Innings of Welwyn Garden City CC:
Martin James LBWb Tom Lambert 5
James Hewitt b Bjorn Mordt 17
Daniel Blacktopp ct Carl Crowe b Tom Lambert 20
James Southgate ct Todd Ferguson b Bjorn Mordt 0
Aaron Laraman * Not Out 49
Nicholas Walker ct Carl Crowe b Bjorn Mordt 5
Paul Barker Not Out 0
Raymond Hodge Did Not Bat
Simon Greenall + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1lb ) 1
Total (6 wickets, 19.5 overs) 98
Bowling:
Tom Lambert 9 3 47 2
Bjorn Mordt 9 2 35 3
Carl Crowe 1 1 0 10
Nicholas Denning 0.5 0 15 0
Umpires: Dave Tysom, Murray Carlson
Scorers: Richard Hill, Linda Carter
|
| Henley Come Up Short |
Date: Saturday 8th May 2010
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Freezing cold and bleak.
Toss: Won by Henley who bowled first.
Result: Match drawn, Henley 10 pts, Tring 12pts.
Highlights: Tom Brooks 65* , Tom Lambert 4-53 , Bjorn Mordt 51 , Chris Ellison 49
Catering: A new pavilion and a new era as Alex Letts takes over at the culinary helm. Our dear retired Rita was always going to be a hard act to follow, but Alex has wasted no time in making her mark and setting her own very high standards in culinary excellence. An excellent lasagne and vegetarian version, a vegetable bake and excellent salads and the outstanding lemon chicken dish made for a memorable lunch. Tea was magnificent, a wide range of fillings and breads and some very nice cakes washed down with a top cuppa. All in all, outstanding!
Report:
Henley’s 2010 campaign in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League got off to a frustrating and ultimately disappointing start as they failed to chase down a readily attainable total and had to settle for a draw that really ought to have been a victory.
Given the weather forecast, it was something of miracle that the game took place and was completed, but, the odd shower apart, the rain just about held off, albeit that those watching froze to death under leaden clouds and against a biting northerly wind.
Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt won the toss for a change and inserted Tring. Once again an excellent track at this time of year had the ball nipping about off the seam and Tom Lambert in particular had both openers hopping about and squared up. It was not long before Hopwood nicked one back to Todd Ferguson. Hopwood’s replacement was Tring skipper Keith Dutch whose sojourn at the crease was short-lived when he was brilliantly caught by Michael Roberts at point off Lambert to make it 37-2. A period of consolidation followed as Michael Payne and Will Jones worked the ball around, striking some crisp boundaries. Nick Denning, replacing Mordt from the Road End bowled Jones as he tried to whip one though mid-wicket and then accounted for Kyle Nipper. At lunch with Tring on 91-4 of 33 overs, Henley had just about had the better of the morning.
Lambert returned after lunch and trapped Cherry lbw and when Payne somewhat unthinkingly slapped at a Mordt long-hop which David Barnes snapped up at point, Tring looked vulnerable on 124-6. Tring however had veteran Paul Atkins and Tom Brooks to thank as they put on 83 for the next wicket. Mordt and Carl Crowe toiled away to the end, but both batsmen settled in and looked increasingly comfortable against unchanged bowling. Brooks rode his luck as he was dropped at long off by Crowe only then to dump a Mordt delivery into the allotments and follow it up with a towering six into the garden of the Little Angel. Crowe eventually trapped Atkins lbw and later had Orton caught in the deep by Roberts whilst Wynd was Lambert’s fourth victim, caught Ferguson, whose keeping throughout was masterly. But Brooks was undefeated and his 65 runs were to prove extremely valuable.
A couple of missed chances apart, Mordt was happy with the performance with the ball and in the field, fairly observing that one would take 219 of 66 overs with 54 overs to get them any day. As it turned out, the skipper’s realistic optimism was to prove misplaced as Henley fell 11 runs short of victory.
It all started quite well. Although Roberts was an early victim to a good ball by the veteran Stanway, both Barnes and Jonno Maclean looked both positive and assured only for both of them to perish rather tamely as Payne pulled off a stunning one-handed catch at mid-on to dismiss Barnes and McLean went much the same way courtesy of Hopwood. Meanwhile, player-coach Chris Ellison was showing the way with an excellent innings of discernment and aggression that included four fours and two sixes. Once joined by Mordt, who was not long in catching up Ellison, Henley appeared to be cruising towards victory. When Ellision was sharply stumped on 49, Henley needed 58 runs off 84 balls with plenty of batting to come.
A loss of momentum following the departure of Ellison was compounded when Mordt, perhaps sensing the need to get back on top and eyeing up Remenham Lane, was caught at deep mid wicket. What followed was hard to comprehend. The wily Dutch, whose first twelve overs had gone for 63, shut up shop, his next 7 overs going for just 17. Stanway returning at the Road End, used all his experience to bowl well at the death and, of course, the fielders, well marshalled by their skipper, ringed the boundary. But all that said, Dave Allaway, Crowe and Steve Horne all found connecting with the ball, let alone scoring, very difficult. Most balls that were hit invariably sped to a fielder in the deep only to be sharply returned for single when a nudge or nurdle into no man’s land might have yielded two and forced a change in the field. Henley crawled towards the target but as the number of available balls diminished, Crowe perished trying a rather desperate reverse sweep and Horne was stumped by Stanway diverting the ball onto the stumps. Ferguson arrived with no time to do anything and Henley missed out on what really ought have been a regulation victory.
So not the start that Henley would have wanted by any means. Elsewhere it appears that the weather played more of a part, although only one game, that between newly promoted Harpenden and Banbury was actually abandoned. High Wycombe went down rather tamely at home to Welwyn Garden City, Oxford saw off Radlett in a rain shorted game, and Potters Bar defeated newly promoted Aston Rowant by just two wickets, Rowant making quite a fight back after being dismissed for 192, but then running Bar close.
Scorecard:
Innings of Tring Park CC:
William Jones b Nicholas Denning 41
Richard Hopwood b Tom Lambert 5
Keith Dutch * ct Michael Roberts b Tom Lambert 12
Michael Payne ct David Barnes b Bjorn Mordt 34
Kyle Nipper b Nicholas Denning 4
Sam Cherry LBW b Tom Lambert 19
Paul Atkins LBW b Carl Crowe 29
Thomas Brooks Not Out 65
Andrew Wynd + ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 1
Paul Orton ct Michael Roberts b Carl Crowe 5
Simon Stanway Not Out 0
Extras ( 2b 2lb ) 4
Total (9 wickets, 66 overs) 219
Bowling:
Tom Lambert 21 4 53 4
Bjorn Mordt 19 1 70 1
Carl Crowe 19 4 63 2
Nicholas Denning 7 2 29 2
Innings of Henley CC:
Michael Roberts b Simon Stanway 5
David Barnes ct Michael Payne b Thomas Brooks 27
Jonno McLean ct Richard Hopwood b Kyle Nipper 29
Chris Ellison st Andrew Wynd b Simon Stanway 49
Bjorn Mordt * ct Thomas Brooks b Keith Dutch 51
Carl Crowe LBW b Keith Dutch 18
David Allaway Not Out 11
Steven Horne ro Simon Stanway 2
Todd Ferguson + Not Out 1
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( 8b 4lb 2w 2nb ) 16
Total (7 wickets, 54 overs) 209
Umpires: Kevin Beaumont & Martin Thomas
Scorers: LindaCarter & The Jugster
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| Roberts Leads The Chase As Henley Tune Up For Tring |
A new season beckons and to go with it, there is a stunning all-new pavilion to grace the Brakspear Ground, itself looking a picture, as Henley First XI warmed up for the 2010 season with an excellent win in a very competitive friendly against Avorians from the Surrey Premier League.
Avorians, skippered by Berkshire stalwart Steve Naylor, lost the toss and were put into bat on a morning that alternated between chilly cloud and warm sunshine. An excellent track for this time of year offered some grip and seam movement, but the runs flowed as the Avorian openers got off to a good start. Nick Denning replaced Tom Lambert from the Road End and drew first blood in his first over as Crawford was well caught by Dave Allaway just inside the invitingly short Remenham Lane boundary. But the Avorians' tally mounted steadily as their new signing Chad Harper from Adelaide caught the eye with a snappy 54, and Naylor chalked up a characteristically bullish 39 before being well caught by Steve Horne at long-on again off Denning’s effective and accurate medium pace which was to claim 4 of the 8 wickets. With useful contributions from Pritchard and Hinds, Avorians finally posted 267 in their allotted 50 overs which was a more than respectable target and meant that Henley had their work cut out.
In the event, Henley chased it down with an over to spare. Architect of the victory was undoubtedly opener Michael Roberts with an unbeaten 121 off just 119 balls. Roberts led the line with a well paced and excellently judged innings that included fifteen fours and two sixes not to mention a full array of shots that now includes a rather cheeky reverse sweep. He was amply and ably supported by fellow opener Dave Barnes. Jonno McLean and skipper Bjorn Mordt both made starts but were unable to capitalise, whilst Dave Allaway reminded those present all too briefly of his trademark hard hitting style before Roberts was joined by Horne who capped an excellent all round performance with a very mature 34, which was just what was needed at a point in the game when a couple of quick wickets might have handed the advantage to the visitors. Horne’s efforts in tandem with Roberts did much to close out the game but when he was adjudged lbw, it was left to the experienced Carl Crowe, Berkshire’s 2010 professional, to see off the game before the rain arrived.
Overall then, an excellent workout before the real business of the season starts this Saturday 8th May at 11 am against Tring Park CC at the Brakspear Ground in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier Cricket League. Last season, Tring finished a creditable fourth in Division 1 and although Henley won quite easily at Tring, honours were even at home at the back end of last season. Tring are captained this year by the experienced former Middlesex and Somerset player Keith Dutch who has been at Tring for a couple of years. Dutch is a quality spinner who, if not taken early, can also inflict damage with the bat. Kyle Nipper a left-handed bat and left-arm slow bowler has joined from Kwazulu Natal Inland as Tring’s South African overseas player, replacing Morne Van Vuuren, whilst Sam Cherry , formerly of Dunstable Town, joins brother Luke. Michael Payne, the Middlesex Academy player who has shown much promise and prowess at Slough and Bradfield College in recent years, is another recruit to reinforce Will Jones and Ricky Hopwood who can be very effective openers on their day. The evergreen Simon Stanway returns for yet another season at the top level, though George Harper is away at university and will miss the game and there is a question mark over the fitness of quick bowler Luke Cherry who picked up an injury last Saturday.
This season, quick bowler Kyle Hodnett has joined Henley having spent last season with Nottinghamshire and 2006 - 8 as a MCC Young Cricketer. Henley are unlikely to see much of Chad Keegan this summer as he is contracted to play one-day cricket with Sussex, but welcome back the outstanding Todd Ferguson, Henley’s South Australian keeper for three seasons between 2006 and 2008. Todd, who is perhaps the only keeper not to wear pads, returns to live and get married in Henley later this summer. Finally, Peter Dean, a hard hitting Australian born left hander who has lived and played his cricket in England over the last decade or so and lives in Twyford has joined the club from Blackheath. Otherwise the line up this year is very much along the same lines as 2009.
The aim this year is simple, to retain the League title and the 20/20 championship and to make even more progress in the National events. Whilst luck and the weather will play their part, Henley will need retain the focus, quality and determination that characterised their 2009 campaign. The usual suspects - High Wycombe and Banbury - are sure to mount a strong challenge, Oxford are sure to want to make amends for, by their standards, a rather lacklustre 2009, the Herts trio of Radlett, Potters Bar and Welwyn Garden City are all ambitious clubs bristling with quality players whilst newly promoted Harpenden and Aston Rowant are unknown quantities but were the class of their fields in Division 2 East and West respectively.
This Sunday (9th May), Henley start their campaign in the ECB National Knock Out at home (1pm start) to Harrow of Division 2 of the Middlesex County Cricket League. Since there is no clashing Berkshire fixture, Henley will be able to field a strong line up.
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| Henley Hit Double Top!!!!!!! |
Date: Saturday 5th September 2009
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Hot sunny, albeit breezy to begin with. Turning chilly and overcast in the afternoon but turning nice later
Toss: Won by Henley who fielded first
Result: Win for Henley by 2 wickets
Highlights: High Wycombe: N. Robinson 53, C. Sketchley 4-45; Henley: C. Crowe 4-45, C Keegan 3-38, M. Roberts 66, D Allaway 75no. Roberts’ towering 6 and Allers’ towering 6s. Henley’s excellent fielding.
Catering:Last Lunch of the 2009 Campaign - Another alfresco lunch, well attended by the membership featuring vegetarian pasta, a range of pies and pasties, three types of potato (salad, boiled and roast) and all the usual salads and cold meats. As ever Rita pulled out all the stops!!! A stellar tea followed later on by The Last Supper – curry or chilli con carne to choose from followed by a breathtaking array of desserts all washed down with much celebratory sherbet.
Report:
During Ronald Regan’s presidency, Bruce Springstein released his Born In the USA album. Our Ronnie, never one for detail (albeit an intellectual giant compared with a more recent Republican President one could mention), thought that the eponymous title song of the album sounded just the sort of song to bolster his 1984 campaign for re-election until it was pointed out to him that in fact the lyrics were more of a protest song and express the disaffection felt by blue collar America following the 70s in general and the Vietnam War in particular. In a similar vein, Glory Days from the same album does not extol sporting glory, but is more of a wistful look back to lost youth. So it is that Glory Days is not really a song to mark a celebration of sporting achievement, though it might have made a change to repeated raucous renditions of “Campiones”. All that said, Saturday was indeed all that - a real Glory Day and unstinting congratulations are due to the First Team and all who have served it this season and all those who have helped make 2009 a season to remember.
Henley are Division 1 Home Counties Premier League Champions! Having led Division1 throughout the entire season, it was entirely fitting that they should close out the Championship with a hard earned but satisfying victory in front of a jubilant home crowd against the outgoing champions High Wycombe. Banbury’s home defeat to Tring Park meant that Henley finished their 2009 campaign an emphatic 35 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
For once, Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt won the toss and decided to have a bowl in bright and sunny conditions. Mordt has taken to opening the bowling and drew first blood in his opening over with the wicket of the hitherto prolific Matt Eyles. Nick Robinson joined Sehgal and for a while, the wisdom of bowling first was put in doubt as both batsmen accumulated rapidly. Chad Keegan replaced Tom Lambert but this did little to reduce the rate of scoring until first Keegan floored Sehgal’s middle stump and, second, Carl Crowe replaced his skipper and applied the brakes to the run rate. Lambert returned just after Robinson had claimed his 50 but the latter’s good work came to an end with a rather injudicious swipe as Lambert bowled him. At lunch on 110-3, it was a case of honours even and quite a bit of work to be done to make the Championship a certainty.
Crowe’s good work at slowing the run rate created pressure and first to crack after lunch was the experienced Sawyer who brought an early end to a promising innings as he swatted one to wide mid-off where Mordt brought off a rather improbable but nevertheless spectacular diving catch. David Cranfield-Thompson soon followed as yet another batsman who rather got himself out with a wild waft at a Crowe delivery. Wycombe’s player-coach Keith Newell was Keegan’s next victim, beaten for pace as Keegan flattened Newell’s off stump and when Crowe deceived Downing with a slower, held back delivery, Wycombe were rocking at 171-7. It was not long before resistance collapsed completely. Davison took a fine stumping to dismiss Bird, Gitsham’s sturdy resistance finally ended when he was well caught by Keegan at long-off and Keegan bowled Ireland international Connell to leave Sketchley stranded. 203 all out owed much to Crowe (4-45) who had slowed Wycombe down and taken crucial wickets. Once again, as ever throughout this season, Henley’s fielding was nothing short of top notch. All this left Henley with a run chase that was well within their abilities and with 55 overs to do it in.
And so it proved, albeit not without the odd wobble. Having gained 5 bowling points, Henley now needed only a further 2 points to secure the championship, all of which meant that the magic target was 150 runs. Openers Michael Roberts and Dave Barnes got things off to a steady start and though Connell posed a few questions with a short fiery spell, neither looked unduly troubled until, Barnes lofted the deceptive Sawyer to Gitsham mid-on. A single magpie hopped onto the outfield just as Jonno McLean took strike only to be adjudged lbw second ball. An unhappy McLean (and the magpie) departed.
Roberts was now joined by Mordt who was all intent and aggression and plainly in a mood to blast Henley to the Championship. It was not to be however as, with four boundaries to his credit already, he went to clatter Gitsham and only managed top edge to the keeper who backpedalled to take a simple catch. Crowe soon followed bowled round his legs by Gitsham.
By now the warm sunshine of the morning had been replaced a by chilly overcast conditions with even the odd hint of rain and the sombre conditions were matched by an increase in tension amongst the spectators. But cometh the hour, cometh the man in the form of Dave Allaway.
Roberts and Allaway motored on and as the runs mounted the skies lightened only for an excellent inning s by Roberts (top scoring batsman for Henley this year with 626 League runs to his credit) to come to an end as a rather frustrated Sketchley finally got his man. Henley were now 140-5, just 10 runs away from the Championship. Jamie Morris’ innings may have been short-lived but he it was who brought up the magical figure with a well struck square drive.
This should have been the perfect platform for a display of Keegan fireworks, but he smashed his second ball to deep backward square where Sehgal did well to hold on to an excellent catch just within the rope. At this point Dave Allaway clearly decided that enough was enough and that it was time to close out the game. Smashing Sawyer for a 6 and 4 in the same over, more was to come as Allaway hammered the hapless Gitsham for 22 (6,4,6,2,4) in the 48th over. Ewan Brock came and went and the loss of Allaway at that point might have turned the game in Wycombe’s favour. But Allaway was not to be moved and now backed up by Lambert, it was fitting that he should seal the win with a cover driven 4 to leave him on 75 not out off just 57 balls.
Jubilant celebrations ensued and went on well into the night, but a final word and all credit to Wycombe who came into the game with nothing but pride to play for and who made a real contest of it, fought right to the end and, but for Allaway, might just have nicked it.
Henley have thus achieved notable and unique Double in winning not only the coveted 2009 Championship but also the new for 2009 HCPCL 20/20 competition and there is more to follow if Henley can overcome Reigate this weekend and go into the last 4 of the Cockspur Cup 20/20 Competition at Derby on 27th September 2009. All in all a fantastic season – never headed in the League and dominant in both HCPCL competitions.
Scorecard:
High Wycombe CC
Matt Eyles * LBWb Bjorn Mordt 1
Nitin Sehgal b Chad Keegan 40
Nick Robinson + b Tom Lambert 53
Paul Sawyer ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 35
Mathew Gitsham ct Chad Keegan b Carl Crowe 42
David Cranfield-Thompson b Carl Crowe 0
Keith Newell b Chad Keegan 7
Andrew Downing b Carl Crowe 3
Simon Bird st Stewart Davison b Carl Crowe 6
Peter Connell b Chad Keegan 7
Christopher Sketchley Not Out 1
Extras ( ) 8
Total ( all out , 64.3 overs) 203
Bowling
Tom Lambert 15 3 66 2
Bjorn Mordt 11 2 38 1
Chad Keegan 14.3 5 38 3
Carl Crowe 21 3 45 4
James Morris 3 0 9 0
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Nick Robinson b Christopher Sketchley 66
David Barnes ct David Cranfield-Thompson b Paul Sawyer 13
Jonno McLean ct Nick Robinson b Paul Sawyer 0
Bjorn Mordt * ct Matt Eyles b Mathew Gitsham 17
Carl Crowe b Mathew Gitsham 5
David Allaway Not Out 75
James Morris ct Nick Robinson b Christopher Sketchley 6
Chad Keegan ct Nitin Sehgal b Christopher Sketchley 0
Euan Brock b Christopher Sketchley 1
Tom Lambert Not Out 3
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 18
Total (8 wickets, 50.4 overs) 204
Bowling:
Peter Connell 6 2 11 0
Paul Sawyer 14 3 44 2
Simon Bird 5 0 29 0
Mathew Gitsham 11 0 64 2
Christopher Sketchley 14.4 1 45 4
Umpires: Pete Tomlin & Cliff Pocock
Scorers: Linda Carter & A Piasko
Photographer: AngelaDavison
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| Title Still In Balance As Henley Secure Draw |
In their penultimate league game of the season, it was obvious that Henley would wish to win the toss and to bat second. However, skipper Mordt’s ill luck with the toss continued and losing once again, Tring Park had no hesitation in inserting their visitors.
The opening Henley partnership of Barnes and Roberts failed for once, with Roberts making an early departure to the pavilion for nought LBW to Cherry. Barnes and McLean proceeded sedately to take the score 49 before McLean also fell LBW to the consistent Stanway for 21. Shortly after, Barnes also fell to Stanway for a well compiled 30. A good partnership between Mordt and Crowe then followed, the firmer scoring a well compiled 60 and Crowe with 43. Morris also continued the good work before being bowled by Dutch for 36, having looked as though he was well on his way to a good 50 or more. Thereafter, the innings fell away with only Keegan showing any sign of consistency with 29 runs, whilst Allaway and Brock fell for nought and Davison for 3. The last four wickets fell for 41 runs, leaving Lambert n.o. on one. The latter collapse was largely due to some poor batting and some consistent accurate bowling by Stanway and Dutch, the former Middlesex all-rounder. The former finished with figures of 3-51 whilst Dutch finished with 4-83 off 22 overs. The end result was that Henley and their supporters all felt that the side had fallen some 30 runs or so short of what was required in the circumstances.
The Tring reply initially confirmed Henley’s worse fears as the openers Jones and Hopwood went off like a train scoring quickly and consistently all round the wicket. Both opening bowlers, Mordt and Lambert went for early runs, the first wicket not falling until just before tea with the score on 99. Soon thereafter, Hopwood fell to Crowe for 41 with the score on 112. The Tring batting continued to be consistent for a short period of time. Thereafter, wickets began to fall regularly on 160, 169, 171 and 190. In particular, Crowe and Keegan bowled well, the former getting the creditable figures of 5-88 off 21 overs. During this lengthy spell he bowled a consistent line and length and managed to contain the Tring batsmen who began to panic a little before the end, eventually finishing 10 runs short of the required total for a win with seven wickets down. Thus, Henley, by dint of good bowling and captaincy, grabbed a very creditable draw from what was seemingly a difficult situation early in the Tring innings.
The League situation is no such that Henley require a another seven points to win the Premiership Championship in Saturday’s game v. High Wycombe. In short, the final table will go down to the wire, with the game on Saturday being the most important of the season for the Henley side. All members of the team are well focused and know what has to be done, their wins in the Cockspur 20/20 Championship Regional Finals on Sunday, being a further boost to the existing high morale in the side
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Date: Saturday 22nd August 2009
Venue: The Brakespear Ground
Weather: Sunny and pleasantly hot
Toss: Won by Henley who decided to bowl
Result: Win for Henley by 8 wickets
Highlights: Laraman 54;Mordt 3-42 Mordt 55*; McLean 59*
Knowing that this was a vital game to ensure that Henley remained in the Premiership championship hunt, it was essential for a good win to boost morale in the team and to recoup some of the lost points of recent games. For once, skipper Mordt won the toss and immediately elected to put Welwyn into bat. Both Lambert and Mordt bowled well and at 32-3, Welwyn appeared to be in early trouble. In fact, only 41 runs came off the first 16 overs with Mordt bowling his first eight overs for only 11 runs and claiming one wicket. The arrival of Southgate and ex-Somerset player Laraman, put Welwyn in a much stronger position before Mordt struck again to claim the wickets of both batsmen for the respective scores of 39 and 54 runs. From then on, with the exception of Walker who ended the innings on 34 n.o., the Welwyn batting lacked purpose and wickets fell at regular intervals so that the score proceeded from 139-4 to 170 for 9, the last Welwyn batsman unable to take the field owing to an injury received in the pre-match warm up. All of the Henley bowlers bowled tidily, with Mordt finishing with the highly respectable figures of 3-42 off 19 overs, the other wickets being shared between by Lambert, Keegan, Crowe and Morris.
In a similar vein to Welwyn, Henley started their reply in a slow and purposeful manner, with only 34 runs coming off the first 12 overs and Roberts back in the pavilion for eight runs. However, Barnes and McLean continued more purposely, before the former was run out for 47. From then on, McLean and Mordt proceeded to pulverise the Welwyn attack with a barrage of fours and sixes. The Welwyn fielding lacked purpose and was, at times, shoddy as heads went down and the opposition’s interest in the game appeared to lapse. Although they had made a good start, Welwyn appeared to realise that they had insufficient runs to play with to cause Henley any difficulties in their response. The last 12 overs yielded 107 runs with the not out batsmen McLean and Mordt hitting 18 fours and three sixes. Both batted superbly, with McLean driving straight for many of his runs and Mordt being particularly severe on the short ball with square cuts which made regular trips to the boundary. Indeed, the latter pace of the game was such that all was over just before 5.00 pm and Henley were grateful for the 25 points they got for the win to remain still in pole position in the Premiership.
After the game, Henley Chairman, Paul Bradbury said“it is still very likely that the title will go to the last game of the season when we play High Wycombe at home. They are currently lying second and have risen in the table dramatically in recent weeks. Nothing can be taken for granted and all players will have to remain completely focused on the task in hand. The support of our spectators has played a big part in this season’s success so far. I hope that this continues to the end. We have won the Ashes so now let us see Henley win the Premiership”.
Welwyn Garden City CC
Martin James * b Tom Lambert 1
James Hewitt b Bjorn Mordt 12
Gavin Baker LBW b Tom Lambert 0
James Southgate LBW b Bjorn Mordt 39
Aaron Laraman b Bjorn Mordt 54
Nicholas Walker + Not Out 34
Simon White ct Bjorn Mordt b Chad Keegan 0
Tom Small ct Euan Brock b James Morris 7
Raymond Hodge b Carl Crowe 0
Liam Mitchell ct Bjorn Mordt b Chad Keegan 1
Simon Bridgewater Absent
Extras ( 2b 9lb 5w 6nb ) 22
Total (9 wickets, 54 overs) 170
Fall Of Wickets
9-1 Martin James (James Hewitt*); 9-2 Gavin Baker (James Hewitt*);
32-3 James Hewitt (James Southgate*); 114-4 James Southgate (Aaron Laraman*);
139-5 Aaron Laraman (Nicholas Walker*); 139-6 Simon White (Nicholas Walker*); 159-7 Tom Small (Nicholas Walker*); 159-8 Raymond Hodge (Nicholas Walker*);
170-9 Liam Mitchell (Nicholas Walker*); -10 ;
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Tom Lambert 8 2 30 2
Bjorn Mordt 19 9 42 3
Chad Keegan 15.3 4 61 2
Carl Crowe 7 1 15 1
James Morris 4 0 11 1
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Liam Mitchell b James Southgate 8
David Barnes ro Tom Small 47
Jonno McLean Not Out 59
Bjorn Mordt * Not Out 55
Carl Crowe Did Not Bat
David Allaway Did Not Bat
James Morris Did Not Bat
Chad Keegan Did Not Bat
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( 2b 1w 1nb ) 4
Total (2 wickets, 36 overs) 173
Fall Of Wickets
33-1 Michael Roberts (David Barnes*); 66-2 David Barnes (Jonno McLean*);
Bowling
Aaron Laraman 6 2 8 0
Gavin Baker 7 3 31 0
James Southgate 12.5 2 51 1
Liam Mitchell 10 1 81 0
Umpires: John Reed & John Attridge
Scorers: Linda Carter & K Hill
Photographer: Angela Davison
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| Heney Narrowly Miss Out On Victory At Slough |
Date: Saturday 15th August 2009
Venue: Upton Court Road Slough
Toss: Won by Slough who fielded first
Result: Match Drawn
Weather: Agreeable
Report:
Henley’s 15th league game of the season was always going to be a difficult one despite Slough ’s lowly position in the league table. Having achieved 11 draws in the season, it is obvious that Slough are a difficult side to dismiss, though unlikely to put themselves in winning positions, particularly if the reliable Bobby Sher fails with the bat.
On this occasion Slough won the toss and inserted Henley . Henley ’s skipper, Bjorn Mordt, must now be wondering if he will ever win a toss again this season having lost the toss for 13 of the 15 league matches played. He clearly needs a better rabbit foot than the one he has at present. Henley started well, with Roberts, who is in a particularly rich vein of form, dominating the crease and being particularly severe on the short ball. When Barnes was dismissed, Roberts was joined by McLean and the two of them put on almost 70 for the 2nd wicket before Roberts fell to the bowling of Sher for a classy 59. McLean continued on his merry way and, with the dismissal of Mordt, he was joined by Crowe. The dismissal did little to stem the flow of runs as McLean gained in confidence, as did Crowe in the latter stages of his innings. McLean , in particular, throughout his innings executed some high quality drives on both the off and on sides of the field. When Crowe was dismissed, Allaway scored a quick fire 18 off 8 balls so that Henley achieved the large total of 301 for 5 declared, with McLean not out on 119.
Slough’s response started poorly with Khan going for nought to the bowling of Mordt and Payne going shortly thereafter to the same bowler. At 32-3, Slough ’s ability to win the game appeared to be in doubt. However, Qureshi and Aziz put on 101 for the third wicket before Aziz fell for 64. At 146-3, Slough looked well placed to at least make a positive response to Henley ’s large total. However, wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter, with Crowe and Brock making regular in roads into the middle and lower order batting, in spite of the continued presence of Qureshi who ended the day on 91 not out with Slough at 225-9. On this occasion, the normally reliable Sher did little with bat or ball, so that with the exception of Qureshi the Slough middle and late order offered little. Throughout, it was clear that Slough had little chance of winning the game and, true to form, ended up with another draw, which did nothing to lessen their relegation chances.
This was a game which Henley deserved to win and were clearly in the driving seat throughout the match, playing more positive cricket, in spite of the absence of two of their opening bowlers. Crowe finished the match with the excellent figures of 5-58 off 20 overs and Brock with 3 catches, helped to stop any potential flow of runs. Henley’s lead in the League table was cut slightly and the championship title may yet go to the wire during the last game of the season against High Wycombe at Henley.
So Week 15 saw Henley maintain their lead the top but it is now down from 30 to 26 points after the draw at Slough where they just could not get the last wicket that would have sealed the win. Ironically Henley actually extended their lead over Banbury who, similarly, could not close out their game at Oxford. However, High Wycombe comprehensively beat Radlett at London Road to take over second place. The battle amongst the chasing pack may yet play into Henley’s hands. Tring Park lost ground losing to Potters Bar and Welwyn beat Farnham Royal at Digwells Park. Royal are now 53 points adrift of eighth placed Oxford and another adverse result next week will probably condemn them to relegation.
Scorecard:
Henley CC:
Michael Roberts b Zaheer Sher 59
David Barnes LBW b I Nawaz 12
Jonno McLean Not Out 119
Bjorn Mordt* ct Michael Payne b I Nawaz 14
Carl Crowe ct Shazad Rana b I Nawaz 54
David Allaway st Shazad Rana b I Nawaz 18
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
William Allum Did Not Bat
Tim Chamberlain Did Not Bat
Extras ( 8b 2lb 13w 2nb ) 25
Total (5 wickets dec, 63 overs) 301
Fall Of Wickets
35-1 David Barnes; 103-2 Michael Roberts; 155-3 Bjorn Mordt; 271-4 Carl Crowe; 301-5 David Allaway; -6 ; -7 ; -8 ;
-9 ; -10 ;
Bowling:
Faisal Ali 4 1 25 0
I Nawaz 19 3 84 4
ZASHAN ARSHAD 12 0 64 0
Zaheer Sher 20 1 81 1
RAHEEL ZAMAN 2 0 14 0
Perveiz Aziz 6 0 23 0
Slough CC
Fahum Quereshi Not Out 91
Shaan Khan ct Stewart Davison b Bjorn Mordt 0
Michael Payne LBW b Bjorn Mordt 14
Perveiz Aziz ct Jonno McLean b Carl Crowe 64
Zaheer Sher * b Carl Crowe 3
ZASHAN ARSHAD ct Euan Brock b Carl Crowe 22
GHEYAS KHAN ro Euan Brock 1
Shazad Rana + ct Bjorn Mordt b Euan Brock 0
I Nawaz ct Euan Brock b Carl Crowe 7
RAHEEL ZAMAN ct Euan Brock b Carl Crowe 17
Faisal Ali Not Out 1
Extras ( 1lb 2w 2nb ) 5
Total (9 wickets, 57 overs) 225
Fall Of Wickets
8-1 Shaan Khan; 33-2 Michael Payne; 134-3 Perveiz Aziz; 146-4 Zaheer Sher;
178-5 ZASHAN ARSHAD; 182-6 GHEYAS KHAN; 184-7 Shazad Rana; 195-8 I Nawaz; 220-9 RAHEEL ZAMAN; -10 ;
Bowling:
Tom Lambert 7 1 31 0
Bjorn Mordt 17 3 66 2
Tim Chamberlain 6 0 400
Carl Crowe 20 3 58 5
Euan Brock 7 0 29 1
Umpires: Martin Thomas & F Royle
Scorers: Elroy Hull & L. Carter
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| The Banbury Late Late Show |
Date: Saturday 15thAugust 2009
Venue: The Brakspear Ground, Henley
Weather: Hot and sunny and sultry and close in the morning
Toss: Won by Banbury who bowled first
Result: Win for Banbury by 2 wickets!!!
Highlights: J.McLean 69, C.Keegan 63, A.Bullick 5-68, I.Tew 58, A.Bullick 59 n.o.
Catering: Yet again, a stellar chicken and ham pie with all the trimmings and a sumptuous tea..... which was just as well for what followed.
Report:
In a match which will remain long in the memory for its remarkable finish, Henley managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of a comfortable winning draw as Banbury claimed victory off the last ball of the game in the top of the table clash in Week 14 in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League.
For once, the weather meant that these two teams would actually complete a game as Henley again lost the toss and were asked to bat in humid, seaming conditions, the outfield lush from the week’s rain. Ed Smith was replaced after only two overs by Blanchard and the contest between the Henley openers Michael Roberts and Dave Barnes and the Banbury attack was well matched until the 11th over when New Zealander Ant Bullick claimed Roberts lbw as his first victim of the day. Barnes followed soon after, out the same way, and when skipper Bjorn Mordt nicked a pretty innocuous ball from Blanchard through to the keeper, Henley suddenly found themselves at 61-3. By lunch, the situation had worsened with Crowe out caught for two and Dave Allaway ajudged lbw off a ball that looked to be going over the top.
At 75-5, recovery and consolidation were the orders of the day. Jonno McLean who had survived an uncomfortable start to his innings was joined by Jamie Morris. Scoring was not easy against a defensive field and canny bowling by Shirazi and Phillips. Most runs were run singles and the odd two until Morris was stumped. This brought Chad Keegan to the crease. In an innings that included 5 sixes and 4 fours and some very clean striking of a cricket ball, Keegan also grafted as both he and McLean ran innumerable singles against a field which in the end became as defensive as it is possible to be with no less than 9 fielders evenly placed around the boundary. Mclean was eventually out in the 61st over, brilliantly caught behind low down to the keeper’s right after a long and difficult innings in which he showed immense patience and durability. Between them, Morris, Mclean and Keegan had restored the situation, shored up the innings and given the bowlers something to work with.
McLean’s departure provoked a mini collapse as Bullick trapped Ewan Brock lbw and then yorked Stewart Davison. But Keegan was still there, defiant almost to the end, smashing the bowlers for six until he was caught sweeping to deep square leg with only 3 balls of Henley’s 66 overs remaining.
Banbury’s response was curious in as much as they never really looked like going all out to chase down the win. At tea, after 20 overs, they were 40-2 after Mordt had trapped Smith lbw and Haupt was caught behind off what he (Haupt) described as an outstanding Lambert delivery. West and Shirazi were making haste slowly as Henley once again fielded brilliantly. Soon after tea, a superb pick up and return by Morris in the point region led to Shirazi being run out and when Shabhaz Ali went for a duck, and Banbury were 49-4, Henley might have fancied their chances. But Ian Tew, who survived an extremely compelling shout for lbw off only his second ball now joined Richard West and began to make some headway until Mordt brought himself back on and, off a first ball longhop, had West caught at backward point by Barnes so ending a useful 62 run partnership. This brought Bullick, already with five wickets to his credit, to the crease. It turns out he can bat a bit too. Whilst Bullick played himself in, Tew, his eye well in, continued to punish the Henley bowlers until he was stumped off Mordt 46th over for a very useful 58. At 156-6 with 8 overs remaining, a Banbury victory looked extremely unlikely and a winning draw for Henley, picking up a point every time they took a wicket looked far more likely. Phillips soon followed, caught behind off Keegan and the question now was not whether Banbury would find the runs for victory but whether they could hold out. That situation prevailed until the 52 over by which time Banbary needed 37 to win off 12 balls.
But there are no certainties in sport and in the 53rd over, disaster struck as Keegan had a nightmare over in which first Blanchard and then Bullick (twice) smashed three huge sixes off full tosses. One Bullick six sailed into the gardens behind the houses on the other side of Remenham Lane. In total, the over went for 24 leaving, 13 needed off Lambert’s last over. A wide was followed by a single then a four then a dot then 4, Blanchard was run out by Mclean but Bullick was still on strike and two were needed off the last ball. Bullick smashed it down to long off and made it for two running off towards his jubilant team mates who poured onto the field. What a finish, and whilst it would be easy to attribute the defeat to those last two overs, the fact remains that once again, Henley had not put enough runs on the board to take the game out of Banbury’s reach.
Defeat home to Banbury eroded Henley’s lead at the top of Division 1 to a still healthy 30 points with four games left. High Wycombe defeated Oxford at London Road and are now breathing down Banbury’s next in third. Tring Park defeated Radlett away at Cobden Hill and took over fourth spot as Potters Bar lost in the Herts derby home to Welwyn. Finally Slough and Farnham Royal fought out a draw at Rectory Field. Slough thereby recorded their 10th draw of the season which in many ways explains why they find themselves anchored in ninth spot in Division 1.
Scorecard
Henley CC
Michael Roberts LBW b Anthony Bullick 19
David Barnes LBWb Anthony Bullick 25
Jonno McLean ct Edward Phillips b Anthony Bullick 69
Bjorn Mordt * ct Edward Phillips b Ashley Blanchard 6
Carl Crowe ct Christopher Smith b James Phillips 2
David Allaway LBW b Ashley Blanchard 2
James Morris st Edward Phillips b Damian Shirazi 23
Chad Keegan ct Edward Smith b Damian Shirazi 63
Euan Brock LBWb Anthony Bullick 0
Stewart Davison + b Anthony Bullick 0
Tom Lambert Not Out 1
Extras ( 6b 7lb 1w 2nb ) 16
Total ( all out , 65.3 overs) 226
Fall Of Wickets
37-1 Michael Roberts; 52-2 David Barnes; 61-3 Bjorn Mordt; 70-4 Carl Crowe;
72-5 David Allaway; 117-6 James Morris; 210-7 Jonno McLean; 210-8 Euan Brock; 210-9 Stewart Davison; 226-10 Chad Keegan;
Bowling:
Anthony Bullick 21 0 68 5
Edward Smith 2 0 14 0
Ashley Blanchard 12 4 19 2
James Phillips 18 4 68 1
Damian Shirazi 12.3 2 44 2
Banbury CC
Damian Shirazi ro 31
Christopher Smith LBW b Bjorn Mordt 8
Craig Haupt ct Stewart Davison b Tom Lambert 1
John Christopher Richard West ct David Barnes b Bjorn Mordt 34
Shahbaz Ali ct Stewart Davison b Chad Keegan 0
Ian Tew st Stewart Davison b Bjorn Mordt 58
Anthony Bullick Not Out 59
Edward Phillips + ct Stewart Davison b Chad Keegan 1
Ashley Blanchard ro 22
Edward Smith Not Out 0
James Phillips * Did Not Bat
Extras ( 9b 3lb 1w ) 13
Total (8 wickets, 54 overs) 227
Fall Of Wickets
15-1 Christopher Smith; 24-2 Craig Haupt; 45-3 Damian Shirazi; 49-4 Shahbaz Ali;
111-5 John Christopher Richard West; 156-6 Ian Tew; 157-7 Edward Phillips; 225-8 Ashley Blanchard;
Bowling:
Bjorn Mordt 11 2 30 3
Tom Lambert 16 2 64 1
Chad Keegan 13 1 59 2
Carl Crowe 14 3 62 0
Umpires: Peter Tomlin & Kevin Beaumont
Scorers: Roger Garfath & Rod Clarke
Photographer: Angela Davison
|
|
| Silver Lining at Cloudy Cowley |
Date: 1st August 2009
Venue: Roman Way Sportsground, Cowley
Toss: Won by Oxford who elected to bowl
Result: Match drawn
Highlights: Nick Ferraby 5-49, Shamilal Mendis 4-27, Chad Keegan 49 & 3-31
Catering: A satisfactory chilli con carne with salads followed by an excelent tea.
Report:
First apologies to all our readers for the extreme delay in this report appearing on the website. This was due to your correspondent experiencing computer problems this week. Mea cupla nevertheless.
Once the persistent drizzle and a soggy square relented, those present at Roman Way Cowley witnessed an absorbing and see-saw game which eventually ended with Henley in the driving seat, taking away a winning draw and 11 valuable points from their Week 13 clash with Oxford in Division 1 of the HCPL. In scoring more points than anyone else in Division 1 and five more than closest rivals Banbury, Henley did their championship chances no harm at all.
In the knowledge that play between Banbury and lowly placed Farnham Royal was under way, Henley were keen to get this game going and following an early lunch, the umpires decided that it could go ahead at 2.15pm, limited to 73 overs split 40/33.
Henley continued their present trend of losing the toss and were asked to bat on what was a flat and pretty lifeless deck. Openers Michael Roberts and Dave Barnes were positive from the start until the former was adjudged lbw to Sharma who was curiously taken off an over later whilst the more profligate Evans was kept on. Still, Sharma’s replacement Nick Ferraby is no slouch with the ball. His bustling medium place, bowled wicket to wicket, was to prove highly effective eventually netting him figures of 5-49.
Given the limited overs available, Chad Keegan joined Barnes and steady progress continued until Barnes was caught at mid-wicket by Hole off Ferraby. A few overs later, spinner Mendis joined Ferraby and with a defensive field now set for the rest of the game, runs and boundaries in particular became hard to come by. Mendis was soon at work picking up McLean (stumped) and then Henley Skipper Born Mordt two balls later as he lofted one to point for a duck. Carl Crowe was somewhat surprisingly adjusted lbw and at 106-5 off 25 overs, Henley were in a certain amount of bother. In the 28th over, the rain returned in sufficient quantity for the umpires to take the players off. With the game now reduced to the bare minimum of 70 overs, any further rain interruption would signal the abandonment of the game.
The game resumed and almost at once, Ferraby’s next victim was Keegan who, having patiently tailored his game to the conditions and the field settings, fell just short of his 50.Thereafter wickets fell with monotonous regularity to both Ferraby and Mendis. Only Dave Allaway, left stranded on 25, showed any enduring resistance as Henley were all out for 146 in the 38th over.
With their batting line up, Oxford must have fancied their chances of chasing down this modest total in 32 overs, but, as Oxford skipper Jason Harrison sagely observed, it is a matter of seeing how it all ends up once both sides have had a go. Indeed after 12 overs and with only 33 runs on the board and both openers back in the pavilion, courtesy of Tom Lambert and, in Harrison’s case, a fine catch by Mordt at slip, any notions that Oxford would chase down the victory were rapidly diminishing as Oxford found scoring no easier.
Matters did not improve for Oxford when Oxford Blue Sharma took an injudicious swipe at a Keegan delivery and was bowled. A couple of overs later, the dangerous Ferraby went for a duck, caught by Brock at short cover and when Mordt had Charlesworth caught at slip and Barnes caught Smith at mid-on off Keegan in successive overs, Oxford had slumped to 57-6 with 11 overs left.
It was now Henley’s turn to scent victory and now to hope that the rain kept off. Hole and Perkin dug in. Perkin would eventually finish the day unbeaten but not before he was extremely fortunate not to be adjudged run out when Mordt shied the stumps from leg gully as Perkin set off for a run. Scrambling back, Perkin seemed well short, even to himself, but not to the umpire, which is all that matters. Henley now pressed hard for the remaining wickets. Crowe’s spin accounted for Hole thanks to a brilliant catch by McLean, but Perkin and Mendis kept Henley at bay. An exciting if truncated match thus ended in a productive and, after the disappointment against Farnham Royal the previous week, a morale boosting draw as, once again, Henley fielded well and held on to their catches
Henley emerged rather well from a weather affected Week 13 in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League. In chalking up 11 points in their away winning draw at Oxford, they not only scored more points than any other team in Division 1, but also stole a five point march on nearest rivals Banbury whose game was washed away at White Post Road before Banbury could even bowl at Farnham Royal. Henley have thus re-established a 44 point lead. Elsewhere, the games between Slough and Potters Bar, Tring Park and High Wycombe and the Herts derby between Welwyn GC and Radlett were all washed out so no one else made any headway. Only 30 points separate second placed Banbury from eighth place Welwyn which is of further assistance to Henley as encounters between the second to eighth placed teams are likely to mean that they take points off each other rather than make progress chasing down Henley. Slough and Farnham Royal and now well adrift at the bottom and unless either or both of them can do something soon, both look destined for relegation
Henley CC:
Michael Roberts LBW b Rajiv Sharma 18
David Barnes ct Stuart Hole b Nick Ferraby 19
Chad Keegan b Nick Ferraby 49
Jonathon McLean st Jamie Perkin b Shamilal Mendis 16
Bjorn Mordt * ct Francois Vainker b Shamilal Mendis 0
Carl Crowe LBW b Nick Ferraby 2
David Allaway Not Out 25
James Morris b Nick Ferraby 6
Euan Brock b Nick Ferraby 4
Tom Lambert ct Jamie Perkin b Shamilal Mendis 0 0
Stewart Davison + b Shamilal Mendis 2
Extras ( 5lb ) 5
Total ( all out , 37.2 overs) 146
Fall Of Wickets
28-1 Michael Roberts; 55-2 David Barnes; 91-3 Jonathon McLean; 91-4 Bjorn Mordt; 102-5 Carl Crowe; 115-6 Chad Keegan; 125-7 James Morris; 137-8 Euan Brock; 138-9 Tom Lambert; 146-10 Stewart Davison;
Bowling
Rajiv Sharma 6 1 19 1
Philip Evans 8 0 46 0
Nick Ferraby 13 0 49 5
Shamilal Mendis 10.2 0 27 4
Oxford CC
Stuart Laudat b Tom Lambert 15
Jason Harrison * ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 7
Rajiv Sharma b Chad Keegan 19
Nick Ferraby ct Euan Brock b Chad Keegan 0
Graham Charlesworth ct Carl Crowe b Bjorn Mordt 12
David Smith ct David Barnes b Chad Keegan 2
Stuart Hole ct Jonathon McLean b Carl Crowe 20
Jamie Perkin + Not Out 20
Shamilal Mendis Not Out 4
Francois Vainker Did Not Bat
Philip Evans Did Not Bat
Extras ( 4lb ) 4
Total (7 wickets, 32 overs) 103
Fall Of Wickets
8-1 Jason Harrison; 33-2 Stuart Laudat; 33-3 Nick Ferraby; 47-4 Rajiv Sharma;
57-5 Graham Charlesworth; 57-6 David Smith; 96-7 Stuart Hole; -8 ;
-9 ; -10 ;
Bowling
Bjorn Mordt 7 1 22 1
Tom Lambert 14 2 34 2
Chad Keegan 9 0 31 3
Carl Crowe 2 0 12 1
Umpires: Peter Tomlin & David Tysom
Scorers: Peter coleman & Michael Roberts Snr
|
| A Right Royal Pain In The Rectory |
Date: Saturday 25th July 2009
Venue: Rectory Field, Church Road, Farnham Royal
Weather: Warm to hot when the sun was out; sun and cloud, breezier in the afternoon.
Toss:Won by Farnham Royal who bowled first
Result: Win for Farnham Royal by 3 wickets
Highlights: M. Roberts’ 53, A Wadood’s 4-43, S. Naseri’s 58 and Royal’s first win of the season!!
Catering:Best away venue so far this year. Excellent lunch and tea for teams and officials, but visitors were also superbly catered for, starting with excellent bacon rolls for breakfast and a superb choice of Fish N’Chips, Scampi N’Chips or Pork Chop with Gravy and all the trimmings for lunch. A good cuppa at tea. Yes, the ladies in the FR kitchen did us proud! Muchas gracias!!
Report
Just picking up on the Catering Report, not only was the food excellent but what a friendly bunch they all were and the large contingent of travelling support from Henley were given a very warm welcome and, despite the outcome,enjoyed a pleasant day courtesy of our hosts.
The last time Farnham Royal were in Division 1 (2007) the trip to Rectory Field proved to be a bit of a disaster and 2009 was no better. Forget about who is top and who is bottom, forget about the form book. Any notions that Henley would join the list of comprehensive winners over bottom of the table Farnham Royal were dashed in an intriguing context in which Henley not only came off second best but were second best against a Farnham Royal side which was missing some regulars and for whom a couple of teenage debutants played a prominent role.
Once again, the toss was lost and Henley were invited to bat on what was a rather green wicket in warm and sunny conditions, greeted by a pretty medium paced opening attack of Abbas and Khan. In the absence of injured Dave Barnes, Jamie Morris was promoted to open with Michael Roberts. Positive from the start, Morris settled in with a couple of attractive square drives only to be taken by surprise by a delivery from Khan which he could only nick to the keeper. Jonno McLean took over but was unable to kick on from good start, holing out to mid-off of the bowling of spinner Wadood. Wadood and Berkshire Under-17 Singh, who respectively bowled 22 and 16 overs, were to prove the most effective spin bowling partnership of the day.
Roberts and his skipper Bjorn Mordt nevertheless got their heads down and grafted away and at lunch, Henley were looking good on 112-2. But if the pre-lunch session belonged to Henley, the post-lunch session was all Royal’s. Not for the first time this season, Henley lost momentum as first Roberts and then Mordt were out in short order. That, allied to an inability on the part of the middle order, on this occasion, to fire, saw a promising position at lunch slump to 164-7 as Wadood and Singh exploited a slow bouncy and turning wicket. Carl Crowe was caught at long off, Dave Allaway was stumped and Chad Keegan rather gave away his wicket reaching for a sweep, this after he had clattered two mighty sixes in the same (53rd) over.
Nick Denning and Ewan Brock now had the dual task of ensuring that Henley saw out their overs and clocked up some runs to provide something to bowl at. Both tasks were achieved, with some assistance from some pretty sloppy fielding by Royal. Both batsmen showed that with care, perseverance and some selective strokeplay, runs could be had, Brock out on the last ball of the 66th over following a very positive and hard hitting display.
It would be fair to say that by the time that Royal batted, the deck had flattened out a good deal but that should not detract from what was an excellent fighting display by Royal allied to, at times, some below par bowling in terms of both effectiveness and choice. Henley opened up with Tom Lambert and Chad Keegan who showed plenty of pace and menace. Assisted by trade mark top class fielding, one of the few positives of the day, Royal experienced a torrid start as Rasheed and then Davis were early victims, and Royal skipper Miller wore a couple of painful deliveries. 39-2 became 76-3 thanks to a brilliant slip catch by Mordt to dismiss Miller, but that was it to tea (102-3) as Javed Khan and Naseri displayed some spirited shots. After tea, Keegan and Lambert returned. Though Khan soon fell victim to Keegan, Henley began to haemorrhage boundaries as Naseri and Vanas took advantage of too many short balls, from Keegan in particular. Back came spin in the form of Crowe and Morris, but for whatever reason, it never had the control and effect that Wadood and Singh had exerted and by now, even with the departure of Vanas in the 37th over at 157-5, Royal were beginning to scent victory.
Another teenager, fifteen year old Ali, joined Naseri and whilst he played himself in, Naseri continued to plunder runs. He was eventually out, caught at deep mid-wicket by Allaway off Morris, but Royal were far from done as Wadood, cap on, strode to the crease. His 32 runs off 27 balls effectively sealed Henley’s fate but by now, young Ali was also registering serial boundaries. As the clock moved slowly round to 7pm, Henley suddenly realised that they might have to bowl more than 54 overs, resulting in some inordinately long field changes and discussions. Wadood perished caught at long on by Lambert. Keegan bowled Ali a maiden over but the youngster held his nerve and with six required to win in the 53rd over, he duly obliged by smashing a maximum to the jubilation of his team mates and the Royal faithful. Henley could have little to complain about – as skipper Mordt succinctly put it, they did not bat and bowl well enough and that, after all, is what cricket is all about.
The only silver lining to Henley’s defeat at Farnham Royal on Saturday is that it was a defeat by the bottom club in Division 1 and therefore had very little impact on Henley’s overall position at the top, cutting Henley’s lead by a mere 4 points to 42 over the new second placed club which is Banbury who won at Potters Bar, thanks in no small measure to a virtuoso performance by Damian Shirazi (84 runs and 5 wickets), dropping Bar to fourth behind High Wycombe who moved up to third after defeating Welwyn Garden City at London Road. Slough held on to draw at Radlett for whom Kabir Toor was on fire, taking 6-47. Slough are now just two points ahead of Farnham Royal as both remain in deep trouble well adrift of everyone else. In the remaining fixture of the day, Oxford drew away at Tring who appear to have had the better of the encounter as both Ricky Hopwood and Tring skipper Morne Van Vuuren scored centuries.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Warren Miller b Aamir Wadood 53
James Morris ct Warren Miller b Javed Khan 8
Jonathon McLean ct Javed Khan b Aamir Wadood 22
Bjorn Mordt * ct Nadir Rasheed b Gurvir Singh 40
Carl Crowe ct Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi b Aamir Wadood 13
David Allaway st Warren Miller b Gurvir Singh 7
Chad Keegan ct Warren Miller b Gurvir Singh 14
Nicholas Denning Not Out 30
Euan Brock ct Paul Davis b Aamir Wadood 35
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison Did Not Bat
Extras ( 8b 3lb 1w 2nb ) 14
Total (8 wickets, 66 overs) 236
Fall Of Wickets
14-1 James Morris (Michael Roberts*); 60-2 Jonathon McLean;
126-3 Michael Roberts; 132-4 Bjorn Mordt; 150-5 David Allaway; 150-6 Carl Crowe; 164-7 Chad Keegan; 236-8 Euan Brock;
Bowling:
Hussnan Shah 7 1 21 0
Javed Khan 11 6 9 1
Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi 5 0 28 0
Aamir Wadood 22 10 43 4
Ben Pulsford 4 0 27 0
Gurvir Singh 16 2 89 3
Sharifullah Naseri 1 0 8 0
Farnham Royal CC
Warren Miller * + ct Bjorn Mordt b Carl Crowe 36
Nadir Rasheed ct David Allaway b Tom Lambert 8
Paul Davis LBW b Chad Keegan 7
Javed Khan LBW b Tom Lambert 30
Sharifullah Naseri ct David Allaway b James Morris 58
Human Van As ct Chad Keegan b Carl Crowe 25
Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi Not Out 33
Aamir Wadood ct Tom Lambert b Carl Crowe 32
Hussnan Shah Not Out 1
Gurvir Singh Did Not Bat
Ben Pulsford Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1b 4lb 2nb ) 7
Total (7 wickets, 52.5 overs) 237
Fall Of Wickets
16-1 Nadir Rasheed (Warren Miller*); 39-2 Paul Davis (Warren Miller*);
67-3 Warren Miller (Javed Khan*); 103-4 Javed Khan (Sharifullah Naseri*);
157-5 Human Van As (Sharifullah Naseri*); 180-6 Sharifullah Naseri (Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi*); 229-7 Aamir Wadood (Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi*);
Bowling:
Tom Lambert 13 2 62 2
Chad Keegan 14 2 49 1
Nicholas Denning 4 1 10 0
Carl Crowe 14.5 0 71 3
Euan Brock 12 2 16 0
James Morris 5 1 24 1
Umpires: Dave Burden & Ian Royle
Scorers: Bill Waldron & M Green
|
| Lots to Crowe About |
Date: Saturday 18th July 2009
Venue: The Brakspear Ground, Henley
Weather: Breezy all day (strong westerly wind blowing across the ground), bright at first, clouding up later with a hint of rain before lightening up as the afternoon progressed.
Toss:Won by Potters Bar who bowled first
Result: Win for Henley by 55 runs
Highlights: Mike Roberts’ 91, David Allaway’s 83 - Tanny Sikandar’s 5-65 Carl Crowe’s 7-57, Ewan Brock’s stunning catch and Henley’s fielding and all-round spirit.
Catering: Yet again, a stellar chicken and ham pie (Rita knows how to spoil her ardent fans), but there was also Pasta plus all the usual salads and cold meats. Tea was massive.
Report:
This report is written following the Henley CC Summer Ball, so apologies in advance for typing errors, howlers etc. What a bash – in fact the best a bash your correspondent has been to since Downing College, Cambridge May Ball 1980, which says it all. Great food, oodles of sherbet and an outstanding band. Liked the way they started out with a few slowish Sinatra numbers to test the water and then cranked it ever up thereafter – real pros. Nothing was beyond them (their Blues Brothers segway was outstanding) and apparently the lead singer has strutted this stuff in his time with The Stranglers. Whatever, “‘nuff respect” to them, the organisers and in particular Danny Hall, David Winter, Mary Nelson, Deanne Baldwin,Ambassador Caterersand their staff, and profuse apologies to anyone I have failed to mention and should have. As ever, the whole event was a testament to the spirit and quality of the Club as everyone enjoyed themselves to the max - and some beyond the red line, but hey.
The only problem with the Ball is that players, officials, and all others involved with the game (happily always at home for this Event) need to be changed into evening dress and ready to rock by 7.30pm so as not to miss the (unlimited) Champagne Reception.
As it was, the First Team duly obliged by 6.45pm as their win at home to Potters Bar in their Week 11 encounter in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League will probably go down as their most satisfying so far this season as they took on and beat an ambitious Potters Bar side without the services their three first choice strike bowlers with Chad Keegan (injured) , Dave Griffiths and Tom Lambert (unavailable) who saw off the opposition first time around in some style away at Potters Bar. This time around, different talents came to the fore.
The rain of the previous week had left its mark as the umpires deemed certain parts of the square to be too dangerous. Sun and a drying wind plus the application of sawdust in certain areas saw the game get under way at 11.35, the match reduced to a 60/50 over split. Having won the toss, Bar decided to bowl. This looked to be a good choice as Aussie paceman Chris Lagana soon trapped Dave Barnes and then Jonno McLean lbw. Neither he nor fellow opening bowler Sikanda bowled with great pace, but shape and movement did the trick. Runs were initially hard to come by, but skipper Bjorn Mordt and Michael Roberts played themselves in and the runs began to flow. By now spinner Khalid had replaced Sikanda and just as he was looking set, Mordt lifted one over Khalid’s head only for Lagana to take the catch at mid-off to end a flowering 59 run partnership. Carl Crowe arrived at the crease, clearly wanting to continue where had left off the previous week at Radlett, but his sojourn was short-lived as he dabbed Khalid to silly short-leg and Henley went into lunch on 4-85.
After lunch, Dave Allaway joined Roberts and they generated an excellent fifth wicket stand of 131 which was to stamp Henley’s authority on the game, recover a tricky situation and set up the platform for victory. On 36 at lunch, the in-form Roberts nailed down one end and both accumulated regularly, displaying a broad range of shots as few bad balls went unpunished. Whilst Roberts played the more orthodox opener’s role, Allaway plundered runs. Roberts was eventually out for 91, the last score of his innings (which included 10 fours) being an outrageous and breathtaking cover driven six. Allaway continued the good work but was eventually out, bowled round his legs on 83, scored off 54 balls including five 4s and 6 sixes, Following Allaway’s departure on 238, the returning Sikanda engineered a mini-collapse as the last 4 wickets went down for 14 runs, but not before Stewart Davison had seen his side past 250 for another bonus point if needed.
The question now was how the bowling side of things would fare shorn of its regulars. Rather cannily, skipper Mordt took the new ball which completely bamboozled Jeyaratnam who tamely spooned one back to Mordt. Sikanda joined Gale and although Mordt kept them relatively quiet, both went after Tim Chamberlain, then Will Allum with considerable gusto to reach 60. Mordt then convinced the umpires that Gale had indeed been lbw. An unhappy Gale departed. At 75-2 at tea, all results were possible.
In reality, with the contents of the cupboard reduced rather than bare, it was indeed the day for the spin to come to the party and come it did in some style as Crowe turned in a match winning 7-57 display and Ewan Brock accounted for the other wicket. Norman was Crowe’s first victim, thanks to yet another remarkable catch by Brock sprinting and diving full length (in the style of John Cleese in the "One WaferThin Mint Sketch") at wide mid-on. Sikanda was next to go, caught off Crowe by Barnes at backward square leg and when the hard hitting Swainland was adjudged caught behind off Brock making it 5-119, notions of a Bar victory began to recede.
Neither side were however in a mood to settle for a draw. Khalid was surprised by a Crowe delivery that popped on him, gifting Mordt a catch at slip and Bar skipper Cooper was caught and bowled by Crowe. Bar were now 133-7 which became 164-8 as McLean took a steepling catch at wide mid-wicket to dismiss Hussein; but, as at Lords this week, Australians do not give up lightly as Lagana fearlessly smashed 43 off 37 balls until he became Crowe’s second c&b of the day. And that was that. Last man McGee, suffering with a bad back, was never going to continue Lagana’s work but managed to trundle a single before Crowe bowled youngster Scott through the gate with 5 overs to spare. Overall an excellent display, a star performance by Crowe just when it was most needed, topped off with quality fielding.
Henley’s latest victory in Division 1 left second place Potters Bar trailing in their wake by a margin of 46 points as Henley consolidated and improved their position at the top. Seldom do sides lead the league by such a margin at this stage of the season. Henley were once again assisted by results going their way elsewhere as Banbury’s home tie against Radlett was washed away by the weather and Slough held Wycombe to a draw at Upton Court Road. Fourth placed Tring’s progress was halted at Welwyn who now have a good deal of clear water between themselves and ninth placed Slough. Oxford notched up their third win of what has turned out, so far, to be a disappointing season for them by beating Farnham Royal.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts b Tanweer Sikandar 91
David Barnes LBWb Chris Lagana 13
Jonathon McLean LBWb Chris Lagana 0
Bjorn Mordt * ct Chris Lagana b Shaftab Khalid 26
Carl Crowe ct Jared Norman b Shaftab Khalid 9
David Allaway b Nesan Jeyaratnam 83
James Morris b Tanweer Sikandar 6
Euan Brock LBW b Tanweer Sikandar 0
Stewart Davison + b Tanweer Sikandar 10
William Allum LBW b Tanweer Sikandar 1
Tim Chamberlain Not Out 0
Extras ( 1b 11lb 1w ) 13
Total ( all out , 59.5 overs) 252
Fall Of Wickets
18-1 David Barnes (Michael Roberts-4*); 18-2 Jonathon McLean (Michael Roberts-4*); 67-3 Bjorn Mordt (Michael Roberts-26*); 85-4 Carl Crowe (Michael Roberts-35*); 216-5 Michael Roberts (David Allaway-68*); 238-6 David Allaway (James Morris-6*); 238-7 James Morris (Euan Brock-0*); 241-8 Euan Brock (Stewart Davison-1*); 245-9 William Allum (Stewart Davison-4*); 252-10 Stewart Davison (Tim Chamberlain-0*);
Bowling:
Chris Lagana 17 6 53 2
Tanweer Sikandar 17.5 3 65 5
Shaftab Khalid 15 1 65 2
Nesan Jeyaratnam 6 1 27 1
Paul McGee 4 0 30 0
Potters Bar:
Steve Gale LBW b Bjorn Mordt 31
Nesan Jeyaratnan ct Bjorn Mordt b Bjorn Mordt 0
Tanweer Sikandar ct David Barnes b Carl Crowe 40
Jared Norman ct Euan Brock b Carl Crowe 4
Lenny Cooper * ct Carl Crowe b Carl Crowe 29
Chris Swainland + ct Stewart Davison b Carl Crowe 13
Shaftab Khalid ct Bjorn Mordt b Euan Brock 5
Salim Hussain ct Jonathon McLean b Carl Crowe 15
Chris Lagana ct Carl Crowe b Carl Crowe 43
James Scott b Carl Crowe 8
Paul McGee Not Out 1
Extras ( 3lb 3w 2nb ) 8
Total ( all out, 45 overs) 197
Fall Of Wickets
6-1 Nesan Jeyaratnam (Steve Gale-4*); 60-2 Steve Gale (Tanweer Sikandar-26*);
76-3 Jared Norman (Tanweer Sikandar-34*); 98-4 Tanweer Sikandar (Lenny cooper-16*); 119-5 Chris Swainland (Lenny cooper-24*); 124-6 Shaftab Khalid (Lenny cooper-24*); 133-7 Lenny cooper (Salim Hussain-4*); 164-8 Salim Hussain (Chris Lagana-20*); 196-9 Chris Lagana (James Scott-8*); 197-10 James Scott (Paul McGee-1*);
Bjorn Mordt 12 5 34 2
Tim Chamberlain 8 2 42 0
William Allum 5 1 26 0
Carl Crowe 14 2 57 7
Euan Brock 6 035 1
Umpires: Cliff Pocock & Keith Thompson
Scorers: Mark Shepherd & Bill Waldron
Photographer: Angela Davison
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|
| Rain Rattles Radlett (Again) |
Date: Saturday 12th July 2009
Venue: Brunton Memorial Ground, Cobden Hill, Radlett
Weather: Overcast, but bright warm and humid at first, later getting darker with heavy rain showers. Brighter for a time in the afternoon with rain returning to kill off the game.
Toss: Won by Radlett who bowled first
Result: Match abandoned as a draw (Henley 10 pts, Radlett 8pts)
Highlights: Michael Roberts 54, Carl Crowe 42 off 25 balls; Kabir Toor 3-66, Heath Paynter’s figures. Tom Jenkins 55, Fakir Dungaria’s 60.
Catering: Unfortunately, the catering lady went down ill on Friday, so we were denied the usual excellent Radlett lunch, though a hastily assembled salad and cold meats and cheese was an admirable substitute in difficult circumstances. Tea was, as usual, excellent and will be well up there when the award of Best Away Tea is considered.
Report:
The delights of Sat-Nav. Off to Radlett we all went in The Viking’s longboat (an Audi A6 actually) loaded to the gunwails with Davison and Roberts Senior and Junior plus E Brock. Sat Nav dictated an interesting and varied course as we negotiated the shoals and badlands of north Watford and Herfordshire suburbia before being beamed into Watling Street that also doubles as Radlett High Street. For a variety of reasons, a trip to Radlett is always an enjoyable experience and is the only ground in Division 1 of the HCPL to be located next to a railway line, which is in fact the St.Pancras line to the Midlands etc. So every so often the calm is agreeably punctuated by the swoosh of a fast train or the rattle and hum of the suburban chugger.
In recent years we have been blessed with fine weather at Radkett, but this year it was not to be as rain and dank conditions, which had played a part throughout the match, finally came to the assistance of Henley as their Week 10 game away at Radlett was abandoned with Radlett needing just 23 runs off 42 balls. The game saved, Henley came away with more points (10) than Radlett (8) and Radlett were left to rue yet another game where a likely win was prevented by the weather.
Asked to bat, Henley got off to a slow start as the Radlett opening bowlers, skipper Shane Burger and Heath Paynter bowled superbly and restricted the Henley openers Michael Roberts and David Barnes, maiden over following maiden over in the early stages. Gradually however, Roberts and Barnes began to get to grips with them and were assisted when Burger gave way to a more generous spell from Sandino-Taylor. By lunchtime, there had been three rain delays as brief but heavy showers forced the players from the field and the covers on. Lunch intervened in the 24th over with Henley 60 for no loss, but their innings now restricted to 60 overs.
Following lunch, Roberts and Barnes pushed on and forged another three figure partnership before an excellent catch at mid-on accounted for Barnes, the score on the fateful 111. Roberts soon followed, this time bowled by Barker. The departure of both openers in short order led to a loss of momentum, but once again, tight and effective bowling by spinners Barker and Kabir Toor restricted the scoring rate as both Keegan and McLean found runs hard to come by. When Toor bowled McLean, incoming skipper Bjorn Mordt was clearly minded to repeat his quickfire innings of the previous week to add some impetus, but it was not to be as he was caught by Burger at long-off, off Toor. Carl Crowe adopted a very different approach and by dint of some canny and clever cricket and some deft and well placed shorts, showed what could be done, scoring 42 off 25 balls. Keegan meanwhile chipped away and by the time he was stumped, had accumulated 43 runs though without ever dominating the bowlers in his more accustomed style. It was left to Dave Allaway and Euan Brock to see out the innings as Henley closed on 238 which was some 30 or so runs less than they would have wanted.
Set 49 overs to get 239 runs, Radlett made a decent fist of it and would probably have achieved their goal had not the weather intervened. Both openers were authors of their own downfall as an overly aggressive approach by Sandino-Taylor gave Tom Lambert his only wicket as Sandino-Taylor struck one to Mordt at point and Toor rather lazily lofted one up to Brock at mid-on off Crowe’s first ball. But the in-form Jenkins, assisted by 40 year old Dungaria, who rolled back the years, batted far more positively and effectively than Henley had and were also assisted by a bowling attack which turned out to be far too profligate. Jenkins was Crowe’s second victim courtesy of a juggled catch by Roberts at deep backward square but Berger now joined Dungaria and the pair continued the good work.
By now, Henley had lost the services of Chad Keegan with a suspected broken thumb (replaced by Eric Davison, who also rolled back the years) and tension mounted as Radlett chased down then runs with Henley seemingly powerless to prevent it. Dungaria eventually fell to an exuberant Mordt and though Sharma was initially tentative, with a bit of mentoring from Burger, he provided solid support as Radlett went in search of an elusive fourth victory. Needing little over three an over with seven overs to do it in, it is likely that that would have been achieved, but at 6.45pm, the rain which had fallen lightly for some time now came down heavily and consistently with that what they had done previously, the umpires took the players off amidst the encircling gloom. This was somewhat to Radlett’s chagrin as time ran out at 7pm with no prospect of resumption, but that is cricket and in Henley’s place, Radlett would gladly have taken the draw. It is a curiosity in cricket that a side denied a win in such circumstances almost suggest they have been cheated out of the result, when, in truth, had the roles been reversed, they would have been delighted with the outcome....but there it is.
Still, achieving the result Henley did on an off day, even assisted by the weather, is what winning championships is all about. The weather impacted on all games in Division 1. Wycombe and Banbury drew at London Road, Banbury falling 21 runs short of victory in 10 less overs than Wycombe had had. High scoring Welwyn drew against low scoring Oxford at Cowley, and there were emphatic wins for Tring and Potters Bar respectively against Slough and Farnham Royal. Already Royal look doomed and at the rate things are going, Slough who often play well without being able to force a win, could well join them – all of which will concentrate minds in Division 2(West), as if that scenario comes about, three sides will go down from Division 2(West) where just 33 points separate second placed Gerrards Cross from ninth placed Wokingham with the likes of Reading, Falkland and Finchampstead, Berkshire clubs all, sandwiched in between. All this leaves Henley still in first place but with their lead now cut to 28 points over the new second placed team, Potters Bar, who have moved stealthily up the League.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts b Paul Barker 54
David Barnes ct Fakir Dungaria b Paul Barker 45
Chad Keegan st Tom Jenkins b Kabir Toor 43
Jonathon McLean b Kabir Toor 21
Bjorn Mordt * ct Shane Burger b Kabir Toor 4
Carl Crowe ct Tom Jenkins b Shane Burger 42
David Allaway Not Out 2
Euan Brock Not Out 3
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
David Griffiths Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 15b 6lb 3nb ) 24
Total (6 wickets, 60 overs) 238
Bowling:
Shane Burger 10 3 35 1
Heath Paynter 16 8 36 0
Leo Sandino-Taylor 5 1 22 0
Paul Barker 15 2 58 2
Kabir Toor 14 2 66 3
Radlett CC
Leo Sandino-Taylor ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 14
Kabir Toor ct Euan Brock b Carl Crowe 19
Tom Jenkins + ct Michael Roberts b Carl Crowe 55
Fakir Dungaria LBWb Bjorn Mordt 60
Shane Burger * Not Out 39
Andre Sharma Not Out 11
Paul Barker Did Not Bat
Sheilen Patel Did Not Bat
Kailash Morjaria Did Not Bat
Matt Soffair Did Not Bat
Heath Paynter Did Not Bat
Extras ( 8lb ) 8
Total (4 wickets, 42 overs) 206
Bowling
Tom Lambert 14 2 61 1
Chad Keegan 5 1 23 0
Bjorn Mordt 9 1 42 1
Carl Crowe 14 0 72 2
Umpires: Don Brooks & Martin Thomas
Scorers: Doreen Browne & Michael Roberts (Senior)
|
| United Slip Up At Home |
Date: Saturday 4th July 2009
Venue: London Road, High Wycombe
Weather: Humid and quite cloudy at first with even the odd spot of rain, sunny and warm later on.
Toss: Won by High Wycombe who batted first
Result: Win for Henley by 6 wickets
Highlights: Chad Keegan 5-31, Dave Barnes’ 70, Michael Roberts’ 68, Bjorn Mordt’s quickfire 40 and first delivery; Matt Eyles’ and David Cranfield-Thompson’s respective 61s.
Catering: An indifferent lunch according to the lads which gave way to an alrightish (same products put into sandwiches) tea, though having to make one’s own cup of tea with a tea bag is not on for a pukka cricket tea. By contrast, Brian Tanner’s Salmon Ceviche, of which your correspondent partook for lunch, was fantastic.
Report:
So, the Regatta has come and gone and we had a jolly good one down at HCC with plenty of daytrippers parking their cars with us. Whilst Stewards might have been quieter than in recent years, (though you would not have thought it on Friday) and Phyllis Court was apparently pretty moribund (nothing new there then), we had a high old time as Roger and The Viking led an eclectic bunch of merry men and women to new and greater heights. Highlights included al fresco cooked breakfast courtesy of JC and Kirsty, lunch supplied by some caterers and most of all, dealing with the great British public in all their glory – and all life was there. Needless to say, the rudest and least co-operative were those who should know better but plus ca change, and maybe some of them can be forgiven, having doubtless sat and sweltered in traffic jams for a few hours whilst the rest of the occupants of their cars, principally wifey, chirped at them for being late and/or missing little Johnny rowing for Eton/Radley/Westminster etc in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. Little wonder then that some of them turned up measuring Borderline Roadrage/Psychopath on the temper scale and had to be “persuaded” to park properly.
Only the Festival to go and we will shortly revert to sleepy market town status. In that regard, we have recently been blessed with some new retail outlets – Joules (“Where Country Meets Fashion” apparently) has taken the old Ashworths site, a clothes retailer in the Boden mold, (so, as Molesworth would have put it, “enuff sed”); Sainsburys have replaced Woolies and Monsieur Raymond Blanc no less (mais oui,lui du Manoir) has opened up Maison Blanc on the former Toni & Guy site where we can look forward to brand new breakfast and seasonal light lunch menus which have been given the seal of approval of founder Raymond Blanc or choose from their delicious selection of freshly baked breads, pastries, fine rich coffees and of course their world famous patisserie and cakes….. a lazy lunch with friends in the tea room or a mouth-watering after dinner treat …… all doubltess to be washed down avec le vin rouge/blanc ou rose de France. So, another coffee shop on Planet Henley for all those Rupert House Mums to go and stress out over their little darlings’ progress etc. Finally, Robert Ashworths has been dug up and the stake removed from its heart in the form of “Last Man Standing” which is an interesting name, to say the least, for a clothes shop. The best of luck to them all.
And we have had another good week on the cricket front. High Wycombe were apparently referred to recently in a newspaper article as the Manchester United of the HCPL. Not having seen the article himself, your correspondent cannot say whether that was descriptive or self-descriptive, though it is to be hoped that it was the former. Making sporting comparisons especially ones which involve cross-overs between different sports is always a dangerous exercise. Who after all is the Sir Alex of the Club? Who plays the role of Wayne Rooney? Did the chap who dropped two of the easiest catches you will ever see on Saturday get the “hairdryer” or “flying tea cup” treatment? To be fair, a bearded Keith Newell does look a bit like a bearded Roy Keane and there was a touch of the Jesper Olsens about young Ali Birkby…. but all that said….
Well, if they are the Manchester United of the HCPL, Wycombe certainly got the Barcelona treatment or maybe turned up instead as the Blackburn Rovers or Bolton Wanderers of the HCPL as Henley concluded the first half of their 2009 campaign in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier league with a resounding 6 wicket victory over the 2008 Champions. With six wins to their credit in nine games, Henley’s lead at the top of Division 1 now extends to a chunky 39 points over nearest challengers Banbury who lost.
Playing into Henley’s hands, Wycombe won the toss and elected to bat. A slow, flat and lifeless pitch did not deter opening bowlers Tom Lambert and Dave Griffiths from seeking to extract maximum pace and bounce and Lambert it was who removed opener Sehgal and his successor Robinson, the former caught behind and the latter quite brilliantly taken shoulder height by Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt at slip. Wycombe skipper, Matt Eyles, who has been quite prolific with the bat of late, and Paul Sawyer led something of a recovery until Chad Keegan not only removed but also broke Sawyer’s middle stump. An over later, former Sussex man Keith Newell suffered a similar fate as Keegan flattened his off stump. A ball but one later, youngster Alex Birkby could only parry another fierce Keegan delivery to Ewan Brock at square leg and Wycombe found themselves going into lunch precariously placed at 5-103.
But if Henley entertained thoughts of dismissing Wycombe cheaply as twice last year, it was not to be as Eyles and now David Cranfield-Thompson steadily accumulated their way past 150, untroubled by spinners Carl Crowe and Ewan Brock. Something was needed to break the spell, and it came in the form of an outrageous first delivery from Mordt – a rather short but turning bit of offspin that completely deceived Eyles. The runs kept coming however as Cranfield-Thompson reached his half century in the 49th over and it took another inspiring bowling change to remove him as Keegan trapped him lbw. Yet another bowling change, this time Griffiths for Mordt, removed Robert Curzon-Tomson, but Saffell and Bird blazed away until the former became Keegan’s fifth victim of the day as, once again, an off stump was uprooted. It was left to Crowe to remove tailender Downing courtesy of a superlative bit of fielding by Brock who charged round from deep mid-wicket to long-off to take a stunning catch on the run. Most importantly, Wycombe were all out in the 62nd over, which meant that Henley had 58 overs to chase down the 247 required for victory.
Henley’s response got off to the best possible start as openers Michael Roberts and Dave Barnes put on 145 for the first wicket. The Barnes-Roberts opening partnership, new for 2009, has proved increasingly solid and durable, and so it was on Saturday as they ground out the runs and ground down the Wycombe bowling attack until, in the 39th over, Barnes chipped a Downing delivery to Sawyer at square leg. Roberts soon followed, bowled by young Birkby, a current England under16 and Middlesex age-group player who joined Wycombe this year from Chesham.
With 102 runs to get and 17 overs to get them in, there was still plenty of work to be done and Birkby in particular bowled 20 overs and made sure that runs were hard to come by and kept the pressure on. Keegan looked to be the right man at the right time to blast Henley to victory but it was not to be as he was adjudged out lbw. Jonno McLean was now joined by skipper Mordt. Whilst McLean accumulated steadily and solidly, Mordt took the run chase and the game by the scruff of the neck as he smashed 40 off 23 balls, clouting Curzon-Tomson down the ground for two sixes and scoring four cheeky fours off Sawyer in successive overs. Sawyer was to get his own back with the last ball of that latter over as Mordt holed out to deep mid-off, but the job was done and the captain had taken his side to within 6 runs of a victory which the incoming Crowe duly secured with the last four of the day and two overs to spare. McLean ended on an invaluable 42 not out which marked an excellent return to form for the classy ex-Hampshire batsman.
Wycombe could say that they were without the injured spinner Sketchley (for whom young Birkby proved an excellent deputy) and their Irish international Paul Connell, but Henley dominated in all areas and never allowed the game to slip from their control.
All of that put further daylight between Henley and the chasing pack and left Wycombe, who fancy their chances of retaining the League Title, 50 points adrift. Henley now have twice as many wins as any other side in Division 1. More importantly, Banbury went to Tring Park and lost and Oxford lost at home to an ever more confident Potters Bar. Slough drew with Welwyn and Radlett despatched Farnham Royal at Cobden Hill. So we march on but must keep the good work up, the pressure on and refrain from any form of complacency.
Scorecard:
High Wycombe CC
Matt Eyles * b Bjorn Mordt 61
Nitin Sehgal ct Stewart Davison b Tom Lambert 9
Nick Robinson ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 9
Paul Sawyer b Chad Keegan 37
Keith Newell b Chad Keegan 4
Ali Birkby ct Euan Brock b Chad Keegan 0
David Cranfield-Thompson + LBWb Chad Keegan 61
Oliver Saffell b Chad Keegan 30
Russell Curzon-Thompson ct Stewart Davison
b David Griffiths 4
Simon Bird Not Out 20
Andrew Downing ct b Carl Crowe 6
Extras ( 1b 3lb 1nb ) 5
Total ( all out , 61.1 overs) 246
Bowling
Tom Lambert 11 0 51 2
David Griffiths 12 3 51 1
Chad Keegan 12 4 31 5
Carl Crowe 15.1 2 57 1
Euan Brock 5 1 32 0
Bjorn Mordt 6 20 20 1
Henley CC
Michael Roberts b Ali Birkby 68
David Barnes ct Paul Sawyer b Andrew Downing 70
Chad Keegan LBW b Russell Curzon-Thompson 13
Jonathon McLean Not Out 42
Bjorn Mordt * ct Nitin Sehgal b Paul Sawyer 40
Carl Crowe Not Out 5
David Allaway Did Not Bat
Euan Brock Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
David Griffiths Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 4b 2lb 1w 4nb ) 11
Total (4 wickets, 56 overs) 249
Bowling
Paul Sawyer 10 0 50 1
Oliver Saffell 7 2 30 0
Simon Bird 3 0 17 0
Ali Birkby 20 2 72 1
Russell Curzon-Thompson 11 0 51 1
Andrew Downing 5 0 23 1
Umpires: John Reed & David Tysom
Scorers: A Juster-White & Bill Waldron
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| Tring Parked |
Date: Saturday 27th June 2009
Venue: The Brakspear Ground, Henley
Weather: Hot sunny and humid with cloud bubbling up in the afternoon, punctuated by a brief and modest rain shower.
Toss: Won by Henley who bowled first
Result: Win for Henley by 4 wickets
Highlights: D. Barnes 87*, D Griffiths 4-39, C Keegan 3-32, Morne Van Vuuren 80, Simon Stanway’s and Van Vuuren’s miserly bowling
Catering: A stellar chicken and ham pie, but there was also Chilli Con Carne and Pasta plus all the usual salads and cold meats. The Tring lads were heard to say it is the best lunch on circuit and so it is. Nothing was left by the end of the day – thanks to certain Human Hoovers who shall remain nameless (but you know who you are).
Report:
We are now well into the Regatta Season and next week we hit the road for 2 successive weeks as, this week and weekend, the Brakspear Ground becomes a car park to the Regatta visitors – it’s all in a good cause. Yes folks it’s that time of year again….. Plenty of rowers wandering about trailing doey eyed females in their wake, the pubs thronged, self important chaps in blazers and an array of badges and silly little schoolboy caps wandering up and down the towpath as if they own the place (which in a sense they do, if only for a few days year), an archaic and perverse dress code in Stewards (does it really matter in the greater scheme of things that a lady’s skirt hem is below her knee or not and must we wear blazers when the temperature tops 35Degs C??), Pimms and Champagne at eye watering prices, the sonorous voice of the commentator telling those few who really want to know what the time was at The Barrier, Fawley etc, and Regatta Radio (87.7 FM) (which is the best thing to happen to the Regatta in recent years). Yes it’s all happening and the weather seems to be here to accompany it with temperatures predicted to head into the low 30s.
So it was fitting that a gritty Week 8 victory home to Tring Park allied to meteorological good fortune enabled Henley to extent their lead at the top of Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League before they hit the road.
Tring Park turned up at the Breakspear Ground without former Somerset man Keith Dutch (injury) and leading batsman Ricky Hopwood (otherwise engaged). Henley meanwhile were pretty much at full strength. The toss won, Henley decided to have a bowl on the sort of humid morning which always makes the Henley deck tricky to bat on with bags of movement through the air and off the seam.
Soon enough, Tring opener Prichard could only parry a rapid Dave Griffiths’ delivery to Chad Keegan in the gully. Brooks and opener Jones sought to consolidate, Brooks in particular carving Tom Lambert to the boundary. Brooks enthusiasm to get down to the batting end eventually led to his downfall as he set off for a run which has never on only for Michael Roberts to shy the stumps, removing middle and leaving Brooks way short of his ground. Jones soon followed when he chopped a Keegan delivery onto his own stumps, courtesy of a thick bottom edge. When Keegan removed Paul Atkins’ off stump with the last ball of the 13th over following a cocktail of deliveries, Tring were in deep trouble at 4-48. This brought Tring’s South African skipper Morne Van Vuuren to the crease. Positive and willing to play shots from the off, Van Vuuren set about reconstructing the innings. Although Sidwell departed, caught by Mordt off the spin of Carl Crowe, Van Vuuren was assisted in his quest not only by the durable batting of Tring keeper Wynd but also by some pretty innocuous bowling as Mordt, Crowe and Ellison made little headway in the hour before lunch.
Thus it was that Tring went into lunch with the score at 5-130 off 35 overs, having done a pretty decent repair job, but with much left to do. After lunch however, it was a different story as Griffiths returned to remove Wynd with the first ball of the afternoon session and then picked up both Harper and Proudfoot in the 42nd over. 4.2 overs later, it was all over as Keegan bowled Cherry and Lambert finally had some reward for his labours to remove a defiant Van Vuuren thanks to a remarkable catch by Allaway who had to cover a vast amount of ground to get under the ball.
All of this left Henley chasing a relatively modest target with 73 overs to do it in. With Luke Cherry and veteran Simon Stanway leading the bowling attack, progress was slow indeed. Roberts was the first to go courtesy of an excellent ball from Cherry which squared him up and which he nicked though to the keeper. Jonno McLean fared little better as he went to pull, only to top-edge it over his head to the keeper.
David Barnes meanwhile was finding the going tough, and occasionally frustrating. His innings was however to be a masterclass in application, determination and graft as he ground out a crucial match winning innings and kept his wicket intact, facing 182 balls and scoring off 32 off them, including 15 fours and 1 six. Mordt, then Crowe partnered Barnes. Both looked in good touch and fell when well set, Mordt paddling one to gully and Crowe bowled round his legs by Van Vuuren.
By this time, a brief shower of rain had come and gone. Compared to some of the torrential downpours locally and elsewhere, Henley got off lightly and following a short delay, which necessitated the deployment of the covers and the taking of an early tea, the Henley innings, now reduced to 66 overs, was able to proceed
When Brooks removed first Keegan, who really got himself out with a needlessly expansive shot, and then Allaway, the ascent to victory suddenly became steeper and problematical as Barnes and Chris Ellison found runs hard to come by. With some 40 to get and Van Vuuren and Brooks and then the returning Stanway choking off the runs and bowling menacingly, the result was far from certain and a wicket then might have made all the difference. Several balls were spooned up into areas devoid of fielders and several chances went begging as both batsmen rode their luck. It took some pressure relieving boundaries from Ellison off Stanway to break though, and it was fitting that Barnes should close out the game and secure victory with a further three boundaries with 5 overs to spare. On paper then, a straightforward victory but in reality a pretty close run thing.
All that said, it was another “double bubble” weekend as only Henley won and put further daylight between them and the chasing pack. You can always bet on the Cherwell Valley to produce some excellent summer downpours and so it proved as Banbury’s game home to Welwyn was washed out. Oxford could only draw at Slough, although they were only 8 short of victory chasing 289. Graham Charlsworth and Jamie Perkin both hit centuries replying to Bobby Sher’s 137. If Slough are relegated this season (and some would say that they are too good to go down), it will not be for any want of effort on Sher’s part. It was even closer at Rectory Field, where Wycombe ended just 2 short of victory as they chased down Farnham Royal’s 293. Finally, a deluge ended play early between Potters Bar and Radlett. Considering that play at Reading and the Oratory School was abandoned due to torrential rain, Henley were lucky to get away with just a modest shower and a brief delay, thus enabling them to achieve a positive outcome. All this leaves Henley on 147 points 22 and 32 ahead of Banbury and Wycombe respectively with Oxford, Potters Bar and Radlett between 39 and 47 points adrift. An excellent position for Henley to find themselves in, but there is more than half a season to go and what really matters is who is leading at the end of Week 18.
Scorecard:
Tring Park CC
William Jones b Chad Keegan 4
Robin Pritchard ct Bjorn Mordt b David Griffiths 3
Thomas Brooks ro Michael Roberts 17
Oliver Sidwell ct Bjorn Mordt b Carl Crowe 21
Paul Atkins b Chad Keegan 4
Morne Van Vuuren * ct David Allaway b Tom Lambert 80
Andy Wynd + ct Chris Ellison b David Griffiths 29
George Harper LBWb David Griffiths 3
Greg Proudfoot ct Jonathon McLean b David Griffiths 0
Luke Cherry b Chad Keegan 6
Simon Stanway Not Out 0
Extras ( 8b 3lb 5nb ) 16
Total ( all out , 46.3 overs) 183
Fall Of Wickets
8-1 Robin Pritchard (William Jones-1*); 30-2 Thomas Brooks (William Jones-4*);
35-3 William Jones (Oliver Sidwell-4*); 48-4 Paul Atkins (Oliver Sidwell-12*);
76-5 Oliver Sidwell (Morne Van Vuuren-18*); 130-6 Andy Wynd (Morne Van Vuuren-39*); 153-7 George Harper (Morne Van Vuuren-55*); 153-8 Greg Proudfoot (Morne Van Vuuren-55*); 166-9 Luke Cherry (Morne Van Vuuren-65*); 183-10 Morne Van Vuuren (Simon Stanway-0*);
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Tom Lambert 7.3 1 34 1
David Griffiths 10 0 39 4
Chad Keegan 11 1 32 3
Carl Crowe 10 3 28 1
Bjorn Mordt 4 0 17 0
Chris Ellison 4 0 22 0
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Andy Wynd b Luke Cherry 4
David Barnes Not Out 84
Jonathon McLean ct Andy Wynd b Luke Cherry 6
Bjorn Mordt * ct Oliver Sidwell b Simon Stanway 22
Carl Crowe b Morne Van Vuuren 37
Chad Keegan ct Oliver Sidwell b Thomas Brooks 4
David Allaway LBW b Thomas Brooks 3
Chris Ellison Not Out 20
David Griffiths Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 3b 3lb 1nb ) 7
Total (6 wickets, 61.2 overs) 187
Bowling
Luke Cherry 9 3 22 2
Simon Stanway 20 6 53 1
George Harper 9 2 31 0
Morne Van Vuuren 14.2 6 32 1
Thomas Brooks 9 1 43 2
Umpires: Geoff Callaway &Mick Southerton
Scorers: Michael Roberts (Snr) & The Jugster
|
|
| High Scoring Draw Enough To Consolidate Top Spot |
Date: Saturday 20th June 2009
Venue: Digwells Park, Welwyn GC
Weather: Sunny
Toss: Won by WGC who fielded first.
Result: Match Drawn
Highlights: Bjorn Mordt’s bright 71, Michael Roberts’ 68 and Carl Crowe’s Keeganesque hitting (except for the contact-free reverse sweeps). Tom Lambert’s 18 overs (well the first 17) and Carl Crowe’s 22 over spell.
Catering: The greasy sausages and chicken wings with baps for lunch weren’t that impressive. Tea was much more palatable.
With both sides sporting depleted bowling attacks, a high scoring draw was the almost inevitable outcome of Saturday’s match at Digswell Park. Henley’s imposing 298-4 was never threatened and only Nick Walker’s late thrash brought Welwyn to an apparently close finish.
Welwyn decided that their only hope was to chase a target and inserted Henley. Despite a tight bowling spell from openers Baker and Walker, the opening pair of Roberts and Barnes progressed steadily to an opening stand of 78. The introduction of Middlesex academy spinner Southgate after only 12 overs restricted the scoring rate. Well before lunch, Southgate and fellow spinner Bridgewater were bowling in tandem and between them delivered 40 of the 64 overs bowled by Welwyn.
Barnes eventually departed for a solid 32, trapped LBW by Southgate. Jono McLean’s cameo of 26 ended similarly and Henley went to lunch strongly positioned at 129 for 2. After lunch the spinners persevered as Mordt and Roberts consolidated. Robert’s watchful innings was finally ended on 68 by a direct run-out, probably the only way Welwyn could have removed him. Mordt was well set now and accelerated scoring rate with a partnership of 55 runs in only 29 minutes with James Morris. When Mordt holed out to the deep midwicket fielder for 71 Henley were well-poised to press on against tiring bowlers.
Carl Crowe and Morris gave the over-bowled Southgate and Bridgewater no respite, with Crowe battering 44 not out, including 3 sixes (and some ambitious attempts at reverse sweeps) off only 22 balls as Henley took 54 off the last 4 overs of their innings.
Welwyn’s reply got off to a poor start as their makeshift partnership of veterans James and Page was broken by Lambert. A few balls later Baker was lucky to escape as a bat-pad deflection flew through between keeper and slip. After a slow start James began to play his shots and fell to an outstanding running catch by Barnes off Crowe. Crowe then trapped Baker LBW and Welwyn were struggling at 72-3. Aaron Laraman and Southgate built a good partnership of 50 as Henley turned to the spin of Ellison and Morris to back Crowe’s marathon spell of 20 overs on the trot. Laraman fell to a superb direct hit by Barnes at cover as Southgate stood ball-watching, prompting their fellow players to discover the need for a lap or two of the pitch until tempers had cooled.
Henley were back on top, and when the returning Lambert had Pettet smartly caught by McLean at slip and then had Southgate caught behind, Welwyn were really struggling at 138-6 with at nearly 20 overs left. Unfortunately Walker and Nolan settled down to a stubborn resistance and Henley ’s attempts to breakthrough crumbled.
Although the run rates were remarkably similar for both sides in the allotted overs, Walker was clearly protecting the allegedly weak tail rather than chasing the victory. With 67 overs of the statutory 120 bowled by spinners there was time for Henley to bowl another 6 before the 7pm close. Walker finally went after an exhausted Lambert in the last over of the day taking 19 off the over and finishing on 94 not out.
Hopefully the forthcoming game against Tring will see the return of a more balanced bowling attack.
So Week 7 saw Henley consolidate their position at the top, if only by a further two points, as Oxford slipped up at home to Radlett to lose the last remaining unbeaten run in Division 1, whilst Banbury could only draw at Slough, a result that owed as much to Banbury’s innate conservatism as to stubborn resistance from Slough skipper Bobby Sher whose unbeaten 75 saw out Slough’s 54 overs. Meanwhile at London Road, Wycombe returned to winning ways so ending Potters Bar’s recent winning run and claiming third place in the League.
Had Potters Bar batted to their potential, then the result might have been otherwise. As it was, it was left to tailenders Lagana and Breeze to demonstrate how to put together a partnership but by then, the damage had been done. Paul Sawyer was the star of the show for Wycombe, scoring 75 runs of 84 balls and taking 3 wickets for 65 (which generously included ten no balls). Finally at Tring, Tring Park saw off hapless Farnham Royal with an emphatic 6 wicket victory. Though it is far too early to make any firm predictions, Royal will need a turnaround in fortunes bordering on the miraculous if they are to retain Division 1status.
Scorecard
Henley CC
M Roberts run out 68
D Barnes lbw Southgate 32
J McLean lbw Southgate 26
B Mordt ct Page Bridgewater 71
J Morris not out 31
C Crowe not out 44
D Allaway did not bat
C Ellison did not bat
N Denning did not bat
T Lambert did not bat
S Davison did not bat
Extras 26
Total 298 for 4
G Baker 12 0 55 0
N Walker 6 1 14 0
J Southgate 24 4 112 2
A Laraman 6 0 28 0
S Bridgewater 16 1 73 1
Welwyn Garden City CC
M James ct Barnes Crowe 28
S Page bowled Lambert 1
G Baker lbw Crowe 39
J Southgate ct Davison Lambert 31
A Laraman run out 29
T Pettet ct McLean Lambert 0
N Walker not out 94
A Nolan not out 34
D Beynon did not bat
R Hodge did not bat
S Bridgewater did not bat
Extras 12
Total 268 for 6
T Lambert 18 4 77 3
N Denning 7 1 20 0
B Mordt 4 1 18 0
C Crowe 22 0 86 2
C Ellison 3 0 30 0
J Morris 8 0 30 0
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| Henley Turn The Screw On Slough |
Date:Saturday 13th June 2009
Venue:The Brakspear Ground, Henley
Weather:A beautiful summer’s day, hot and not a cloud in the sky.
Toss:Won by Slough who bowled first
Result:Win for Oxford by 63 runs
Highlights:D. Barnes 82;C.Crowe 52;Zaman 3-54 G.Khan 49 C.Ellison 4-33
Catering:The Slough lads were all complaining of feeling extremely sleepy in the field after an excellent past bake. Chicken and Ham Pie was a tour do force and the excellent cold selectyion was superbly supplemented by freshly picked beetroot and lettuice from Grouty’s adjoining allotment…..
Possibly hoping for some early assistance from the wicket, Slough having won the toss, duly inserted Henley on a morning which started with some heavy, overhead cloud, which might have assisted early seam. However, the Henley openers, Barnes and Roberts continued sedately on their way to an opening stand of 36, before Roberts clipped one off his toes to be caught comfortably off the bowling of Aeri. Barnes was then joined by Crowe and these two experienced batsmen continued somewhat cautiously, at least by comparison with recent 20/20 pyrotechnics, to 159 before the second wicket fell to the bowling of Sher. Out of the excellent partnership of 123, Crowe had made a comfortable 52 as Barnes was joined by the hard hitting Keegan. However, Barnes fell with the score at 181 for a well compiled 82 with Keegan being joined by the reliable skipper Mordt and then by Allaway. On this occasion, both batsmen fell for nought and the Henley innings began to look a little fragile with three wickets having fallen for some 20 runs.
The arrival of Ellison brought a halt to the Slough push as he and Keegan moved the score forward on a wicket on which it was never easy to compile quick runs. However, both batted forcibly and sensibly before Keegan fell for 24 and, towards the end, Ellison for 33. Their contributions enabled Henley to finish their innings on a respectable total of 242 – 9 declared.
The Slough response was nothing short of a disaster for the away side. With early pace and swing from Lambert and Keegan, S.H. Khan, S. Khan and Jamshad were all dismissed for nought and, at one stage, the Slough score stood at a paltry 3 runs for 3 wickets. However, opener, G. Khan, continued purposely and was well supported by Arshad and Rana later in the innings. Nonetheless, wickets still fell at regular intervals, particularly with the introduction of left arm spinner Chris Ellison, Henley’s Head Coach, who showed the crowd how he had once been the darling of Cornwall in his capacity as a quality left arm spinner who could actually turn a ball. He varied his flight and control and imparted a good deal of spin on the ball to end with the excellent figures of 4 – 33 off 13 overs. Indeed, his contribution was the turning point of the game and the main reason why Slough could never hope to get close to the Henley total. In this regard, Henley’s cause was assisted by some high class fielding, including a wonderful catch by Roberts close to the bat and a similar excellent run out by Keegan. Further, the keeping of Davison who claimed four victims, included one outstanding catch of which any international keeper would have been proud. Consequently, apart from one or two late flurries by Rana and Aeri, the Slough innings eventually ran out of steam with the away side being all out for 179, thereby losing by 63 runs.
This result takes Henley back to the top of the Premiership table but, as Chairman, Paul Bradbury, remarked after the match; “As usual in this League, things are very close at the top and there is a long long season ahead. Today, we did what we had to do and won a game which we should have won. We need to continue in this vein for the rest of the season.”
So, with a third of the season done, after an absence of a couple of games, Henley once again find themselves back at the top of the League on 110 points, a lead of 5 points over Banbury who lost to Oxford in a tight and exciting encounter, Oxford chasing down Banbury’s 207 with just 1.5 overs and two wickets to spare. Oxford are now the only unbeaten side and have moved up to third on 93, points some 12 points in advance of a resurgent Potters Bar who saw off Tring Park in yet another exciting encounter, Tring falling just 8 runs short. Meanwhile, at Radlett, centuries from Middlesex all rounder Gareth Berg and keeper Tom Jenkins contributed to an admirable 346, but Wycombe, never really in the hunt for the win, held on to draw. Finally, Welwyn Garden City saw off Farnham Royal fairly comfortably at Rectory Field to cement Royal’s place at the foot of the table.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts Ct Omar Jamshad B Vishal Aeri 19
David Barnes ro 82
Carl Crowe lbwB Raheel Zaman 52
Chad Keegan lbwB Zaheer Sher 24
Bjorn Mordt* lbwB Raheel Zaman 0
David Allawayb Raheel Zaman 0
Chris Ellison st Shazad Rana b Unsure 33
Steven Horne lbwb Unsure 4
Nicholas Denning ct Shazad Rana bZaheer Sher 2
Tom Lambert Not Out 3
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 3b 8lb 4w 8nb ) 23
Total (9 Wickets Dec, 65 Overs) 242
Fall Of Wickets
36-1 Michael Roberts (David Barnes*); 159-2 Carl Crowe (David Barnes*);
181-3 David Barnes (Chad Keegan*); 181-4 Bjorn Mordt (Chad Keegan*);
187-5 David Allaway (Chad Keegan*); 207-6 Chad Keegan (Chris Ellison*);
216-7 Steven Horne (Chris Ellison*); 225-8 Nicholas Denning (Chris Ellison*);
242-9 Chris Ellison (Tom Lambert*); -10 ;
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Raheel Zaman 10 1 54 3
Nheem Amin 5 1 11 0
Faisal Ali 8 2 28 0
Vishal Aeri 5 1 24 1
Unsure 15 2 46 2
Zaheer Sher 221 68 2
Slough CC
Shaan Khan ct Stewart Davison bTom Lambert 0
Gheyas Khan ct Michael Roberts bChris Ellison 49
Omar Jamshad ct Michael Roberts bChad Keegan 0
Zaheer Sher * ct Nicholas Denning bTom Lambert 11
Raheel Zaman ct Stewart Davison bCarl Crowe 5
Shazad Rana +b Chris Ellison 31
Vishal Aeri ro 13
Faisal Ali st Stewart Davison b Chris Ellison5
Nheem Amin Not Out 3
Extras ( 16b 7lb 2nb ) 25
Total (10 Wickets, 46 Overs) 179
Fall Of Wickets
0-1 Shaan Khan (Gheyas Khan*); 3-2 (Gheyas Khan*);
3-3 Omar Jamshad (Gheyas Khan*); 21-4 Zaheer Sher (Gheyas Khan*);
83-5 (Gheyas Khan*); 97-6 Raheel Zaman (Gheyas Khan*);
125-7 Gheyas Khan (Shazad Rana*); 157-8 Vishal Aeri (Shazad Rana*);
168-9 Shazad Rana (Faisal Ali*); 179-10 Faisal Ali (Nheem Amin*);
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Tom Lambert 13 1 31 2
Chad Keegan 8 1 38 2
Carl Crowe 13 2 54 1
Chris Ellison 12.3 0 33 4
Umpires: Peter Tomlin F Royle
Scorers: Bill Waldron Elroy Hull
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|
| Yet Another Banbury Wash Out!!! |
Henley’s Week 5 match away at Banbury fell victim to the rain with not a ball bowled. So it is a case of as you were at the top with Banbury on 95 points maintaining a ten point lead over Henley. This is now the third game in a row against Banbury that has been abandoned due to weather. There was a distinct geographical twist to the fate of games last Saturday as matches played in the west of the region were all washed out whilst games played further east actually took place. Thus it was that Oxford v Wycombe and Tring Park v Radlett also succumbed to the vagaries of the weather whilst Slough managed to complete a reduced over match against local rivals Farnham Common which ended in a dead heat, the scores tied on 151 runs apiece. The real winners last weekend were Potters Bar who managed to steal a march on all their rivals by taking maximum points against Welwyn Garden City and thereby launch themselves up to fifth spot.
Home Counties Table
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| Oxford Blues for Henley |
Date:Saturday 30th May 2009
Venue:The Brakspear Ground, Henley
Weather:A beautiful summer’s day, hot and not a cloud in the sky.
Toss:Won by Oxford who bowled first
Result:Win for Oxford by 8 wickets
Highlights:Dave Allaway 64not out, Bjorn Mordt 41, Stuart Hole 3-56, Nick Ferraby 2-13,Jason Harrison 68 not out. Nick Ferraby 61 not out off 58 balls, Stuart Laudat 37 off 42 balls.
Catering:Apart from the ubiquitous and excellent cold buffet, Rita treated the troops to a medium spicy chilli and a pasta bake. Tea excellent as ever. Another excellent attendance by the members’ luncheon club.
Report: Henley 1st X1’s winning ways came to an abrupt halt in the fourth Premier League game of the season against their visitors Oxford CC. Winning the toss, the visitors inserted Henley hoping for some early life in the wicket to produce quick results. This decision was justified and at 33 – 3 with openers Roberts and Barnes back in the ‘shed’, soon to be joined by Jono McLean, the position did not look rosy for the home side. All three were out to rather indeterminate shots, both openers going to Gilbert and Hole; McLean also falling to Hole shortly thereafter. Skipper Mordt and James Morris then proceeded to try to steer the innings in a more positive direction, the former surviving two chances before falling to Ferraby immediately after the lunch break for 41. Morris soon followed, as did Keegan, who played an injudicious shot to be caught by Hole off the bowling of Charlesworth for 0. Wickets continued to fall with Crowe going for 1 and Brock for 0. At 106 – 8 Henley’s innings appeared to be in tatters as too many batsmen failed to apply themselves and realise that they were batting on a wicket where 260 or 270 runs would be a minimum requirement.
A slightly more respectable total was eventually posted thanks to the excellent batting of Allaway who was given strong support by Tom Lambert. The former showed that with application and thought an innings could be built on what was an excellent wicket for batting providing due consideration was given to the state of the game. Using the gaps well, Allaway proceeded to hit 64n.o.in an elegant display with some excellent cover drives and late cuts to the boundary. Ably supported by Lambert, who was eventually run out for 23, these two put on a record ninth wicket stand of 80 runs, at least giving Henley’s total an air of respectability which seemed unlikely in the earlier stages of the innings.
By the time Oxford commenced their reply, it was obvious that great deeds would be needed if a result in Henley’s favour was to be achieved. However, Oxford proceeded to bat in a most positive manner and both Lambert and Keegan were treated with scamp respect in their opening salvo. Henley’s only chance of victory was to make early inroads into the opposition batting but this was not to be. Apart from an outstanding catch by Mordt off Lambert to dismiss Sandbach, both Harrison and Laudat continued on their merry way towards Henley’s total, the former continuing his excellent start to the season. Although Mordt was to dismiss Laudat, brilliantly caught by Morris, Henley’s attack looked limited and the Oxford batsmen were never under pressure with the relatively small total they had to achieve. This, both Harrison and Ferraby managed to pass with ease in only 40 overs, the former finishing with 68n.o. and Ferraby on 61n.o.
After the game Henley’s Chairman, Paul Bradbury, said “this is a bit of a wake up call for the team, but these things do happen in cricket and it remains the best start to the season we have had in the Premiership. Having said that, wickets are now likely to get flatter and we have to travel to Banbury next week who are currently top of the League. More thought will have to go into building an innings and batsmen will have to remember that cameos may look attractive but accumulation over a period of time usually pays dividends, particularly in 120 over matches”.
So, winning ways came to an abrupt end, thus enabling Banbury to knock Henley off the top spot and assume the lead by 10 points with 4 games gone. Banbury meanwhile made short work of Farnham Royal who are plainly struggling. It was not all bad however as Henley were in no small measure assisted by some of the other results as Tring Park kickstarted their season with an impressive 9 wicket victory over Wycombe and Radlett too chalked up their first win of the season by defeating Welwyn. Oxford’s win brings them up to fourth spot, a point behind Wycombe and 16 adrift of Henley. Slough and Potters Bar fought out another draw and they together with Royal remain winless this season.
Henley were outplayed in every department and must ensure that they recover their focus and application for what will doubtless prove to be a demanding trip to White Post Road, Banbury this coming Saturday. The team has the talent to win but as Bradders observed, (Allers and Mordt apart) brief cameo innings are all very will but as Oxford demonstrated, time at the crease allied to accumulation is the order of the day. In fairness though, this is probably the poorest display by Henley since the first half of last season and it is bound to happen some time.
Standings:
Banbury89
Henley79
High Wycombe63
Oxford62
Radlett48
Welwyn GC47
Tring Park45
Slough39
Potters Bar37
Farnham Royal20
Scorecard:
Henley
Michael Roberts LBW b Richard Gilbert 12
David Barnes LBW b Stuart Hole 1
Jonathon McLean ct Graham Charlesworth b Stuart Hole 17
Bjorn Mordt * ct Todd Hutcheson b Nick Ferraby 41
James Morris b David Smith 23
Chad Keegan ct Stuart Hole b Graham Charlesworth 0
Carl Crowe ct Todd Hutcheson b Graham Charlesworth 1
David Allaway Not Out 64
Euan Brock b Nick Ferraby 0
Tom Lambert ro Stuart Laudat 23
Stewart Davison + b Stuart Hole 2
Extras ( 2b 3lb 1nb ) 6
Total ( all out , 66 overs) 190
Fall Of Wickets
13-1 Michael Roberts; 30-2 Jonathon McLean; 35-3 David Barnes; 78-4 James Morris; 79-5 Chad Keegan; 88-6 Carl Crowe; 100-7 Bjorn Mordt; 106-8 Euan Brock; 186-9 Tom Lambert; 190-10 Stewart Davison;
Bowling:
Stuart Hole 19 3 56 3
Richard Gilbert 8 2 25 1
David Smith 6 1 33 1
Graham Charlesworth 14 5 30 2
Nick Ferraby 9 6 13 2
Francois Vainker 10 1 28 0
Oxford
Christopher Sandbach ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 11
Jason Harrison * Not Out 68
Stuart Laudat ct James Morris b Bjorn Mordt 37
Nick Ferraby Not Out 61
Graham Charlesworth Did Not Bat
Ian Crosby Did Not Bat
David Smith Did Not Bat
Stuart Hole Did Not Bat
Francois Vainker Did Not Bat
Richard Gilbert Did Not Bat
Todd Hutcheson + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 3b 10lb 3nb ) 16
Total (2 wickets, 40.1 overs) 193
Fall Of Wickets
33-1 Christopher Sandbach; 91-2 Stuart Laudat;
Bowling
Tom Lambert 11 2 55 1
Chad Keegan 6 0 25 0
Carl Crowe 12 2 42 0
Bjorn Mordt 6.1 0 32 1
Euan Brock 2 0 9 0
James Morris 3 0 17 0
Umpires: John Reed & Peter Tomlin
Scorers: The Admiral (Henley) & Peter Coleman (Oxford)
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|
| Henley Take Farnham Royalties |
Date: Saturday 23rd May 2009
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Hot, dry and sunny
Toss: Won by Farnham Royal who fielded first
Result: Win for Henley by 134 Runs
Highlights: Chad Keegan 82*; Dave Allaway 33 off 23 balls; A. Wadood 3-53; Tom Lambert 5-25, Chad Keegan 3-48; Bill Waldron returning to the scorebox.
Catering: Another alfresco lunch well attended by the membership with Chicken & Ham pie complete with Rita’s piquant secret sauce was the highlight and much appreciated by all. As ever a stupendouis tea.
Report:
Bradders writes.....
With Henley CC’s normal roving reporter sunning himself in warmer climes, it fell to the Chairman to pen the report for the third league game of the season versus Farnham Royal. On winning the toss, Farnham inserted Henley hoping to get some early life out of the pitch, in spite of it being the warmest morning of the season without a cloud in the sky. What a difference a week makes, with temperatures already in the late teens by the time the first ball was bowled.
Roberts and Barnes proceeded to post their third 50 plus opening partnership of the season before Barnes fell lbw to Zaigham for 27. Roberts proceeded on his way looking more assured by the minute until he received an almost unplayable ball which ‘popped’ on him and he fell to the bowling of Khan. McLean also fell early to Khan so that Mordt and Keegan had to set about repairing the damage whilst at the same time trying to improve a run rate which had fallen below three an over. This they proceeded to do with some skill, before Mordt fell for 28 with the score on 119 but, fortunately for Henley, Keegan proceeded to play a mature, well paced innings for the rest of Henley’s allotted overs. By his standards, it was a well judged, conservative innings on both sides of the lunch break. Only towards the end of the allocated time did Keegan open his shoulders helping to ruin Zaigham’s bowling analysis, whose first 15 overs had cost a mere 32 runs whilst the last 10 went for 70. By now, Keegan had been joined by Morris and then Allaway, both of whom pushed the score along at a merry pace, paying scant respect to the bowlers. Allaway was particularly harsh on the bowlers scoring a hard hit 33 of 23 balls. Keegan’s last 10 balls produced 25 runs as he ended on 82 n.o., Henley having posted the respectable total of 239 for 7 declared.
Farnham Royal started their response disastrously with Simpson well caught by McLean off the bowling of Keegan for nought. Further wickets soon fell and with Farnham on 31-3, it was clear that, in spite of the positive approach of the early batsmen, Farnham would need someone to get a big score if they were to have any chance of winning the match. This was not to be as Lambert and Keegan, particularly the former, bowled tidily and gave little away, whilst wickets fell at regular intervals. Spinners Brock and Morris were introduced just before the tea interval and in their three overs also took two wickets, no batsman looking as if he had any idea of using his feet to get to the pitch of the ball. After the tea interval, Henley had little more to do as Lambert finished off the tail ending Farnham’s misery with two wickets in his last over to finish with the excellent figures of 5-25.
Henley’s Chairman, Paul Bradbury, commented after the match “the first X1 could not have had a better start to the season winning all three games. However, the captain, Bjorn Mordt, is aware that we have so far played possibly the less strong sides in the Premiership. It is very early days and, if the weather forecasters are to be believed, much of the rest of the season will be played on hard, dry pitches when the advantages for seam bowlers may be somewhat diminished. Time will tell!”
........So the momentum is maintained and must be because the chase, if not hotting up, is certainly not letting up or faltering. Banbury beat Potters Bar at White Post Road to remain 11 points adrift in second place. Wycombe too registered their second win of the season by defeating Welwyn away at Digwells Park and have thereby chalked up 59 points, so opening an 18 point gap on Welwyn in fourth place. Meanwhile, it was honours even between Oxford and Tring and between Slough and Radlett. Oxford’s draw with Tring was their third in three games. Oxford posted an extremely creditable total of 259-4 and even though the evergreen Rupert Evans took 5-57, Tring responded stoutly with an excellent 236 with Will Jones scoring 125. Meanwhile at Upton Court Road, Radlett must have felt that 276-6 would provide a springboard for victory. Toor (86) Barker (54no) and Burger (51) all came to the party but Slough rather ruined it by posting 186-6 in 61 overs (Bobby Sher 79no). Once again, it would seem that Radlett’s lack of penetrative or decisive bowling let them down. So a sixth of the season is gone and a pattern is beginning to emerge with a top 3, a middle 2 and a bottom 5, but it is still early days and it would be ill-advised to place any store in the current order.
Standings:
Henley 75
Banbury 64
High Wycombe 59
Welwyn GC 41
Oxford 37
Slough 28
Potters Bar 24
Radlett 23
Tring Park 20
Farnham Royal 17
Scoreboard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Sibet Hussain b Javed Khan 31
David Barnes LBW b Naveed Zaigham 27
Jonathon McLean ct Ian Bucknell b Javed Khan 1
Bjorn Mordt * ct Javed Khan b AAmir Wahdood 28
Chad Keegan Not Out 82
James Morrisct Warren Miller b AAmir Wahdood 25
David Allaway ct Richard Sanford b AAmir Wahdood 33
Nicholas Denning ct Sibet Hussain b Naveed Zaigham 0
Euan Brock Not Out 6
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Extras ( 5lb 1w ) 6
Total (7 wickets dec, 64 overs): 239
Fall Of Wickets
59-1 David Barnes (Michael Roberts*); 63-2 Michael Roberts (Jonathon McLean*); 72-3 Jonathon McLean (Bjorn Mordt*); 119-4 Bjorn Mordt (Jonathon McLean*);
165-5 James Morris (Chad Keegan*); 207-6 David Allaway (Chad Keegan*);
208-7 Nicholas Denning (Chad Keegan*); -8 ;
-9 ; -10 ;
Bowling
Javed Khan 15 5 36 2
Inderpal Boparai 3 0 21 0
Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi6 1 22 0
Naveed Zaigham 26 5 102 2
AAmir Wahdood 14 0 53 3
Farnham Royal CC
Warren Miller ct Tom Lambert b Chad Keegan 11
Daniel Simpson ct Jonathon McLean b Chad Keegan 0
Sharifullah Naseri b Tom Lambert 9
Javed Khan * LBW b Tom Lambert 24
Richard Sanford + ct James Morris b Chad Keegan 12
Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi LBW b Tom Lambert 12
Sibet Hussain LBW b James Morris 2
AAmir Wahdood ct David Allaway b Euan Brock 2
Ian Bucknell ct Stewart Davison b Tom Lambert 7
Naveed Zaigham Not Out 14
Inderpal Boparai ct Stewart Davison b Tom Lambert 0
Extras ( 4b 7lb 1nb ) 12
Total ( all out , 26 overs): 105
Fall Of Wickets
0-1 Daniel Simpson (Warren Miller*); 23-2 Sharifullah Naseri (Warren Miller*); 31-3 Warren Miller (Javed Khan*); 56-4 Richard Sanford (Javed Khan*); 72-5 Javed Khan (Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi*); 77-6 Mohammad Ali Syed Zaidi (Sibet Hussain*); 83-7 Sibet Hussain (AAmir Wahdood*); 89-8 AAmir Wahdood (Ian Bucknell*); 105-9 Ian Bucknell (Naveed Zaigham*); 105-10 Inderpal Boparai (Naveed Zaigham*);
Bowling
Tom Lambert 11.5 5 25 5
Chad Keegan 9 1 48 3
Nicholas Denning 3 1 13 0
Euan Brock 2 1 2 1
James Morris 1 0 6 1
Umpires: Dave Burden& John Attridge
Scorers: Bill Waldron (Henley)
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|
| Henley Walk The Walk |
Date: Saturday 16th May 2009
Venue: The Walk Potters Bar
Weather: Chilly and very blustery, the odd shower and sunny but cold periods.
Toss: Won by Henley who bowled first
Result: Win for Henley by 6 wickets
Highlights: Tanweer Sikandar’s 55, & Chris Lagana’s 3-64; Tom Lambert’s 3-52, Chad Keegan’s 3-27, Nick Denning’s 3-4 in 1.1. overs (!!) and Jono McLean’s 68; more excellent fielding and just 2 extras (!); Bar's new (and inexpensive!) scoreboard; Getting back to Henley in time to see the Fabulous White Brothers recover and close out the game v N Maidenhead 2s (top stuff).
Catering: Bangers N’Mash and baked beans was the hearty fare on offer which suited the day, with plenty of fresh fruit to follow. An excellent tea, taken in the warm glow of victory followed. An excellent pint of Greene King IPA is to be had from the Bar. Also deserving of a mention is the café on the High Street where Bradders et al repaired for lunch – very good apparently.
Report:
The M 25 gets a bad press, but for all that, journeys of yesteryear across the Home Counties from Henley to Potters Bar would have been an interminable nightmare of slow progress through verdant countryside and town after town. As it was, Junction 24 came round soon enough following a 45 minute run from Henley. Without the M25, you are probably looking at more like 2 hours plus. So Potters Bar ….. beyond the outer reaches of the Northern Line, beyond the M25, its leafy avenues home to a few well known Premier League footie stars who can be spotted on a clear day forking down pasta at Paparazzi, its High Street a melange of architectural styles including the ubiquitous 1920s colonnade of shops, a Tescos superstore just off the crossroads and a couple of high rise office blocks. Just about every type of popular food is on offer from a wide variety of restaurants, takeaways and cafes. Potters Bar have played cricket at The Walk since 1912 and have occupied their current ground since 1931. Like Henley they are looking to build a new pavilion. The current pavilion has been in situ since the 1970s and boasts a rather fine retro-style panelled Bar adorned with club photos going back decades. Unfortunately, the local feral youth are particularly active after dark so everything is shuttered up when not in use and sheeting has to be used to cover the wicket instead of covers which would otherwise be taken for a ride or worse. Such is the world we live in today.
After an excellent start home to Radlett, we all travelled with hope and expectation and were not disappointed as Henley continued their excellent start to 2009 with another clinical and resounding victory over the 2008 Division 2 East Champions which maintains Henley’s 11 point lead at the top over Banbury.
Henley arrived at Potters Bar to be greeted by a stiff breeze, an angry sky and the news that heavy overnight rain had inconveniently seeped under the covers and soaked the crease at each end, making it dangerous for bowling. Following a delayed start, play was however possible by dint of a drying wind and the application of sawdust. It was certainly a toss to win and skipper Bjorn Mordt duly obliged and wisely opted to bowl on what turned out to be a slow and low deck.
In contrast to the previous week against Farnham Royal, Bar found themselves up against a very different bowling outfit in the form of a returning Dave Griffiths, a well again Tom Lambert plus a liberal dose of Chad Keegan to follow. Griffiths and Lambert were soon in the groove bowling with plenty of menace, pace and carry. In the sixth over, it was Lambert who drew first blood, pinning Gale in his crease and then bowling him. Griffiths bowled with great economy but wickets eluded him. On came Keegan to take the second wicket when Jeyaratnam could only parry a fierce delivery into the air for Michael Roberts to collect at forward short leg. When the dangerous Tim Phillips failed to offer a shot only for the ball to remove the bails, it was very much advantage to Henley with Bar 55-3 at lunch of 20 overs. It was little wonder that Phillips, who has spent ten years at Essex, was heard to say that the Henley seam attack was far better than many he has faced in the First Class Game. At lunch, skipper Mordt expressed the hope that Bar could be seen off for not more than 150 as chasing any more on that deck might not be that appealing. In the event, his hopes and expectations were realised.
Over lunch, Bar evidently decided that there was a need to get a move on and take the game to Henley. Tanwar Sikandar certainly took this message to heart and set about both Lambert and a returning Griffiths, inflicting severe damage on their figures with a variety of lustily hit boundaries. But the wickets kept coming as, first, Keegan had Khalid well caught by Nick Denning at mid on and then Lambert trapped first Swainland and then Sikandar lbw in the same over. When Griffiths removed Norman the same way courtesy of an extremely swift decision by Umpire Tysom, at 102-7 off 31 overs, things were definitely slipping away from Bar. Following a brief delay for rain, Mordt indulged himself with a couple of generous overs and then handed over to Denning who accounted for Lagana, Cooper and Hodge in just 1.1 overs for only 4 runs. Apart from Sikandar, who rode his luck with a dropped catch at slip and some compelling lbw shouts, only Bar skipper Cooper offered any resistance as Bar were all out for 139 in just 38 overs.
Set 140 to win and having some 68 overs to do it in, Henley made light work of their task and chased down 140 runs in just 36 overs for the loss of only 4 wickets. Bar’s recently arrived Aussie quickie, Chris Lagana, accounted for three of those wickets. Dave Barnes was caught early on by Phillips at slip but Roberts and Jono McLean put on 49 between them until Roberts, playing positive and attractive shots, seemed to lose patience with Phillips and was caught and bowled. Keegan joined McLean and, despite a slightly scratchy start by Keegan, there was little that Phillips and spinner Khalid could do to stem the inexorable flow of runs. The returning Lagana bowled Keegan, and with two runs to get, McLean rather got himself out trying for the big shot. It was therefore left to Mordt and Dave Allaway to take a run apiece and it was all over just in time for tea with plenty of time and overs to spare.
So the winning start continues and Henley will be looking to prolong that next Saturday at the Brakspear Ground when Division 2 West Champions Farnham Royal are the visitors.
This week the results were reversed in that we saw four victories and only one draw. There was another Sketchley clean up at Wycombe as the home side saw off Slough, Radlett were skittled out at Cobden Hill by Banbury for 92, though Banbury appear to have made rather heavy weather of their winning reply, losing six wickets in the process whilst Tring’s poor start to the season continued when they were well beaten at home by a Welwyn side who have the makings of title contenders this season. The only draw of the day was at Roman Way, Cowley. In what must have been riveting cricket, Oxford ground out 190 in 63 overs only for Farnham Royal to spend 55 overs getting to 108 for the loss of 8 wickets. All this means that Henley are top with 50 points, followed by Banbury with 39, Welwyn with 35 and Wycombe with 34. 14 points separate fifth placed Oxford on 25 with bottom side Radlett on 11. So it’s early days, and it will be a few weeks before a discernable pattern emerges. The omens are good though. Last time Potters Bar were in Division 1, Henley won the League…..
Scorecard:
Potters Bar CC
Steve Gale b Tom Lambert 7
Nesan Jeyaratnam ct Michael Roberts b Chad Keegan 11
Tanweer Sikandar LBW b Tom Lambert 55
Tim Phillips b Chad Keegan 7
Shaftab Khalid ct Nicholas Denning b Chad Keegan 13
Chris Swainland + LBWb Tom Lambert 1
Jared Norman LBWb David Griffiths 2
Lenny Cooper * ct Jonathon McLean b Nicholas Denning 30
Chris Lagana ct David Allaway b Nicholas Denning 6
David Breeze ct Stewart Davison b Nicholas Denning 1
Charlie Hodge Not Out 4
Extras ( 2nb ) 2
Total ( all out , 37.1 overs) 139
Fall Of Wickets
11-1 Steve Gale (Nesan Jeyaratnam-4*); 23-2 Nesan Jeyaratnam (Tanweer Sikandar-5*); 50-3 Tim Phillips (Tanweer Sikandar-24*); 88-4 Shaftab Khalid (Tanweer Sikandar-49*); 91-5 Chris Swainland (Tanweer Sikandar-51*); 96-6 Tanweer Sikandar (Jared Norman-1*); 102-7 Jared Norman (Lenny cooper-5*); 134-8 Chris Lagana (Lenny cooper-30*);135-9 Lenny cooper (David Breeze-1*); 139-10 David Breeze (Charlie Hodge-4*);
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
David Griffiths 12 4 35 1
Tom Lambert 13 2 52 3
Chad Keegan 9 3 27 3
Bjorn Mordt 2 0 21 0
Nicholas Denning 1.1 0 4 3
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Tim Phillips b Tim Phillips 29
David Barnes ct Tim Phillips b Chris Lagana 4
Jonathon McLean b Chris Lagana 68
Chad Keegan b Chris Lagana 28
Bjorn Mordt * Not Out 1
David Allaway Not Out 1
Steven Horne Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
David Griffiths Did Not Bat
Extras ( 6b 2lb 1nb ) 9
Total (4 wickets, 35.5 overs) 140
Fall Of Wickets
17-1 David Barnes (Michael Roberts-13*); 68-2 Michael Roberts (Jonathon McLean-26*); 123-3 Chad Keegan (Jonathon McLean-53*); 138-4 Jonathon McLean (Bjorn Mordt-0*);
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Chris Lagana 14 1 64 3
Lenny Cooper 2 0 7 0
Tim Phillips 12 3 35 1
Shaftab Khalid 7.5 1 26 0
Umpires: Geoff Callaway & David Tysom
Scorers: Mark Shepherd & Michael Roberts Snr
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| Henley Rattle Radlett in Convincing Win |
Date:Saturday 9th May 2009
Venue:The Brakspear Ground
Weather:Sunny and breezy, warm in the sun but cold out of it.
Toss:Won by Radlett who batted first
Result:Win for Henley by 8 wickets
Highlights:S Berger 57; B. Mordt 4-63, J. Morris 4-53, J McLean 82 no; C Keegan 69 no; 14 year old Will Allum's First XI debut; An all round excellent performance by Henley in the field; Brian Tanner for operating the new for 2009 lunch ticketing system for members and visitors
Catering:As ever lunch, taken al fresco by the spectating members, was a star turn with the pasta dishes and meat pies being especially popular. Later followed by a wonderful tea. We are very lucky and little wonder that Henley gets the best League marks for catering and hospitality. (Guess who were last??? – though we will not be going there this season which should provide a clue)
Report:
Summer is coming and apparently it is going to be a good one – or so we are told evoking, memories of 1976 (for those that are old enough). Certainly Henley is working itself up for the summer. Shops may be closing and opening by the weekthough, amazingly, there is now not a single gents outfitters to be found in the town, but the Food Festival is this coming weekend and the tentage and boathouses are all up for the Regatta as plans are hatched for which day will be spent buying vastly overpriced Pimms etc in the Bridge and Fawley Bars. Soon the bunting will be up and the town thronged by Ent sized rowers from all corners of the Globe. Hopefully the credit crunch will not have too damaging an impact on attendance at the Regatta (including the use of the Brakspear Ground as a car park for the duration) but we shall see. Last time we had a recession, the effect was quite marked.
This season we all thought it would be great to get of to a flying start which has been missing in recent seasons and so it proved to be as Henley recorded an efficient and emphatic win home to Radlett. Better still, the other four games were all drawn, enabling Henley to open up an eleven point gap at the top.
Having won the toss, Radlett decided to bat. Henley were without the services of Dave Griffiths and so it was an under the weather Tom Lambert and Chad Keegan who led the attack. Both Radlett openers found runs hard to come by but it took until the 17th over for the first wicket to go down as Sandino-Taylor flicked Keegan down the leg side only for Stewart Davison to take an excellent catch and open his account in the Premier League behind the stumps. Fielden followed soon after, tamely spooning a Bjorn Mordt delivery to young Will Allum at mid on.
This brought together Kabir Toor and Shane Burger, probably Radlett’s best batsmen and certainly the players who could make a difference. Having brought back an ailing Lambert for just two overs, skipper Mordt tossed the ball to Allum. 14 years old he may be, but it was soon apparent why he is in the Middlesex Academy. Displaying all the confidence of youth, not to mention a liberal dose of pace and carry, with a little mentoring from Keegan, Allum’s 5 overs went for just 14 runs and included 2 maiden overs which tested Toor to the limit. When Burger tried to take him on, Allum was utterly unfazed and stuck to his task.
At lunch, honours were fairly even with Radlett 98-2. Four overs into the afternoon session, a big appeal from Keegan finally persuaded Umpire Thomas that Toor’s leg had indeed been before wicket. Radlett Keeper Tom Jenkins lasted long enough to hit one boundary before he was Mordt’s next victim caught behind. Mordt was also on hand to pick up Burger at slip for Henley debutant and leg spinner James Morris’ first scalp. This was a crucial wicket and perhaps the turning point in the game. Although Mike Crocker and Paul Barker grafted away for valuable runs, Mordt and Morris, assisted by some excellent fielding all day, eventually cleaned up the lower orders, though it was not until the last ball of the 66th over that Morris had the pugnacious Paynter sharply caught by Jimmy Yandell at deep midwicket. Both Morris and Mordt ended with excellent figures.
In the end, Henley chased down the Radlett total at something of a canter in the face of a bowling attack which is short of a genuine quick bowler. Though neither Burger nor Paynter are opening bowlers by trade, both stuck to their task and, assisted by a slow pitch, certainly tested the new for 2009 opening combination of Dave Barnes and Michael Roberts. Both openers nevertheless scored at a steady tempo and the new ball had well and truly been seen off by the 20th over when Roberts went for a hook only to sky the ball to Burger who, stationed at mid wicket, made no mistake. Barnes followed soon after, caught behind off the spin of Toor.
But the opening job had been done and a sound foundation laid for the innings – something that was missing all too often last year. Keegan and Jonno McLean took full advantage to chase down the remaining146 runs in just over 24 overs with 6 overs to spare. Neither was ever troubled by a variety of bowlers who simply could not stem the flow of runs or exert pressure. But this was not by any means a slogfest as both Keegan and McLean played every ball on its merits but made sure that those that were there to hit were well and truly despatched to and over all parts of the boundary, between then chalking up twenty 4s and three 6s.
In summary, this was a convincing win, but there will be harder games and there is a long way to go and if last week is anything to go by, Potters Bar now reinforced by a secret weapon in the form of an Aussie quickie from Perth, will be no pushovers.
As noted above, this was really a double bubble week for Henley as only Henley won a game. Elsewhere it was a case of draws all round. Potters Bar top scored for the day with 324, new recruit Phillips contributing 169 of them, but they could not kill off Farnham Royal whose bowling prowess must in any event have been dented by the absence of Santokie. Similarly, Banbury spent 66 overs scoring 306 runs but could not knock out High Wycombe whilst Welwyn with Jamie Hewitt to the fore came pretty close to chasing down Oxford’s 260 in 66 overs, falling just 16 short off 54 overs. Finally Slough and Tring seem to have both made a strenuous effort to lose but ended up drawing. So with one week down, Henley are out in front by 11 points and the “lanterne rouge” goes to Radlett who, if Saturday is anything to go by, may struggle this season. Hopefully Middlesex will make Berg available for them when he is not required for county duty.
Scoreboard
Radlett CC Innings:
Leo Sandino-Taylor ct Stewart Davison b Chad Keegan 21
Nick Fielden ct William Allum b Bjorn Mordt 13
Kabir Toor LBW b Chad Keegan 36
Shane Burger * ct Bjorn Mordt b James Morris 57
Tom Jenkins + ct Stewart Davison b Bjorn Mordt 4
Mike Crocker ct Bjorn Mordt b Bjorn Mordt 28
Paul Barker ct James Morris b Bjorn Mordt 26
Sheilen Patel ct James Morris b James Morris 14
Robert Crocker LBW b James Morris 0
Lee Fortis Not Out 13
Heath Paynter ct James Yandell b James Morris 6
Extras ( 2b 2lb 2nb ) 6
Total ( all out , 66 overs) 224
Fall Of Wickets:
36-1 Leo Sandino-Taylor; 40-2 Nick Fielden; 117-3 Kabir Toor; 128-4 Tom Jenkins; 140-5 Shane Burger; 181-6 Paul Barker; 189-7 Mike Crocker; 189-8 Robert Crocker; 217-9 Sheilen Patel; 224-10 Heath Paynter;
Bowling:
Tom Lambert 14 3 56 0
Chad Keegan 13 4 34 2
Bjorn Mordt 20 4 63 4
William Allum 5 2 14 0
James Morris 14 3 53 4
Henley CC Innings:
Michael Roberts ct Shane Burger b Heath Paynter 27
David Barnes ct Tom Jenkins b Kabir Toor 39
Jonathon McLean Not Out 82
Chad Keegan Not Out 69
Bjorn Mordt * Did Not Bat
James Morris Did Not Bat
Steven Horne Did Not Bat
Stewart Davison + Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
James Yandell Did Not Bat
William Allum Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1b 7lb 5w ) 13
Total (2 wickets, 47.2 overs) 230
Fall Of Wickets
65-1 Michael Roberts; 78-2 David Barnes;
Shane Burger 12 2 30 0
Heath Paynter 18 3 67 1
Kabir Toor 6 1 35 1
Paul Barker 6 0 35 0
Lee Fortis 3 0 27 0
Robert Crocker 2 0 21 0
Umpires: Cliff Pocock & Martin Thomas
Scorers: Michael Roberts Snr & Doreen Browne
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|
| Gerrards Crossed Out |
Henley v Gerrards Cross [ECB National Club Championship - Group 12 (Round 1)]
Date: Sunday 26th April 2009
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Sunny and breezy, warm in the sun but cold out of it.
Toss: Won by Henley
Result: Win for Henley by 107 runs
Highlights: 5 wickets for Tom Lambert and, overall, a miserly and effective bowling performance. 53 for Chad Keegan A promising First XI debut by Steve Horne
Catering: Rita and her crew warmed up for the Season with a stellar tea.
Well, here we go again. First game of the season and not even a friendly. Yet again, a conventional warm up programme with several friendlies seems to have eluded Henley and so it’s straight down to business with Round 1 of the group stage of the 2009 ECB Club Championship against Gerrards Cross. Anyway, there were no slip ups and the day ended with a convincing, if at times, slightly laboured, victory – which given the manifest superiority of Henley was the least we could expect.
The rain which had been forecast for Sunday delayed its arrived to Monday and an immaculately prepared Brakespear Ground, bathed in sun, was the perfect backdrop for the first competitive match of the season. Deploying a pretty strong line-up, Henley won the toss and elected to bat. Any notions that Henley would have it their own way from the off were soon dashed as Henley’s top four all succumbed tamely and cheaply as Cross’s Duncan and Hunt combined experience and youth in an effective opening spell.
At 60 - 4 off 12 overs, it took the evergreen Andrew White and Chad Keegan to steady the ship and take the game away from Cross with a 69 run partnership. White was all measured control and steady accumulation, whilst Keegan’s nonchalant but venomous strokeplay had the Cross fielders retreating to the outer reaches of the boundary every time he was on strike, often to no avail as Keegan notched up 5 fours and 3 sixes in an innings of 53 off 57 balls which ended when Keegan took one liberty too many coming down the track and was stumped off the bowling of Cross veteran Richard Thomas. White soon followed as the wily Thomas trapped him lbw.
But if Cross sensed the chance of an upset, First Team debutant Steve Horne and Oratory skipper Ewan Brock, yet another combination of contrasting styles, conspired to produce a 51 run partnership, maintaining the run rate at over 5 per over and thus moving the game ever further out of reach. Both were to fall to excellent catches but not before Horne had served notice of intent with an excellent start that included a big six into the Little Angel. He was justifiably frustrated at getting out just when a big score looked on the cards.
In the remaining overs, Tom Lambert and Nick Denning both weighed in with useful and at times entertaining contributions. Lambert was justifiably proud of three meaty boundaries whilst Denning’s straight six was one to savour. In the end, 233 at a rate in excess of 5 an over was a pretty good score on a pitch which always offered something to the bowlers and made the ball quite hard to get away.
Any notion that a Cross side containing some very young and inexperienced players would chase down the Henley totally disappeared almost at once as Lambert and Keegan combined to produce an explosive opening spell. Aided a by some slick fielding, notably by Dave Barnes in the gully, Jonno McLean at slip and Keegan at backward point, Cross were13-2 down after five overs and 20-4 after twelve.
After that, the game became quite listless and dull as Cross showed no sign of getting to grips with an ever rising run rate and overs slipped by with little to show in terms of either runs or wickets. All that said, Denning’s accurate medium pace was a masterclass in miserly one-day bowling and when Mordt delegated bowling duties to the Horne/Brock combo, both kept Cross firmly pinned down.
Spinner Brock was not afraid to give the ball some air and was rewarded for his persistence with the scalp of Duncan who after a painfully slow start had ground out the only Cross score of any size and substance, albeit never to any avail.
The only question that remained was, as it had been for much of the Cross innings, whether they would see out 45 overs. Once Brock put paid to Duncan and Hunt, skipper Bjorn Mordt summoned back firepower to clean up the tail. Lambert duly obliged with his first 5 wicket haul this year as Fyfe and Thomas nicked balls though to keeper Stewart Davison and Keegan ended Richard Graham’s dogged resistance and the game with 2.5 overs remaining.
In the end, the result was never in doubt for almost the whole of the Cross innings and though it might have been much sooner in coming.
Innings of Henley:
David Barnes Ct Hywel Pegle b Alan Duncan 20
Michael Roberts LBW b Alan Duncan 5
Jonathon McLean Ct Alan Duncan b B Hunt 4
Bjorn Mordt LBW b B Hunt 12
Andrew White LBW b Richard Thomas 31
Chad Keegan st Sam Westaway b Richard Thomas 53
Euan Brock Ct Richard Thomas b George Graham 19
Steven Horne Ct Richard Graham b B Hunt 28
Tom Lambert b Malkeet Dhaliwal 20
Nicholas Denning Not Out 14
Stewart Davison Not Out 3
Extras ( ) 24
Total (9 wickets, 45 overs) 233
Fall Of Wickets:
21-1 Michael Roberts; 30-2 Jonathon McLean; 36-3 David Barnes; 60-4 Bjorn Mordt; 129-5 Chad Keegan; 134-6 Andrew White; 185-7 Steven Horne; 195-8 Euan Brock; 220-9 Tom Lambert;
Alan Duncan 9 1 41 2
B Hunt 9 1 53 3
Richard Thomas 9 1 38 2
Steve Rimmer 6 0 42 0
Malkeet Dhaliwal 7 0 31 1
George Graham 5 0 20 1
Innings of Gerrards Cross:
Sam Westaway ct David Barnes b Chad Keegan 10
Malkeet Dhaliwal b Tom Lambert 2
Sam Litchfield ct Chad Keegan b Tom Lambert 6
Alan Duncan b Euan Brock 57
Steve Rimmer ct Jonathon McLean b Tom Lambert 0
Hywel Pegler ct Jonathon McLean b Nicholas Denning 1
Richard Graham * b Chad Keegan 27
B Hunt LBW b Euan Brock 0
Ross Fyfe ct Stewart Davison b Tom Lambert 0
Richard Thomas ct Stewart Davison b Tom Lambert 4
George Graham Not Out 2
Extras ( 4b 2lb 11w ) 17
Total ( all out , 43.1 overs) 126
Fall Of Wickets:
13-1 ; 13-2 ; 20-3 ; 20-4 ;
35-5 ; 107-6 ; 107-7 ; 107-8 ;
126-9 ; 126-10 ;
Tom Lambert 9 3 31 5
Chad Keegan 8.1 3 16 2
Nicholas Denning 9 4 16 1
Bjorn Mordt 4 0 16 0
Euan Brock 7 2 16 2
Steven Horne 6 1 25 0
Umpires: Cliff Pocock; M Southerton
Scorers: Michael Roberts (Snr); Ian Thompson
Picture: Chad Keegan hits a 6
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|
| 2008 Season Review - Nice Try But No Cigar |
The novelist Malcolm Bradbury once explained the difference between reporting facts and creative writing by contrasting a cricket scorecard with a match report. The former would inform the reader of what had occurred whereas the latter could bring to life the game as it unfolded and tell the reader how and possibly why events occurred as they did, recounting along the way entertaining, remarkable and sometimes bizarre events that make cricket the game that it is.
The bare statistics of this season are that the Henley CC First XI finished 6th in Division 1 on 254 points, 25 points behind the 2008 Champions High Wycombe. Out of 18 games, six were won, seven drawn, three lost and two cancelled owing to the weather. Although this summer was little better than 2007 overall, far fewer games were lost to the weather and the Brakspear Ground was not transformed into a lake for local wildlife. As the League-table shows, ultimately, there was very little between the top six teams and going into the last few games of the season, the championship was wide open, reflecting a degree of variable performance and inconsistency by all clubs throughout the season.
It would be very easy with the benefit of hindsight to suggest that but for the intervention of the rain at Banbury in July when the home side were 43-8 and the cancellation of the game at Falkland in August, Henley could well have been champions. It is indeed probable that both games would have been won and had that occurred, Henley would indeed have been 32 points to the good.
The better view is that if Henley had played to their potential from the off and shown the form that they did in the latter part of the season, they would have been champions by a long way. So the real story of the season is one of a slow and poor start, a long period of catch-up and gradual movement away from the gravitational pull of relegation only to arrive just a bit too late in the championship zone. There are a number of reasons for the lacklustre start to the season, but prominent amongst them would be the lack of warm up games, the incorporation into the team of a number of new players who took a while to find their feet and, a problem throughout the season, an overall lack of batting performance.
On the opening day of the season, Henley entertained newly promoted Welwyn. Chasing 288, they collapsed to 229 all out in circumstances where a draw should certainly have been secured. A week later in appalling conditions at High Wycombe, Henley dismissed the home team for 124 but another abysmal batting display saw Henley hold on for a draw by the skin of their teeth, a feat repeated rather chaotically the following week at Tring thanks primarily to the efforts of Bjorn Mordt and Paul Carter with the bat.
A home tie against relegation favourites Falkland suggested an opportunity to get the season rolling and having dismissed Falkland for a generous 140, the omens looked good. Yet again however, a talented roll call of Henley batmen had no answer to some modest bowling as Henley were all out for 82 and Falkland recorded their only victory of the season. Defeat away at Oxford the following weekend in Week 5 cemented a dismal 9th place and the only way was up.
There was a marked improvement the following week when Radlett were the visitors at the Brakspear Ground. Radlett never looked like emulating Henley’s 255, thanks to another strident performance by Mordt with the bat plus contributions by Michael Roberts and Chad Keegan, but Radlett clung on 9 wickets down to secure a draw due in no small part to the Radlett middle order being allowed to get rather too comfortable for too long in the face of some pretty benign spin and slow bowling.
It took until a dank and gloomy midsummer’s day (a marked contrast with the recent weather we have been enjoying) for Henley to record their first win of the season at Slough thanks to Adrian Greyvenstein, Mordt and Carter in what was again an otherwise stuttering batting display. A second win of the season should have come Henley’s way the following weekend as they entertained Reading. Mordt, in terrific form with the bat, broke records as he notched up 146, this time assisted in the main by Todd Ferguson (56) and by modest performances elsewhere. Reading were never going to emulate 321 but Henley ran out of overs as Reading, 8 wickets down, clung on for the draw and Henley were left to rue not declaring sooner. At least another winning draw saw Henley begin to claw their way out of the relegation zone and claim seventh spot where they were to remain for much of the rest of the season as they chased down those that had made a better start.
Their pursuit was frustrated by the rain at Banbury and draw at a soggy Welwyn but once again, the batting was variable and inconsistent. Whilst Mordt and Allaway led the way at Banbury, only Carter and Alleyne really stepped up to the plate at Welwyn.
In both games however, Henley had had the better of the opposition and a growing confidence was reflected in an 8 wicket victory over High Wycombe who, looking far from Champions elect, were bowled out for 136, Mordt once again starring with the bat with an unbeaten 80. Victory a week later home to Tring Park owed much to the contributions of Alleyne and Allaway with the bat. Though 207 was rather less than one might have hoped for faced with Tring’s batting firepower, on the day, Tring had no answer to Dave Griffiths and Tom Lambert. Just as Henley were gaining momentum, the weather washed out the following games at Falkland and home to Oxford. The former cancellation was particularly galling as all the other matches went ahead.
Still, it was back to winning ways at Radlett as Chad Keegan, realising that it was not necessary to try and hit every ball out of the ground, finally showed what he was all about with a scintillating all round performance which included 85 runs, 5 wickets and some sharp fielding. The following weekend, Keegan was again rampant as Henley dismissed a demoralised Slough for 197 and Henley won by 8 wickets, Keegan smashing an excellent 116.
Relegation bound Reading were Henley’s next victims and had no answer to the bowling of Griffiths (7-51) and another big knock by Mordt (82) albeit that the underlying fragility in the Henley batting still made the outcome a bit nip and tuck.
And so Henley saw out the season against Banbury amidst the encircling gloom of a horrid September afternoon in a game that petered out to a draw and put paid to Banbury’s hopes of the championship.
At the end of the season Mordt was the third highest scorer in the HCPL with 710 and an average of 50.6. He was the only Henley player to feature in the HCPL list of leading batsmen which is made up of those who score 400+. In no small measure, this is symptomatic of the season. Had Mordt’s contribution been as limited and variable as some of his team-mates, it is possible that Henley would have been relegated. Certainly he kept the ship afloat when it mattered most.
A number of players will be disappointed with their performances this season. By their own high standards, openers Michael Roberts and Chris Ellison had below par campaigns. 2007 Player of the Year Greyvenstein’s availability was limited and in consequence his form suffered. More was undoubtedly expected of Alleyne. Although Allaway displayed a welcome return to form compared with 2006 and 2007, Carter and Ferguson scored 300 plus runs each and all made valuable contributions on different days, their average scores were modest reflecting up and down campaigns. Keegan also scored 300+ and recorded the second highest average of 38.2, but again it is important to bear in mind that the lions’ share of those runs came in just three games.
In contrast, the bowling department acquitted itself very well indeed. In only two games (Welwyn (H) and Tring (A)) could it be said that the opposition batsmen had the better of the encounter. Generally, whether they bowled first or second, Henley’s bowlers limited sides to modest scores, assisted in no small measure by a standard and quality of fielding which is probably the best in the League and top-notch wicket keeping by Ferguson who claimed 26 catches and 4 stumpings.
League regulations meant that it was not possible to play Griffiths and Billy Taylor simultaneously, but both players made excellent contributions, Griffiths claiming 21 wickets at an average of 13.9 and Taylor 19 at an average of 14.4. Although Taylor collected more of his wickets further down the order, his back of a length bowling, ideally suited to First Class county one day games, was miserly in the extreme and created pressure that others exploited. Tom Lambert, as ever, weighed in with a whole hearted performance, taking 26 wickets at an average of 16.1 whilst Alleyne contributed 19 wickets at an average of 28.2. Spin bowling, or a willingness to deploy spin remains an issue and although Azeem Hussein and Carter had limited opportunities, Hussein still took 10 wickets. Thereafter there were contributions by Nick Denning (4) Keegan (8) (only towards the end of the season) and Mordt himself (6). Had Shaun Udal spent his summer at Henley instead of playing for and going on to skipper Middlesex, the picture might have been very different on the spin front.
Overall then, a season which promised much but delivered less than it should have, rather than little. Henley Chairman, Paul Bradbury, told the Standard “the season for all concerned has been more influenced by poor weather than any other I can recall. Even on those days when play was possible, conditions were often cold and miserable. Nonetheless, the season was a productive one for all teams with the 1st X1, after a very poor start, finishing a creditable mid-table, only some 20 odd points behind the champions. Better luck with the weather would have seen us in a much better position. The 2nd X1 gained promotion as champions and both the 3rd and 4th X1s played well on many occasions throughout the season.
A pleasing feature of this season has been the development of several young local players, notably Stewart Davison and Euan Brock, the former scoring three centuries. Indeed, eleven centuries were scored by club players during the year, beating any previous record by a country mile. Some of these young players are now ready for more permanent places in the 1st X1 and 2nd X1s. That is what the club is all about”
In other competitions, Henley were runners up to Oxford in the Oxfordshire Cup, a 20/20 event and made the last16 of the Cockspur Cup. Next season the Cockspur cup is no more in its current limited overs format and the Club will participate in the Cockspur 20/20 Cup which had its inargural season with the semi finals and final being shown on Sky - now that would be something to look forward to.....
Final Standings
High Wycombe 279
Banbury 275
Tring Park 271
Oxford264
Radlett 257
Henley 254
Welwyn GC 241
Slough 155
Reading 143
Falkland 130
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| Match Reports for 2008 |
A full set of First XI Match Reports for 2008 can now be found under Archive.
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| Carter Stars as Banbury Fall Short In the Rain |
Henley v Banbury
Date: 6th September 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Initially breezy, dry and cloudy, rain showers later turning to longer spells of rain and increasingly gloomy
Toss: Won by Banbury
Result: Match drawn
Highlights: Paul Carter’s 64, Paul Taylor’s 5 – 67, Chris Smith’s 59, Benji Hector’s 49, Craig Haupt’s remarkable slip catch (for a big chap)
Catering: A “Grande Bouffe” day featuring Rita’s signature dish, an epic Chicken and Ham Pie, which was greatly appreciated by all. An excellent tea kept the wolf from the door until the “Last Supper” – starring a choice between Rita’s home made curry and rice (accompanied by some excellent pickles and popadoms) and/or chilli con carne following which there was a choice of wonderful home made desserts contributed by ladies various and/or cheese which was the work of Mrs. Admiral. All in all, an excellent feast and convivial social event.
Report:
Picking up on the Catering Report, and on a slightly more serious note than usual, the Last Supper was not just an excellent meal in gastronomic terms. It embodied and reflected the excellent and invaluable esprit de corps that runs through the Club and is the reason why Henley is successful not merely on the field but also in terms of a burgeoning membership and why people want to be part of it. This is due in no small measure to the hard work over many years of many people who have each contributed and continue to contribute vital component parts of the whole.
Like goodwill, it is hard won and needs to be maintained and there is more work to be done – speaking of which does anyone out there (members or not) fancy the full time job of First Team Scorer for 2009? An understanding and enjoyment, if not a love, of the game of cricket, its rules and of scoring the game is highly desirable, but no actual qualification is necessary. A willingness to give up 18 Saturdays between May and September also involving travel to the depths of Hertfordshire and to Banbury is a must. A sense of humour also helps. On the plus side, this is a very high standard of cricket, there is remuneration and free lunches and teas (nine of which at home are excellent and most away from home reasonably decent at least). All enquiries to Club Chairman Paul Bradbury, 01491-574903 or e-mail paul@bradburyassociates.com
Enough of all that…… Shaun Udal’s musical tastes are unknown – to your correspondent at least, but it is quite possible that last week he was strolling along St John’s Wood Road humming the late, great "Queen of the Blues" Dinah Washington’s 1959 Grammy Award Winning hit “What A Difference A Day Makes” (released on the Mercury Record Label) and thinking what a difference a season makes. Put out to grass by Hampshire at the end of last season as being surplus to requirements, Udal was scheduled, nay contracted even, to make his debut at the Brakspear Ground when the hand of fate, in the form of Middlesex CCC, intervened to make him a very lucrative offer he could not refuse. Naturally Henley could not stand in his way and his performances throughout the season have served only to underscore what an asset he might well have been had be spent his summer with us – though how it would have turned out, we shall never know. Anyway, not even he could have predicted the turn of events last week as he was appointed Captain at Middlesex to see out the season against a background of internal strife at various levels in the Club and talk of Mickey Arthur or Angus Fraser taking the helm in some capacity or another. It just goes to show how unpredictable life and fate and especially sport can be. If anyone had told Udal last September that he would be skippering Middlesex this September he would surely have laughed in their faces…. But there it is…. and at least he thereby avoided a lager-sodden Fines Evening at Henley after the Banbury game.
So yes….. we are at the bittersweet part of the season. Is it not better to travel than arrive? Is not parting such sweet sorrow? The season has come and gone, gone are all the hopes, aspirations and expectations and all we have are results, averages, statistics and memories, and in the case of the Second XI, a championship. No championship for the First XI in a season that promised much but delivered less (rather than little), more of which in the Season Review coming soon. We have said au revoir but not adieu to Toddy (see "Farewell to Todd Ferguson" under News and Seniors' News) and to Bill Waldron, and there will probably be a few other yet to be confirmed departures over the winter. Dick Keeble and his merry men will soon be putting the Brakspear Ground out to grass and packing away all the kit whilst the rest of us will have to find things to wile away the hours on Saturdays that were previously so entertainingly occupied.
This coming weekend for example, one could take in the Henley Hawks at Dry Leas, or, if men in white coats leading remarkably groomed and clean farmyard animals around a ring and related country purusits is your bag, then the Henley Show at Hambleden is an option though, doubtless, with all the rain, it will be like the Somme and wellies (green of course) will be a must along with the obligatory Barbour or DrizABone.
And, despite everything, we did get a game on Saturday which is more than can be said for just about anywhere else locally and further afield. Given the torrential rainfall on Friday, it was a something of a miracle that the Week 18 and final game this season in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League home to Banbury took place at all. But after a spot of mopping up, the match was under way at 11.40, having been reduced to 100 overs.
Banbury, still very much in the mix to win the Championship, won the toss and invited Henley to bat and it was not long before former England bowler Paul Taylor was firing for effect as he claimed the wickets of Adrian Greyvenstein, Chad Keegan, Chris Ellison and Bjorn Mordt as Henley slumped to 44-4 with only 14 overs gone. Both Ellison and Greyvenstein demonstrated some attractive strokeplay before having their off-stumps removed and Mordt was caught at forward-short-leg. Keegan meanwhile was unfortunate to be given out caught behind. Mark Alleyne joined Todd Ferguson, the latter playing his last game for Henley, and the pair saw things through to lunch (67-4) the arrival of which coincided with the first rain shower of the day.
When play resumed, Alleyne chipped one to Hole at midwicket and soon after, Ferguson closed his account with Henley, courtesy of a sharp catch by Craig Haupt at slip, the score now 70-6. This brought Paul Carter and Dave Allaway to the middle. Carter soon reminded all present that he is an extremely strong and clean striker of a cricket ball as he wasted no time in unleashing a volley of cuts, drives and straight hits down and around the ground. Following another rain delay, Carter brought up his 50 in some style with two sixes and a four off the spin of Jimmy Phillips before Phillips exacted revenge by bowling him an over later – Carter scoring a fine 64 off 50 balls, including 6 fours and 3 sixes, as he and Allaway put on 81 for the seventh wicket.
Carter’s departure coincided with yet more rain and a further reduction in overs to 93. When play resumed, Euan Brock joined Allaway. Just getting into his stride and having hit an excellent cover-drive four, Brock was out bizarrely, blocking Newhook’s next delivery which spin up and over his shoulder and dropped behind him, striking his wicket before he could react. Meanwhile, Allaway, warming to his task, had just despatched Nathan Hawkes back over his head and the Pavilion for the biggest six of the day, but was rather annoyed with himself as he slashed at the next ball and chopped it on to his stumps. One wicket remained and it was Taylor who capped an excellent bowling performance to remove Dave Griffiths’ off-stump but not before Nick Denning had brought up 200 and secured another batting point in some style, smashing the hapless Hawkes down the ground for a six and four.
Only outright victory would be good enough for Banbury if they were to have any chance of winning the title. It was therefore somewhat surprising that with the top prize on offer and rain threatening, they went about things in an extremely circumspect and cautious manner. Hole’s wicket, a golden duck lbw to Griffiths’ second delivery, was scant reward as both batsmen, Smith in particular whose bat was serially beaten, rode their luck but were otherwise watchful and restrained.
At tea, Banbury were 63-1 after 21 overs with 26 over remaining. After tea and some more rain, the scoring rate rose as Hector and Smith, and after him, Haupt, took a bit more of a chance against the bowling of Alleyne and Mordt. Smith was caught by Allaway at short mid-on off a leading edge, but as the gloom descended and the rain increased, playing conditions deteriorated to a point where it was unsafe to continue and the umpires led the players off for a further delay which turned into the end of the game, the result a draw. Banbury had to settle for runner up spot behind High Wycombe but had themselves to blame for not going for it from the off, having nothing to lose and everything to gain.
So, as the refrain goes in the Grateful Dead’s iconic song “Truckin”, “what a long strange trip it’s been”. As predicted in last week’s report, Wycombe are indeed champions and Reading join Falkland in Division 2. Some observers have queried whether Wycombe are the best side and whether they are worthy champions, but it would be churlish to deny Wycombe the credit they deserve for their achievement this season. The way it works is that the team with the most points are the Champions and that’s what was what Wycombe achieved and well done for doing so. Wycombe have a core of experienced players who have played for the club over many seasons, they have strength in depth and along the way they appear to have recruited prudently and for the most part successfully.
In truth, the rain was as much the final arbiter of the winners and losers as anything else. Oxford did all they could to retain their crown, dismissing Radlett for 94 all out as Jack Brooks had a glory day with figures of 9 – 39. But rain enveloped Cowley as the game was abandoned with only 17 Oxford runs on the board so putting paid to Oxford’s chances. The game between Tring and Reading lasted but an over, so Reading, reinforced by Ben Howell plus Danny Housego as well as returning skipper Dave Barnes, did not get the chance to slip the net of relegation nor did Tring have the opportunity of a tilt at the title. Not a ball was bowled at Wash Common as Falkland v Slough was abandoned, so Slough survive. Finally, in an interesting game at Welwyn, Wycombe, 9 wickets down at the death, almost lost. Had they done so, they would have been one point ahead of Banbury so if Banbury had secured another batting point by passing 150, they would have been champions, the points tied, but Banbury having lost one less game than Wycombe – just goes to show……
On the relegation front, it is very difficult to make an immediate return unless a team retains a solid nucleus of players. Over the winter there will doubtless be comings and goings all around the League but the prospects for both relegated clubs is going to depend to a great degree on just how many core quality players they can hold on to now they find themselves in Division 2.
Finally, Henley ended the day as they began it in 6th place, 25 points behind the eventual champions. The Season Review is for another day but what a difference there might have been had not the rain intervened at Banbury in July when the home side were 43-7 and had play been possible at Falkland when that game was rained off and no one else’s was....??? The answer (probably rather than possibly) is 32 points.... we are back to what adifference a day makes.
Scorecard:
Henley
Chris Ellison B Paul Taylor 21
Adrian Greyvenstein B Paul Taylor 11
Chad Keegan ct Ian Hawtin B Paul Taylor 0
Todd Ferguson + ct Craig Haupt B Ryan Newhook 16
Bjorn Mordt * ct Simon Hole B Paul Taylor 2
Mark Alleyne ct Simon Hole B Ryan Newhook 19
Paul Carter B James Phillips 64
David Allaway B Nathan Hawkes 29
Euan Brock B Ryan Newhook 12
Nicholas Denning Not Out 26
David Griffiths B Paul Taylor 1
Extras ( 3lb 1nb ) 4
Total ( all out , 45.1 overs) 205
Fall Of Wickets:
12-1 Adrian Greyvenstein (Chris Ellison-1*); 12-2 Chad Keegan (Chris Ellison-1*);
40-3 Chris Ellison (Todd Ferguson-7*); 44-4 Bjorn Mordt (Todd Ferguson-9*);
67-5 Mark Alleyne (Todd Ferguson-13*); 70-6 Todd Ferguson (Paul Carter-0*);
151-7 Paul Carter (David Allaway-14*); 163-8 Euan Brock (David Allaway-14*);
192-9 David Allaway (Nicholas Denning-14*); 205-10 David Griffiths (Nicholas Denning-26*);
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Ryan Newhook 16 2 57 3
Paul Taylor 18.1 4 67 5
Craig Haupt 4 0 19 0
James Phillips 5 0 39 1
Nathan Hawkes 2 0 20 1
Banbury
Christopher Smith ct David Allaway B Bjorn Mordt 59
Simon Hole LBWB David Griffiths 0
Benjamin Hector * Not Out 49
Craig Haupt Not Out 15
Nathan Hawkes Did Not Bat
Jamie Noble Did Not Bat
Luke Ryan Did Not Bat
Ian Hawtin + Did Not Bat
Paul Taylor Did Not Bat
Ryan Newhook Did Not Bat
James Phillips Did Not Bat
Extras ( 2lb ) 2
Total (2 wickets, 33 overs) 125
Fall Of Wickets
1-1 Simon hole (Christopher Smith-1*); 94-2 Christopher Smith (Benjamin Hector-33*);
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
David Griffiths 11 1 45 1
Chad Keegan 8 2 14 0
Mark Alleyne 8 0 29 0
Bjorn Mordt 6 0 35 1
Umpires: Cliff Pocock, David Tysom
Scorers: Bill Waldron, R Clarke
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| A Damn Close Run Thing at Sonning Lane (as the Duke of Wellington Would Have Put It) |
Henley v Reading
Date: 30th August 2008
Venue: Sonning Lane
Weather: Hot and sunny
Toss: Won by Henley who elected to field
Result: Win for Henley, Reading 202-9, Henley 204-8.
Highlights: Dave Griffiths’7-51, Bjorn Mordt’s 82 including 50 and 55 run partnership s with Todd Ferguson (again excellent behind the stumps) (31) and Paul Carter (29); Tom Fray’s 80, Ross MacAdam’s 54no and David Hartley’s 4-51.
Catering: Historically, bringing one’s own food to Reading has been a must, but there have been changes on the catering front, for the better it seems, and a commendably tasty Lasagne accompanied by salad with fresh fruit for dessert was the order of the day. An acceptable tea followed although quantities of sandwiches and volume of the fillings could have been greater. All in all, a pleasant surprise.
Report:
Paul Heaton, formerly of the Housemartins and the Beautiful South, and now plying his trade as a solo artist, has penned more than his fair share of memorable lyrics ranging from light hearted ditties (“Perfect 10” will always be your correspondent’s favourite) to much darker themes. “Liars’ Bar”, an example of the latter from the “Blue is the Colour” album, deals with a subject dear to Heaton’s heart, or rather his liver, for many years – drink. In the opening lines, Heaton describes sitting in a bar where no one knows your name as being like “lying in a graveyard wide awake”.
Your correspondent has often been reminded of that analogy watching cricket in the featureless open spaces of Sonning Lane where, normally, the lack of atmosphere and buzz is palpable. So Saturday was a bit of a revelation as a well attended Sponsors’ Lunch did much to boost both attendance and atmosphere and the balcony and area in front of the pavilion were thronged by people enjoying both the game and an afternoon drink or two. There was also a good turnout from the Henley faithful, many of whom made the short journey across the river to view proceedings.
Another weekend of scoring for your correspondent in the continued absence of Bill Waldron en vacances in Padstein, Cornwall and Tom Scanlan being in no fit condition to undertake the task, having recently had his hip op from which we wish him a speedy recovery. This week’s co-scorer was a fit again Roy Arnold, a delightful and knowledgeable chap with plenty of amusing anecdotes to tell. All in all, a good day’s scoring, marred only by several who shall remain nameless, but who should know better, standing in front of the scorers in little worlds of their own, oblivious of the need for scorers to see what is actually going on. Plus ca change eh!!
As I write, Captain Kev and his men are busy seeing off the South Africans at Lords to continue Kev’s unblemished start as England’s Captain Marvel. The plaudits will roll in from the same pack of journalistic hyenas that will be on him in a trice if things start to slip. Doubtless some who played with and against Kev in the Birmingham League in 1999 and in his Notts days will regard his ascent to these dizzy heights as having a certain hallucinogenic quality about it and are doubtless still rubbing their eyes in disbelief. But there he is, running about, patting players on the backside, whispering sweet nothings in their ears and bigging up Big Harmy and it is all going along swimmingly. Comparing Pietersen with Ian Botham, as some do, is in fact misplaced. The real Botham of the side, the wayward talismanic talent with bat and ball, is of course Freddie Flintoff, back it seems to full fitness and form with bat and ball. Might it not be that Kev’s “magic touch” as skipper is in fact no more or less than the return of the prodigal son at full power? We shall see, but it is fair to assume that Michael Vaughan, now left with no excuse for not doing DIY or going shopping or gardening (a dreadful fate awaiting all who give up involvement one way or another in cricket) wishes that Freddie had been back in his pomp long since – were it so, he might still be Test skipper.
In recent weeks, Chad Keegan has brought a similar talismanic (but not wayward) quality to Henley but just as Keeganmania looked set to take hold, he was, this week, unavailable to set about the opposition and Henley had to make do without him. In the event, it made no difference to the end result as there was a victorious outcome to Henley’s Week 17 derby game away at Reading in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League as Henley edged home in a tense and tight finish which may well condemn Reading to relegation with one game to go next weekend.
Both Clubs fielded weakened sides, variously owing to injury, illness and unavailability, and in Henley’s case, the needs of the Second XI. Reading were however reinforced by Dan Housego, making one of his rare appearances for his new club, and on paper at least, Reading’s top-end batting order looked perfectly capable of posting a good score.
All that reckoned without the pace and seam movement which Dave Griffiths extracted during his first spell. Whilst Mark Alleyne tied down one end with miserly bowling, Griffiths terrorised the Reading top order and wickets fell in steady succession. Perkins was caught at slip, Housego and Le Roux clean bowled, Barr brilliantly caught behind and Kang played on as Reading slumped to 32-5 by the 19th over. Only Fray survived, fortunate not to face as much of Griffiths as the others.
Once Griffiths was taken off (5-27 at the end of his first spell) Fray, assisted first by Turk and then by Zaman began to make progress and upped the scoring rate quite markedly before Griffiths returned shortly before lunch, this time from the Pavilion end, to remove Turk who had hitherto dealt only in boundaries but found himself lost in the corridor of uncertainly as he edged one which Alleyne parried and Mordt caught. At lunch, with Reading on 73-6, an early finish looked likely.
When Griffiths bowled the hard-hitting Zaman to claim his seventh victim of the day, it did indeed look all up, but Fray, who had been cautiously but steadily accumulating, was joined by 16 year-old Ross McAdam. Displaying a degree of maturity and application well beyond his years, McAdam ended the innings unbeaten on 54, the only blot on his copybook being an unseemly spat with his elder and better, Mark Alleyne. His innings contributed to an excellent partnership of 86 with Fray who was eventually bowled for an impressive 80 (including 10 fours) by Mordt who also accounted for Edwards. Thus it was that Reading saw out their 66 overs which was mainly due to Henley’s lack of a cutting edge in the bowling department, with Chad Keegan absent and Tom Lambert playing but unable to bowl. Griffiths bowled his heart out as his figures of 22 overs, 7 maidens, 7-51 demonstrate.
Somewhat against the odds, Reading had been allowed to post a defendable total. Henley soon found themselves 2 down for only 18 runs as first Chris Ellison and then Lambert, in an unaccustomed role as opening bat, fell victim to Edwards. First team debutant Stuart Davison was just beginning to find his feet when he was stumped, bringing together the experienced duo of Todd Ferguson and Mordt. A 50 run partnership did much to lay the groundwork for victory before Ferguson became Le Roux’ first victim of the day. When Alleyne soon followed, Reading must have sensed an opportunity, but Carter now joined Mordt for another key 55 run partnership before the wily and evergreen Hartley had Carter caught at slip. With Mordt, now joined by Dave Allaway, striking the ball to the boundary with ever greater authority, victory looked a formality – until Mordt skied one to Le Roux and mid-on and, next ball, Stewart Thompson was trapped lbw.
At 185-8, the game was on a knife edge, but Griffiths is no mug with the bat and both he and Allaway kept Le Roux and Hartley at bay, scampered ones and twos and found the boundary to keep the score ticking towards eventual victory with six overs to spare. All a bit nip and tuck at the end, but Henley were the more depleted side and Reading were left to regret the early batting collapse.
So, at long last Henley have moved up from 7th to 6th in the League following Welwyn’s defeat by a once again resurgent Banbury. Slough and Falkland both lost (to Tring and Radlett) but Reading have closed the gap slightly on Slough with a better points haul. Falkland are definitely down and it is now all between Reading and Slough next weekend as they travel to Tring Park and Falkland respectively. Early indications are that the weather will hold and, as Tring are in with a real shout of the championship, Reading can expect no quarter. Falkland will be playing for pride but Slough do have the quality to prevail if they can get their act together.
Elsewhere, High Wycombe beat Oxford in the top of the table clash and are the new leaders so it will all be decided next weekend. Banbury, having been saved by the rain in the corresponding fixture at White Post Road, will not be relishing a trip to Henley in their current form. Oxford entertain Radlett and Wycombe travel to Welwyn. Your correspondent’s predictions are the Wycombe will be champions and Reading will join Falkland in Division 2, ironically to be replaced by Farnham Royal – to whom, it will be recalled, they so generously ceded 10 wickets on the last day of last season - which was still not enough to save Royal. Next season will also see the return to the top Division of Potters Bar who thankfully beat Bishops Stortford in the top of the table clash in Division 2 East on Saturday – all of which means that we will not be travelling virtually to Cambridge to play Bishops Stortford in 2009. Notably though, this will bring to five the number of Herts clubs in Division 1, so ending the former hegemony of Berks/Buck/Oxon.
Scorecard:
Reading
Jonathan Perkins ct Bjorn Mordt b David Griffiths 1
Heinrich Le Roux b David Griffiths 11
Danny Housego b David Griffiths 3
Tom Fray b Bjorn Mordt 80
David Barr * ct Todd Fergusonb David Griffiths 8
Sukhi Kang + b David Griffiths 2
Paul Turk ct Bjorn Mordt b David Griffiths 16
Raheel Zaman LBW b David Griffiths 17
Ross Mcadam Not Out 54
Gareth Edwards st Todd Ferguson b Bjorn Mordt 7
David Hartley Not Out 1
Extras ( 1lb 1w ) 2
Total (9 wickets, 66 overs) 202
Fall Of Wickets
6-1 Jonathan Perkins (Heinrich Le Roux-5*); 14-2 Danny Housego (Jonathan Perkins-10*); 16-3 Heinrich Le Roux (Tom Fray-0*); 26-4 David Barr (Tom Fray-1*);
32-5 David Barr (Tom Fray-6*); 71-6 Paul Turk (Tom Fray-29*);
92-7 Raheel Zaman (Tom Fray-33*); 178-8 Tom Fray (Ross Mcadam-39*);
200-9 Gareth Edwards (Ross Mcadam-54*); 202-10 ;
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
David Griffiths 22 7 51 7
Mark Alleyne 16 6 41 0
Bjorn Mordt 15 2 55 2
Paul Carter 7 0 31 0
James Yandell 6 1 23 0
Henley
Chris Ellison LBW b Gareth Edwards 8
Tom Lambert ct Danny Housego b Gareth Edwards 2
Stewart Davison st Sukhi Kang b David Hartley 10
Todd Ferguson + LBW b Heinrich Le Roux 31
Bjorn Mordt * ct Heinrich Le Roux b David Hartley 82
Mark Alleyne ct Sukhi Kang b Heinrich Le Roux 4
Paul Carter ct Tom Fray b David Hartley 29
David Allaway Not Out 14
Stewart Thompson LBWb David Hartley 0
David Griffiths Not Out 9
James Yandell Did Not Bat
Extras ( 4w 11nb ) 15
Total (8 wickets, 48 overs) 204
Fall Of Wickets
9-1 Chris Ellison (Tom Lambert-0*); 18-2 Tom Lambert (Stewart Davison-5*);
31-3 Stewart Davison (Todd Ferguson-17*); 89-4 Todd Ferguson (Bjorn Mordt-25*); 98-5 Mark Alleyne (Bjorn Mordt-30*); 154-6 Paul Carter (Bjorn Mordt-51*); 185-7 Bjorn Mordt (David Allaway-5*); 185-8 Stewart Thompson (David Allaway-5*);
-9 ; -10 ;
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Gareth Edwards 14 3 52 2
Ross Mcadam 5 1 6 0
Raheel Zaman 5 0 17 0
David Hartley 10 0 51 4
Heinrich Le Roux 10 0 58 2
Danny Housego 4 1 20 0
Umpires: John Reed, Peter Tomlin
Scorers: Roy Arnold, Michael Roberts Snr
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| Slough Put To The Sword By Keegan |
Henley v Slough
Date: 23rd August 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Initially very hot and sunny, thence sunny with the odd cloudy spell during the remainder of the day.
Toss: Won by Henley who elected to field
Result: Henley won by 8 wickets
Highlights: Chad Keegan's 116 Not Out, including 10 sixes; Todd Ferguson's 47 Not Out and his run out and stumping; the loss of innumerable balls; Nilantha Cooray's 72 (also including some big sixes)
Catering: Rita’s super duper Cottage Pie held centre stage and was much appreciated by all who partook of it. All the other usual lunch suspects were present and an excellent tea was duly hoovered up. Those in the know are already lobbying for Chicken & Ham Pie for the last day of the season.
Report
The contrast with the corresponding fixture earlier this season could not have been greater in terms of the weather, location and ambience. The Brakspear Ground was bathed in sunshine and looking an absolute treat thanks to Dick Keeble’s tireless and ceaseless efforts. There was plenty of good company and a jug or two of Pimms, courtesy of our Ground Chairman. And since the side has performed consistently to its potential, spectating has become a more enjoyable and less nerve wracking experience. All in all, an ideal way to spend a Saturday, though, as The Admiral has observed, it will all come to an end in two weeks' time and we will have to find other activities to fill the void. It all seems to have gone very quickly and here we are at, as David "Bumble" Lloyd would describe it, the “business end” of the season. Thankfully, since the team bucked up its ideas, we have no business with the bottom end of the Division and at the other end, we may just be out of range for the big finish but are well positioned to make further ground and Move On Up, as Curtis Mayfield might have put it.
At the beginning of this season, we welcomed Chad Keegan back to the fold. A Henley resident and a Henley player in his younger days, Chad joined Middlesex in 2001 and spent 7 seasons with them before being released at the end of 2007. His first class career was plagued by injuries which contributed to its untimely end. In the course of his career, he was regarded by those who are qualified to make these sorts of judgments as a real England one day prospect and it is not hard to see why that was. On his day, he strikes the ball with timing, power and venom that is the equal of some of the “greats” of this game, his fielding is top draw, and latterly, we have come to see what he was all about with ball in hand. He is still very rapid indeed.
Now that he has tempered his batting with a degree of control rather than hitting three or four spectacular shots and getting our cheaply, he has the ability to put any bowling attack to the sword and turn a game single-handedly.
As at Radlett last week, so this week, he was yet again on song as Henley completed the double over Slough in their Week 16 encounter at the Brakspear Ground in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League in a convincing 8 wicket victory starring Chad who thrilled those watching with an undefeated knock of 116 that included 10 sixes.
Slough lost the toss and were invited to bat, getting off to a terrible start as their opening pair perished successively in the first two overs. Quereshi was brilliantly run out as an off-balance Todd Ferguson took a return catch one-handed and swiped off the bails and Khan was Keegan’s first victim of the day caught behind. Tom Burrows and Michael Payne sought to restore order and both batsmen displayed some attractive stroke play until Payne, beaten for pace by Keegan, lost his middle stump.
Nick Stovold quickly followed falling to a stunning diving catch by Mark Alleyne at slip. At 34-4, Slough skipper Bobby Sher joined Burrows and the pair added 44 for the next wicket. With a pull shot here and a straight drive there, Burrows had begun to accumulate until Alleyne cleverly opted to come round the wicket and deceived Burrows with one that jagged back and took out middle stump.
When Bobby Sher fell victim to a world-class stumping by Ferguson, the end looked nigh at 86-6 as Slough’s Sri Lankan all-rounder Cooray was joined by Jamshad, but the pair saw it out to lunch (109-6). It was now essential to clean up the remaining wickets as cheaply as possible but this was not to be as Henley failed to maintain pressure and lost the initiative for a while. Initially Dave Griffiths and Keegan bowled quickly but firing balls over the batsmen’s heads was never likely to get a wicket.
As the deck flattened out, Cooray exacted a high price off the bowling of Mordt and Azeem Hussain as he peppered the Little Angel with some big sixes. It took Paul Carter to finally break a 98 run partnership, bowling Jamshad middle stump for a supportive 23. Unfortunately for Cooray, a ball from Hussein had damaged his right foot which contributed to a degree of immobility as Alleyne trapped him lbw an over later. That was that as Alleyne had Amin lbw in the same over, and Griffiths removed Aeri caught by Dave Allaway at wide mid-off.
Set 198 to win, Henley suffered an early reverse as First Team debutant Euan Brock, deputising for an unwell Michael Roberts, opened his account with a sublime square drive for 4 only to be adjudged lbw next ball. His replacement Keegan was soon in the groove as his first six was nonchalantly flicked over the boundary, soon followed by a swept six dragged from leg which was still climbing as it passed over the poplar trees and into the allotments. Chris Ellison looked well set until he chased one widish delivery too many from Arif and was caught at slip, bringing Ferguson to the crease.
In 5 overs, Keegan, stalking the crease like a caged tiger, doubled his score to 79 as he shelled Remenham Lane with a volley of sixes, mainly off a limping Cooray, one of which cleared the houses on the other side and landed somewhere beyond. Several balls were lost. Keegan’s 100 came up in the 30th over off 79 balls including his ninth 6 which rapped crisply on the front door of one of the houses, the score on 179 There was just enough time for another Keegan 6, as Ferguson who had scored steadily and sensibly, including some big shots of his own, struck the winning boundary.
This was not a slogfest by any means as Keegan, heeding Ferguson’s advice, played circumspectly and selectively, despatching the balls that were there to be hit, leaving the ones that were not and running ones and twos made available by the unsurprisingly defensive fields. Slough simply had no answer and the game was all over in 36 overs.
Henley’s inability to move from 7th in the League despite continuing success has echoes of Groundhog Day as Henley now have 221 points and are equal with Welwyn, comprehensive winners over Reading on Saturday, but who have lost fewer matches. Elsewhere, the wheels fell off the wagon at White Post Road as Banbury were well beaten by Wycombe. Tring shook off last week’s bashing to beat a Radlett side that seem to be slipping out of contention by 8 wickets. Finally, Falkland’s mini-revival continued as they held Oxford to a draw at Wash Common. It would take a brave man to bet heavily on Falkland surviving the drop, but they were the Houdinis of Division 1 last season and were Slough and Reading to lose next weekend and Falkland to win at Radlett, that would make for an intriguing, indeed cliffhanging finish to the season when Falkland entertain Slough. Reading meanwhile must face Henley next weekend and end their campaign with the unenviable task of visiting Oxford. Relegation for the first time from Division 1 of the HCPL since it was created is staring Reading firmly in the face. The reasons for this state of affairs must await another day but (i) an inability over time to attract quality players to the club (Housego apart, but then he only went for the money, and, in the event, he has featured little and done little when he has), (ii) an inability over the years to keep quality players at the Club and (iii) an overdependence on youngsters this season must figure prominently. In fairness, all the “old guard” there have chipped in over the season and their overseas, the impressive Heinrich Le Roux, has done his bit, but it takes more than that to be successful at this level.
The Championship is still wide open and is probably between Oxford, Wycombe, Banbury and Tring. 50 points from the last 2 games for Henley are unlikely to deliver the Championship unless a series of other results fall mathematically into perfect place but 3rd or 4th spot remains a realistic goal. As Henley entertain Banbury on the last day, they will certainly influence the destination of this 2008 championship.
Scorecard
Slough
Fahum Quereshi ro 5
Gheyas Khan ct Todd Ferguson b Chad Keegan 2
Tom Burrows + b Mark Alleyne 36
Michael Payne b Chad Keegan 15
Nick Stovold ct Mark Alleyne b David Griffiths 0
Zaheer Sher * st Todd Ferguson b Nicholas Denning 19
Nilander Cooray LBW b Mark Alleyne 72
O Jamshad b Paul Carter 23
Vishi Aery ct David Allaway b David Griffiths 9
Nheem Amin LBW b Mark Alleyne 0
Usman Arif Not Out 2
Extras ( ) 14
Total ( all out , 54.1 overs) 197
Fall Of Wickets
7-1 Fahum Quereshi; 7-2 Gheyas Khan; 32-3 Michael Payne; 34-4 Nick Stovold;
78-5 Tom Burrows; 86-6 Zaheer Sher; 184-7 O Jamshad; 197-8 Nilander Cooray;
192-9 Nheem Amin; 197-10 Vishi Aery;
Bowling
David Griffiths 13.1 1 48 2
Chad Keegan 12 2 36 2
Mark Alleyne 12 3 35 3
Nicholas Denning 6 1 24 1
Bjorn Mordt 5 1 21 0
Azeem Hussain 2 0 12 0
Paul Carter 4 0 12 1
Henley
Chris Ellison ct Nilander Cooray b Usman Arif 26
Euan Brock LBW b Nheem Amin 4
Chad Keegan Not Out 116
Todd Ferguson + Not Out 47
Bjorn Mordt * Did Not Bat
Mark Alleyne Did Not Bat
Paul Carter Did Not Bat
David Allaway Did Not Bat
Azeem Hussain Did Not Bat
David Griffiths Did Not Bat
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 8
Total (2 wickets, 36 overs) 201
Fall Of Wickets
4-1 Euan Brock; 68-2 Chris Ellison;
Bowling
Vishi Aery 5 2 26 0
Nheem Amin 6 0 29 1
Usman Arif 7 0 31 1
Nilander Cooray 5 0 39 0
Zaheer Sher 5 0 37 0
Michael Payne 6 0 33 0
Umpires: Dave Burden, M Southerton
Scorers: Roger Garfath/The Admiral, Bob Lane
|
| Radlett Rattled By Keegan |
Henley v Radlett
Date: 16th August 2008
Venue: Cobden Hill, Radlett
Toss: Won by Radlett who elected to bat.
Result: Henley won by 4 wickets
Weather: Quite pleasant overall, much better than predicted; sunny cloudy but quite breezy, becoming sunnier after tea
Highlights: Chad Keegan’s batting, bowling and fielding and…. his aerodynamic efficient, streamlined shaved head. Todd Ferguson’s 56; Heath Paynter's performance for Radlett.
Catering: Elevated to the status of scorer in Bill’s absence on holiday at Trevone (Kernow), your correspondent shared an excellent lunch with the Umpires and Radlett scorer/legend Doreen Browne of roast chicken, roast potatoes, sweetcorn, green beans and gravy. Tea turned out to be a stupendous Tour de Force. Massive platefuls were devoured by the usual suspects, notably D Allaway and The Admiral. The best tea we have had away from home and one to threaten even the primacy of Rita!! – that’s how good it was.
Report:
And so it’s off to Radlett, yet another pretty long journey distance-wise into deepest Herts, albeit one made temporally short and sweet by empty and trouble-free motorways. Off at Junction 22, a B road takes one to the Northern end of the High Street. Radlett High Street, boasting four mini roundabouts and as many pelican crossings, turns out to be a mix of Mock Tudor, Art Deco, and some more contemporary architecture mixed in with some turn of the (20th) century and older buildings – overall pleasing to the eye. Though not part of John Betjeman’s Metro Land, it has a similar feel to it.
It is also an example, like Marlow, of the benefits of on street parking and not opting for pedestrian zoning and has a busy and prosperous feel to it with a wide variety of shops, pubs and restaurants, refreshingly free of “chain” retailers and betting shops which blight certain small market towns one could mention (because they are the only ones who can afford the rents….)
Radlett High Street is also part of the historic Watling Street, originally a Celtic trackway which the Romans later paved to form part of a route which enabled Caesar’s legions to make their way to Hadrian’s Wall and, sometimes, an uncertain and grisly future beyond it. The excellent Cat & Fiddle pub was not present in those days to slake travellers’ thirst, and, of course, according to John Major (More Than Just A Game, The Story Of Cricket’s Early Years; Harper Press), the invention of cricket lay far in the future. Formed in 1884, Radlett settled at their present home in 1937. An easily missed narrow entrance takes one into their well presented and maintained Cobden Hill Ground with its attractive pavilion which dates from the 1930s and is currently inhabited by a jolly nice and amusing bunch of club members, many of whom are quite partial to a drop of well kept Fullers London Pride.
Radlett are still very much in the mix to win the League though the received wisdom of knowledgeable insiders is that this is unlikely. Certainly Henley had the better of the corresponding fixture earlier this season, which should have been won had not Barker and Jenkins been allowed to become too comfortable for too long. There have been some changes in personnel this season with some old heads being replaced by more youthful and inexperienced heads, and, for sure, they are a different side without Gareth Berg, now spending most of his time with Middlesex.
Thus it was that the journey to Radlett was not without hope and expectation and so it proved as Henley recorded their fourth victory of the season in their Week 15 game in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League by 4 wickets, effectively banishing any notions of relegation and lining up a potentially strong finish to the season. Highlight of the game was a top-notch all-round contribution by former Middlesex star Chad Keegan.
Winning the toss, Radlett elected to bat. Their opening pair of Toor and Randall made a steady start and although Randall was troubled by the bounce extracted by Billy Taylor, Toor, warming to the bowling of Mark Alleyne, began to accumulate as the first hour passed and the new ball was seen off. Just when a wicket looked unlikely, a change of bowling made all the difference. Keegan removed Randall’s off-stump and Toor carelessly clipped a Nick Denning delivery to Azeem Hussain at mid-on and Radlett were 49–2. Dill and Radlett skipper Berger sought to consolidate, but Keegan deceived the dangerous Berger, caught by Chris Ellison at gully. Patel soon followed when he could only parry a slower ball by Keegan to Paul Carter
Dill and Radlett keeper Jenkins survived through lunch (87-4) but just as a valuable partnership looked in prospect, Jenkins nudged one into the covers and called Dill through for a run. Overestimating his partner’s fleetness of foot and underestimating Keegan’s razor sharp fielding, a direct hit removed Dill. Jenkins soldiered on with some success until he fell to a brilliant diving catch by Todd Ferguson off the returning Alleyne. An over later, Keegan’s alertness in the field did for Walker as he bulleted a return to Ferguson who swiped off the bails with Walker well short of his ground and Radlett were 159–7.
It now looked increasingly unlikely that Radlett would see out 66 overs and so it proved as Bjorn Mordt bowled Barker and Keegan’s raw pace proved too great for Sachdeva and Paynter, albeit not before Paynter in particular had mounted some plucky resistance to get Radlett over the 200 mark and give them some 20 or so more runs than they should have had. Keegan’s figures of 9.1 overs, 3 maidens, 5-22, speak for themselves as, in all, seven bowlers shared the work.
Set 210 to win, Henley suffered early setbacks as Ellison was adjudged lbw and then Michael Roberts was caught behind. Ferguson joined Keegan and their ensuing 138 partnership went most of the way to winning the game. Keegan, whose cavalier instincts were kept in check by the wise words of Ferguson, accumulated steadily and on occasions spectacularly all around the ground. However, it was not without giving several chances and he could have been out on 22 as Barker failed to hold a viciously struck shot off his own bowling and suffered a badly broken finger instead. Later on, Randall failed to hold a high-altitude skier and another one dropped over his head and over the boundary, but it was third time lucky as Randall finally got his man at long-off, but not before Keegan had struck 85 runs off 88 balls including 9 fours and 2 sixes.
Ferguson unfortunately followed in the next (36th) over, having patiently and, until then, chancelessly accumulated 56 (including 7 fours), the score on 165. Radlett, who had become very flat indeed in the field, were galvanised by the two wickets and Henley’s ascent to victory was not without a hiccup or two as Paynter had Alleyne and Mordt caught behind, and he and Toor restricted the scoring rate.
Another wicket might have made a difference but with plenty of overs in the bag, Carter and Dave Allaway knocked off the required 29 runs Both batsmen showed commendable care and attention but a classic cover-drive for four and a six down the ground by Allaway ended Radlett’s resistance with six overs to spare.
Henley are now equal on points with Welwyn who helpfully held Slough to a draw at Upton Court Road. Even more helpfully, Banbury defeated Reading in the glamorous surroundings of Sonning Lane. Reading might have felt that had done a reasonable job scoring 253-8, but reckoned without Benji Hector and Jamie Noble scoring 114 and 58 not-out respectively. Meanwhile, in the even more glamorous surroundings of Cowley, Tring Park set a new HCPL Lowest Score record (previously it was 80 v Oxford and Horspath in 2002) as they were shot out for 58, thanks to Jack Brooks' 6-22 as Oxford cruised to a 10 wicket victory. Finally, Falkland must have wished they had played more like it earlier in the season as they held High Wycombe to a draw at London Road. Heath and Chapman both scored centuries and Wycombe were 8 down at the end. Does this presage another Falkland end of season jailbreak?
All this means that Oxford are the new leaders and they and Banbury have opened up a small but appreciable gap to Radlett and Wycombe who likewise have a small but useful lead over Tring who scored “nul points”. Form and results have been variable throughout and the championship will go to the side that maintains consistent and winning course and speed from here on in. With 75 points up for grabs, Henley are not out of it which only serves to underline how things might have been had the first half of the season been different…….At the bottom, Henley cannot now be caught by Falkland, nor, realistically, by Reading. Falkland escaped relegation last season when all seemed lost and it would be nice to think they can do it again. Were that not to be so, the remaining relegation berth looks to be a straight fight between Reading and Slough.
Next up, Henley entertain a Slough side who are still in relegation trouble, but, so the rumour goes, may be reinforced by Barbados and West Indies paceman Tino Best – we shall see. At the time of writing, Slough have not posted their results on the Play Cricket website, so it is unclear whether Best played against Welwyn – if he did, he did not make much of an impression as Welwyn rattled up 329-4!
Anyway, Henley will be looking to maintain their current form and complete the double over Slough. Falkland are home to Oxford, and Reading are away to Welwyn and there are crucial matches between Radlett and Tring and Wycombe and Banbury.
Scorecard:
Radlett
Kabir Toor ct Azeem Hussain b Nicholas Denning 32
Simon Randall b Chad Keegan 11
Graham Dill ro 23
Shane Burger * ct Chris Ellison b Chad Keegan 13
Anish Patel ct Paul Carter b Chad Keegan 0
Tom Jenkins + ct Todd Ferguson b Mark Alleyne 41
Felix Walker ro 26
Paul Barker b Bjorn Mordt 8
Atul Sachdeva b Chad Keegan 14
Heath Paynter b Chad Keegan 26
Stuart Browne Not Out 0
Extras ( 8lb 7w ) 15
Total ( all out , 62.1 overs) 209
Bowling
Billy Taylor 12 4 20 0
Mark Alleyne 14 2 46 1
Chad Keegan 9.1 3 22 5
Nicholas Denning 6 2 22 1
Bjorn Mordt 11 1 43 1
Azeem Hussain 9 1 35 0
Paul Carter 1 9 13 0
Henley
Michael Roberts ct Tom Jenkins b Shane Burger 6
Chris Ellison LBW b Stuart Browne 8
Chad Keegan ct Simon Randall b Heath Paynter 85
Todd Ferguson + ct Sub b Kabir Toor 56
Bjorn Mordt * ct Tom Jenkins b Heath Paynter 11
Mark Alleyne ct Tom Jenkins b Heath Paynter 8
Paul Carter Not Out 14
David Allaway Not Out 17
Azeem Hussain Did Not Bat
Billy Taylor Did Not Bat
Nicholas Denning Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1b 1lb 1w 2nb ) 5
Total (6 wickets, 50.5 overs) 210
Bowling
Shane Burger 6 0 23 1
Stuart Browne 14 2 57 1
Paul Barker 0.2 0 0 0
Atul Sachdeva 7.4 0 46 0
Felix Walker 1 0 10 0
Heath Paynter 11.5 1 36 3
Kabir Toor 10 2 36 1
Umpires: Bob Blake, Cliff Pocock
Scorers: Doreen Browne, Michael Roberts (Snr)
|
| Rained Off Again |
Henley v Oxford
Date:9th August 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground, Matson Drive, Henley
Toss: Not taken
Weather:Rain and yet more rain, chilly and dank, felt more like November
Result: Match cancelled owing to weather and concomitant unfitness of the pitch
Highlights: Lunch
Catering: Days like this bring about an early lunch which was much enjoyed by all who participated. The meat pies were especially popular on such a chilly day and soup was in much demand. As usual, a stellar lunch – the highpoint of the day.
The weather could yet prove to be a if not the determining factor as to the winners and losers in the HCPL. One more weekend of abandonments/cancellations across the board like Saturday and Falkland are almost certainly down; two more weekends like this and Reading’s only hope of survival will then be to overhaul Slough, for whom, so it is said, reinforcement, in the form of West Indian paceman Tino Best, is on its way. Henley’s chances of advancement to the top have been dented by the loss of the opportunity to obtain 50 points over the 2 recent weekends but there must be no let up in endeavour, effort and recent form in the coming 4 games to ensure that come the last Saturday of the season, we are not fighting to stay up – as in 2007. Besides, the ability of the top 5 clubs to slip up from week to week and drop points means that all bets are still on.
There was no play in Henley’s Home Counties Premier League Division 1,Week 14 game against Oxford at the Brakspear Ground as rain fell throughout the morning and into the afternoon. After several pitch inspections by the umpires and the two captains, and with the rain showing no sign of letting up on a day which had a chill, autumnal feel to it, the game was finally called off at 2.30pm.
All other games in Division 1 were either abandoned or cancelled which means that each side received 6 points and there is no change in the standings. Next week, Henley travel to Radlett and will seek to continue the form they have shown in recent weeks before the weather intervened. Radlett are very much in with a chance of the championship and will doubtless be going all out for the win which makes for a potentially exciting contest. In the corresponding fixture earlier this season, Henley undoubtedly had the better of the day but Radlett just hung on for the draw with one wicket to spare.
|
| Lords For A Day |
Berkshire v Devon
Date: 6th August 2008
Venue: Lords
Weather: Overcast and sultry in the morning giving way to a glorious afternoon.
Toss: Berkshire win the toss and elected to field.
Result: Devon won by 40 runs
Catering: An excellent lunch was had by all those that attended Box 17 on the Mount Stand courtesy of Mr. John Grout, who himself had a fine liver and bacon and all the trimmings, lunching elsewhere with the Great and Good. Your correspondent was treated to a perfectly acceptable soup (fluorescent carrot and coriander) and a range of sandwiches, tea, coffee and soft drinks in the Media Centre as the Henley Standard’s special correspondent for a day. Our Chairman and his good lady refreshed themselves with an excellent pie and some sandwiches.
Off to Lords we all went, a sizable contingent of the Henley CC faithful, to support Berkshire and our three present players and one former player in that side. For the chaps the new and very smart Club Tie was de rigeur and widely worn. Having experienced some traffic problems in the High Wycombe area, Grouty and your correspondent arrive a tad later that we might have wanted but still in good time. The system had worked and your correspondent collects his Media Pass for the day at the North Gate. So after a quick hello to Bjorn and a brief chat with Dave Morris, resplendent in a fine green Berks blazer, its off up the lift to the space age Media Centre to observe proceedings. All mod cons including wifi are on offer and the view is terrific. The press (local press only plus local TV and Radio on the upper deck) are relatively thin on the ground so conditions are far from cramped. One can see however that things would be pretty tight with a full house of journos on a big match day.
The game is played on the penultimate track on the left side of the square looking from the Pavilion End so the Grandstand boundary is ludicrously short whilst the boundary rope on the Tavern Stand side is pulled well in and there would be enough room for a kids’ game of Quik Cricket to progress at the same time out there.
A goodly crowed turns up which swells throughout the day and, in parts, becomes more vocal as the lager begins to take effect. Although it looks a bit sparse in the wide open spaces of Lords, the attendance is excellent and far better than for the average county 4 day game, marred only by some of the usual moronic footie chanting as some refugees from the Reading and Exeter terraces took the opportunity to tune up for the coming season.
And what a good day’s cricket it was, 540 runs in a day, an excellent advertisement for Minor Counties cricket and more excitement and entertainment than many a turgid Pro 40 game that appears on Sky. Long may days like this continue, though if some within the ECB get their way, it will not. Ironic really, they chant the mantra of making cricket universally popular and attractive and open to all but if you do not provide these pinnacles of achievement for players at this level and other levels within the club and minor game, you are simply not going to sustain people’s enthusiasm. Trouble is, all these guys can see is the Sky Pound, the Stanford Dollar and selling the Shirt. It was perhaps revealing and indicative that this game received no billing or an ECB Press Release in the national press and there was no Live Score for it on the ECB Website.
A captain’s innings of 79 from Henley and Berkshire skipper Bjorn Mordt allied to a 90 run partnership with Paul Carter could not prevent Devon winning the Minor Counties Knock-Out Final by 40 runs as they dismissed Berkshire for 250. This was Devon’s seventh final since 1991, but their first victory since 1998.
On an overcast and sultry morning at Lords, Berkshire won the toss and elected to field. Henley’s Tom Lambert, bowling from the Nursery End, drew first blood when Allen was snapped up at slip by Craig Crowe for 8. Fellow opener Mole, riding his luck, surviving a very compelling appeal for lbw and a catch off a no-ball, was joined by Devon skipper Dawson who showed plenty of aggression and intent from the off. Berkshire’s cause was not helped when an injury to Richard Johnson brought about an unheralded change of bowling, but Lambert and Steve Naylor stuck to their task, Lambert, himself suffering from a side strain, returning excellent figures of 10 overs, 3 maidens 1 – 30.
Wickets were however in short supply as Dawson and Mole, the latter initially tentative but growing in confidence following Dawson’s lead, got down to building an innings. Both batsmen, Dawson in particular, made excellent use of the invitingly short Grandstand boundary, bringing up half-centuries as Berkshire kept the scoring rate in reasonable check but leaked too many wides for comfort.
With the score on 196, Dawson, now 4 short of a century, chased a widish ball from Craig Crowe and was caught behind. Any notions that a wicket that would bring about some form of collapse were soon dispelled as Neil Hancock came to the crease. Although Court went cheaply for 3 when Dave Barnes, stationed at mid-on, brilliantly held on the crisp on-drive, Hancock and Lye really went for it in the closing overs. Hancock’s 53 off 24 balls, including a massive 6 that disappeared over the top of the Grandstand, made all the difference as Carl Crowe, then Mitchell Stokes and Naylor were put to the sword, 41 runs coming off the last 2 overs.
291 runs for victory was undoubtedly a mountain to climb, but on a used but true deck, and Lords now bathed in sunshine, as it was for the whole of the Berkshire innings, Berkshire, with all their batting, rightly regarded it as an attainable target.
Four balls into the Berkshire innings, Barnes was heading back to the pavilion, having cracked a ball to Barlow at midwicket. Craig Crowe joined Stokes and the pair set off at a high rate of striking, exhibiting the full range of shots down and around the ground. For a while it seemed as though they were untouchable as the score raced to 67 in just 9 overs, only for the complexion of the game to change in a trice as first Stokes, going aerial just once too often, was superbly caught by Lye at deep midwicket and a ball later, Crowe drilled one to Dawson at short cover.
Mordt survived Bishop’s hat-trick ball and set about building the best innings of the afternoon. He was accompanied in that endeavour all too briefly first by ex-Henley player Jonno McLean who chased a wide delivery from Hancock straight to Hudson at deep backward point, next by Naylor, bowled by an unplayable delivery from Bishop and then by Jamie Morris adjudged lbw.
At 102 – 5, and 30 overs remaining, the gradient now became steeper for Berkshire as Carter now joined Mordt. The circumstances called for a degree of circumspection, which, allied to some tight Devonian bowling, pegged back the scoring rate. Against a spread field, Carter and Mordt scampered singles and twos and pushed the score on. Mordt’s 50, including 4 fours and a six, came in the 34th over, as Carter, more conservative than usual, chipped in as well. Whilst this pair were at the crease, victory always looked possible as 200 came up with 10 overs to go. An over later, disaster struck as Carter was run out. Johnson then completed a miserable day with a golden duck and when Mordt was acrobatically caught by Hudson at backward point, the writing was on the wall.
Lambert and Crowe put up some spirited resistance, but after a Petersonesque reverse sweep or two and several big hits to the boundary, Crowe chopped a Hudson delivery onto his stumps and that was it as Devon ran out worthy winners with 2 overs to spare.
After the game, Mordt was naturally disappointed. Enforced bowling changes, some soft serial dismissals and a generous helping of extras had not helped, but, as he rightly pointed out, Berkshire were well in the hunt for the best part of their innings. A case, therefore, of defeat but no dishonour as both teams contributed to a very entertaining day’s cricket watched by a substantial and noisy crowd.
Scorecard:
Devon
C Mole c Barnes b C D Crowe 67
A Allen† c C P Crowe b T Lambert 8
R Dawson* c B Mordt b C P Crowe 96
N Hancock NOT OUT 53
D Court c C P Crowe b S Naylor 3
D Lye NOT OUT 25
A Proctor Did Not Bat
J Hudson Did Not Bat
T Anning Did Not Bat
1 Bishop Did Not Bat
S Barlow Did Not Bat
Extras: 38
Total: (4 wkts, 50 overs) 290
Best Bowling: T Lambert 1 – 30
Berkshire
D Barnes c Barlow b Bishop 0
M Stokes c Lye b Bishop 42
C P Crowe c Dawson b Bishop 21
J McLean c Hudson b Hancock 4
B Mordt†* c Hudson b Hancock 79
S Naylor b Bishop 9
J Morris lbw b Barlow 1
P Carter Run Out 31
R Johnson b Hancock 0
C D Crowe b Hudson 29
T Lambert NOT OUT 8
Extras: 26
Total: (All out in 48 overs) 250
Best Bowling: Bishop 4 – 40, Hancock 3 - 63
|
| All Washed Out At Wash Common |
Henley v Falkland
Date: 2nd August 2008
Venue: Wash Common, Falkland
Weather: Rain and more rain, clearing up into a nice afternoon by which time it was all too late
Toss: Not taken
Result: Match cancelled owing to weather and concomitant unfitness of the pitch
Highlights: None
Catering: Players and officials sat down to an early lunch comprising an excellent curry and rice served up by the resident chef at the Bowlers Arms. The curry hand an excellent depth of taste and a real edge to it in terms of heat. Top stuff!! The ham egg and chips also looked very good. Next time, no need to take a picnic!!
Longish trip down to what is currently the Western extremity of the Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League at Falkland CC – though for how much longer is another matter as Falkland are now firmly rooted to the bottom of the League and, although nothing is certain in this life, look increasingly unlikely to get out of jail. A shame really, because they are a great club and the ground is excellent. It is perhaps idle (and tempting fate) to speculate on who will be relegated at the end of this season but there must be a very real prospect (unless Finchampstead or Wokingham can catch and pass Farnham Royal) that Henley will be the only Berkshire club remaining in the League Division 1 when the musical chairs stop at the end of the season – a sobering thought indeed in a week in which the primacy of Berkshire as a minor county is reflected in the forthcoming Minor Counties' one day final at Lords on Wednesday (play starts at 11am).
Driving down the M4 in thick spray against a horizon of very low cloud, the chances of a game of cricket being played looked very slim indeed and so it proved as Henley’s Week 13 game in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League at Wash Common against Falkland was washed away as steady then heavy rain during Saturday morning left the pitch saturated and, despite the best efforts of the ground staff, ultimately unplayable. Henley thus suffered their first cancelled game of the season, which, though a vast improvement on the serial cancellations of 2007, was very disappointing, not least as this game was the only game not to take place in Division 1 and Henley had to content them selves with just 6 points when current form suggested that Henley might have added to their tally of wins and taken the full 25 points on offer.
Henley thus remain in 7th place with 165 points, but only 14 points behind Welwyn Garden City who could only draw at Oxford. Last week’s leaders Radlett were beaten at home by a resurgent Banbury and that was enough to allow Tring Park, who drew at High Wycombe in a rain-shorted game, back to the top of the League. Elsewhere, Slough beat Reading at Upton Court Road to close the gap a little on Henley and put some daylight between themselves and fellow strugglers Reading. Reading were once again without D Housego and it remains to be seen whether he still features in Reading's plans or whether there has been any parting of the ways. Either way, Reading will now have a much clearer understanding of why it was that Henley did not try and hold on to him when he indicated that he did not feel “wanted” at Henley (code for “Please pay me”). At least his move to Reading meant that Reading paid two seasons or so of unpaid subs to secure his registration.
Anyway, all of the above means that things are getting ever tighter at the top of the League with Banbury closing down the gap to the top four title chasing clubs. Just five points now separate fifth-placed Banbury from top of the table Tring with Radlett, Wycombe and Oxford sandwiched in between.
With five games to go, the Championship is wide open and if Henley can string together some wins in the coming weeks against sides above them, anything remains possible.
|
| More Bling Than Tring |
Henley v Tring Park
Date: 26th July 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Toss: Tring Park won the toss and elected to bowl
Result: Henley won by 82 runs
Weather: Hot with long sunny spells, sultry and humid
Highlights: Mark Alleyne's 55, Dave Allaway's 49no, Dave Griffiths' 4 – 46, 5 catches for Todd Ferguson; Keith Dutch's 5 – 77, Andrew Wynd’s 50
Catering: Rita kept her burgeoning following (including some welcome visitors from Tring) replete and happy with a stellar chicken and ham pie (complete with Rita’s secret special ingredient) and amongst the cold offerings, some very lean corned beef made a welcome return. Viennese Whirls complemented the usual high standard tea with plenty of different sandwich fillings on offer. To cap it all, Rita was able to muster up a plateful of chilli con carne and rice from goodness knows where for Human Hoover S. Davison Esq. on his return from 2’s duty at Hurst.
Last Thursday in The Times, James Ducker reported on a rare interview given by Paul Scholes, the Manchester United footballer. Scholes is a modest and self effacing man who does all his talking and self expression on the pitch to great effect in what has been a long and illustrious career, spent entirely with the same club. He plainly regards himself as having been very lucky to have the career he has had with United and regards players who leave or want to leave as taking step down or backwards. All of which brought Ducker to a certain Christian Ronaldo, currently sunbathing himself into the colour of a pickled walnut at various glitterati haunts around the world while he recovers from injury and awaits the outcome of the tug of money and war of words between his present club and Real Madrid.
As Ducker observed, whilst Scholes and Ronaldo are kindred spirits on the field, the contrast off the field could not be greater. Scholes is a quiet family man who lives very contentedly in Saddleworth, a moorland village high up on the Yorkshire Lancashire border. His idea of a night out, says Ducker, is quiet pint in one of Saddleworth’s pubs topped off with a fish and chip supper.
Unwittingly perhaps, there was a degree of condescension in describing Scholes as a throwback to a generation of footballer “seemingly long gone, modest and humble” evoking black and white, if not sepia tinted images of footballers with long baggy shorts, short hair cuts, Brylcream etc. Anyone who has read Gary Imlach’s excellent “My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes” (Yellow Jersey Press) will know that being a footballer in the so called “golden age” on a maximum wage was little better than being a tied serf.
Although the balance in terms of footballer’s wages has tipped obscenely in the opposite direction, it is noteworthy that there are similar sepia tinted mutterings these days among the cricketing Establishment as the awful prospect of hugely paid globetrotting 20/20 cricketers looms over the horizon to destabilise the long entrenched hegemony of the county game. One suspects that the espousing of Adrian Stanford and his millions, compete with Stanford landing, US President like, by helicopter on the Nursery Ground and much bowing and scraping at the ensuing press conference, has been done through gritted teeth on the basis that it is better to try and control the juggernaut than let someone else drive it off in another direction.
In a side bar, Ducker had a bit of fun contrasting the off-field styles and activities of Ronaldo and Scholes. When it came to fashion sense, Ronaldo was described as Gucci, Prada and lots of jewellery. Scholes on the other hand was s described as “About as bling as Tring, Herfordshire’s small market town”. Ducker’s association with Tring, if any, is unknown and one suspects that he simply used the word because it rhymed with bling, not least as he deemed it necessary to explain what and where Tring is. He plainly is not acquainted with Tring Park’s rather bling pavilion, nor moved by the beauty of the verdant Chiltern Hills that surround Tring, and should take time to visit the Natural History Museum, the Parish Church with its Herfordshire Spike, and other notable buildings such as Pendley Manor, and the Louisa Cottages.
All that said, when it comes to contrasting the two sides on Saturday, there was definitely more bling about Henley’s game than Tring’s as Henley steamrollered the then League leaders in their Division 1 Week 12 match in the Home Counties Premier League in yet another display of high intensity, confident cricket and sharp, superior fielding.
Losing the toss and invited to bat, Henley got off to a fast start as Adrian Greyvenstein combined some classy straight and cover drives with other streakier boundaries to race to 32 before holing out at square leg, for once late on a pull shot. Tring skipper Paul Atkins soon replaced the expensive Harper with the more effective Tom Brooks and then abandoned seam and pace altogether in favour of spin as, apart from a short spell from Van Vuuren, Keith Dutch and Richard Byrne shared the bowling for the rest of the innings. The advent of spin certainly slowed the scoring rate. Todd Ferguson was Dutch’s first of five victims as he clipped one to Lloyd Brooks at short mid-on and Tring were jubilant when, next ball, an aggrieved Bjorn Mordt was adjudged caught at short leg. Michael Roberts who had put in the hard yards seeing off the new ball, was next to go as Byrne got one to spin back which Roberts helped on to his stumps trying to work the ball to the legside. Lunch beckoned as Mark Alleyne and Paul Carter played themselves in only for Carter to serve up a soft catch to Tom Brooks at short cover. So at 97-5, it was Tring that trooped into lunch with their tails very much up.
For Henley, the key now lay in not being rolled up and seeing out 66 overs. Chad Keegan’s usual fireworks were short-lived as, having slog-swept a 6 into Remenham Lane, he skied one for bowler Dutch to take. If Tring thought the end was nigh, Dave Allaway and Alleyne had different ideas as they put on 64 for the next wicket. For a while, tight spin bowling held down the scoring rate to one an over. But Allaway and Alleyne grafted for runs and boundaries came, particularly during Van Vuuren’s pricey spell which featured some big hitting by both players. In the face of increasingly defensive fields, Alleyne brought up his 50 with another big 6 over long-off only to be run out soon after, but the durable Allaway saw out the overs, just missing out on his half-century.
207 runs meant that Henley now had something to bowl at. Early wickets and removing the potential big guns was the order of the day. Dave Griffiths, generating real pace from the Pavilion End and unsettling the batsmen, struck first to remove Bowyer, caught by Carter at backward point. Next to go was Lloyd Brooks who had looked all at sea for his 3 runs, courtesy of yet another of those tricky low slip catches that Alleyne makes look so easy. When the destructive Dutch nicked one through to Ferguson low down, it was jubilation all round as a reluctant Dutch was sent on his way. Next, Keegan removed Harper, caught behind, and Alleyne’s deceptive and varied bowling soon accounted for Van Vuuren c&b. When Azeem Hussein made up for his first-ball dismissal with a first-ball lbw to remove a sweeping Tom Brooks it was 52-6 at tea and Tring were in deep trouble.
After tea, it was really a matter of time as only Tring keeper Wynd mounted any enduring resistance in the course of which he took a real shine to some pretty inviting spin bowling to register several 6s. In the meanwhile, Griffiths was now running in flat-out from the Remenham Hill End terrorising first Atkins and then Stillwell into nicking balls to Ferguson. Carter exacted revenge on Wynd by running him out thanks to a great return throw by Griffiths. Lambert then closed out the game when Stanway completed an excellent day for Ferguson behind the stumps. Stanway and his skipper were a bit grumpy about the decision but straight as a dye Aussie umpire John Attridge called it as he saw it and that was that.
Skipper Mordt was delighted with the day, highlighting the performances of Allaway and Alleyne and Dave Griffiths and Tom Lambert. He was however concerned at the number of soft dismissals but looking forward said “Man for man we are the best team in the League and we have got to keep believing.” Chairman Paul Bradbury commented, “At last the side is beginning to click and show a level of determination missing in the early part of the season.”
So, another 25 points for Henley who nevertheless remain in seventh but now have Banbury and Welwyn firmly in their sights and the bottom three receding fast from contact. Henley are also now only 41 points behind new leaders Radlett and with 6 games to come, anything is possible. Radlett recorded a fine win at Reading (for whom Heinrich Le Roux scored 125) chasing down 281 with one wicket to spare after being 100 – 5. Paul Barker, who stood firm against Henley a few weeks ago, was the man of the match with his unbeaten 110. If Radlett win the League by a few points, they will surely regard this match as a defining moment. Elsewhere, Slough went down pretty tamely to High Wycombe at Upton Court Road, Banbury held on to draw with Oxford, and Falkland held Welwyn to a draw at Digwells Park, Jamie Morris and K Zafar recording centuries. So nothing should be taken for granted this coming Saturday at Wash Common as Henley seek to atone for the abysmal home defeat at the hands of Falkland earlier this season and make further progress.
All this means that it is tighter than ever at the top. Only 6 points separate the top four and though Banbury and Welwyn are still in contention, they have not made the sort of ground they really need to of late to mount a challenge and now have Henley breathing down their necks. Exciting times!
Finally, another good day from the spectator point of view, plenty of people visiting and watching and enjoying thespectacle and the weather. Spectator of the day was Daisy, a Parsons Jack Russell terrier, who sat contentedly all day with her owners and observed the game with rapt attention.
Scorecard:
Henley CC
Michael Roberts b Richard Byrne 16
Adrian Greyvenstein ct Lloyd Brooks b Thomas Brooks 32
Todd Ferguson + ct Lloyd Brooks b Keith Dutch 18
Bjorn Mordt * ct Paul Atkins b Keith Dutch 0
Mark Alleyne ro 55
Paul Carter ct Thomas Brooks b Keith Dutch 10
Chad Keegan ct Keith Dutch b Keith Dutch 14
David Allaway Not Out 49
Azeem Hussain LBW b Keith Dutch 0
David Griffiths Not Out 5
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 8
Total (8 wickets, 66 overs) 207
Fall Of Wickets:
45-1 Adrian Greyvenstein; 72-2 Todd Ferguson; 72-3 Bjorn Mordt; 76-4 Michael Roberts; 97-5 Paul Carter; 119-6 Chad Keegan; 183-7 Mark Alleyne; 190-8 Azeem Hussain;
Bowling
Simon Stanway 9 2 24 0
George Harper 4 12 4 0
Thomas Brooks 7 4 9 1
Keith Dutch 24 1 77 5
Richard Byrne 17 4 36 1
Morne Van Vuuren 5 0 30 0
Tring Park CC
Matthew Bowyer ct Paul Carter b David Griffiths 8
Lloyd Brooks ct Mark Alleyne b Tom Lambert 3
Keith Dutch ct Todd Ferguson b David Griffiths 15
Morne Van Vuuren ct Mark Alleyne b Mark Alleyne 13
George Harper ct Todd Ferguson b Chad Keegan 3
Thomas Brooks LBW b Azeem Hussain 4
Andrew Wynd + ro Paul Carter 50
Paul Atkins * ct Todd Ferguson b David Griffiths 9
Oliver Sidwell ct Todd Ferguson b David Griffiths 0
Simon Stanway ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 2
Richard Byrne Not Out 13
Extras ( ) 5
Total ( all out , 44.4 overs) 125
Fall Of Wickets
9-1 Matthew Bowyer; 27-2 Lloyd Brooks; 27-3 Keith Dutch; 41-4 George Harper;
43-5 Morne Van Vuuren; 51-6 Thomas Brooks; 92-7 Paul Atkins; 94-8 Oliver Sidwell; 112-9 Andrew Wynd; 125-10 Simon Stanway;
Bowling
Tom Lambert 9.4 4 8 2
David Griffiths 17 5 46 4
Mark Alleyne 5 2 12 1
Chad Keegan 3 2 4 1
Azeem Hussain 5 1 29 1
Paul Carter 5 1 21 0
Umpires: Dave Burden, John Attridge
Scorers: Bill Waldron + the Chap with Indigestion (name not known)
|
| Captain Fantastic and His Green Grass Cowboys |
Henley v High Wycombe
Date: 19th July 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Sunny and Breezy for the most part, sometimes cloudy and cooler and a hint of rain around lunchtime which came to nothing.
Catering: When the Good Cricket Lunch and Tea Guide comes to be written, Rita will be right up there. An excellent lunch featuring a distinguished cottage pie plus all the usual suspects. As for tea, which was a bit of a celebration, a great cuppa plus a wide range of tasty sandwiches. The scones with jam and cream were also a bit hit.
Apologies for the title of this week's Article go to Bernie Taupin but skipper Mordt is just that at the moment. Where would Henley be without the 600+ runs he has scored so far this season to lead the batting stats in the Home Counties Premier League?? His example is one which all with batting aspirations must follow.
Back home again, after a few weeks on the road, to the delights of the Brakspear Ground on a summer’s day, home cooking, Rebellion Beer, plenty of familiar faces and convivial and knowledgeable conversation. The Royal Regatta, with its wonderfully quaint dress code firmly rooted in a pre-war if not the Edwardian era, has come and gone. So too have the Festival, the Trad Boat Rally and the Henley CC Annual Summer Ball, held this year further down the river at the Henley Management College. Only the Town Regatta is left, following which all the tentage and attendant paraphernalia will be removed, the bunting taken down and Henley will revert to its usual status as a sleepy market town with traffic and parking issues and, if the local press is anything to go by, a retail graveyard for clothing boutiques which appear to be closing weekly, doubtless to be replaced by yet another coffee shop chain.
As all will recall, in the encounter with High Wycombe earlier his season, Henley just managed to scrape a draw in appalling wet and cold weather conditions. Ironically, Wycombe were all out that day for less than they were this time around but it was Henley that ended up holding on to stave off defeat. This was always going to be a very different game, given the performances which Henley haveput inin recent weeks, and it was time to reap the full reward.
As it was, Henley chalked up their second win of the season in some style in their Week 11 encounter with High Wycombe at the Brakspear Ground, dismissing their opponents for 136 and then getting the required runs in just 26.4 overs. At long last, another good all round performance finally produced the full measure of points. Though Henley remain in seventh place in the League, they are evermore distanced from the relegation scrap.
Once again Henley had skipper Bjorn Mordt to thank for another towering performance with the bat to see off Wycombe, but the foundations for this victory were firmly laid by a compelling and dominating bowling performance allied to superior fielding, Hampshire’s Dave Griffiths marking his return to first team action with a 5 wicket haul.
Winning the toss, Mordt invited the opposition to bat in breezy and mainly sunny conditions. On a slow and softish deck, the Wycombe batsmen found it hard to get the ball away and there was plenty of playing and missing as the ball nipped about off the seam. Griffiths drew first blood when Taylor played down the wrong line and was bowled, and a couple of overs later, he collected the other opener, Fallis, thanks to a sublime catch by Todd Ferguson diving far to his left. If the openers and Gregg Pooley found the going slow, Paul Sawyer had other ideas and was just beginning to look dangerous when he nicked one to Mordt at slip off Mark Alleyne’s first over. Between them, Mordt and Alleyne choked off the runs and when Mordt clean bowled Gitsham to remove another potentially dangerous batsman shortly before lunch, Henley could claim to have had the better of the morning, the score at 86 – 4. Much though remained to be done and the next hour after lunch would be crucial.
Too often in the past, Henley have done all the hard work to reduce sides to four or five wickets down for a modest score, only to let them off the hook. This was not one of those days as the remaining 6 wickets fell for just 50 additional runs. Tom Lambert opened and closed his account for the day deceiving Morgan with one that nipped away and into Ferguson’s gloves, and an over later, Pooley whose 28 overs in the middle had netted just 18 runs, was finally put out of his misery, trapped lbw by Griffiths. Newell waived his bat at a widish Griffiths delivery and was caught behind, Wycombe newcomer Arshad chipped one out to the waiting Dave Allaway at mid off and Alleyne bowled Sketchley. It was all over in the 51st over when Mordt ended Cranfield-Thompson’s spirited resistance with a caught and bowled.
Early wickets fell in the Henley reply as Michael Roberts’ enterprising start came to a premature end when he edged a yorker from Sawyer, which held its line, to slip. Adrian Greyvenstein soon followed, adjudged lbw, again to Sawyer. Both Sawyer and fellow opening bowler Tim Cece interspersed some decent bowling with a liberal helping of no-balls which did the score no harm as Ferguson and Mordt proceeded with some initial caution. Mordt gradually found the range with a fluent cover drive here and an elegant cut shot there and as the score steadily mounted, the Wycombe morale and resistance drained away. The experienced Sketchley could not stop the rot and Arshad soon found himself smashed to the boundary by Mordt. Sketchley swapped ends and Gitsham was brought on. But it was all to no avail as Mordt doubled his score in the last 4 overs, taking Sketchley to the cleaners and dispatching the hapless Gitsham to all parts of the ground, finally closing out the game before tea with a massive 6 over the sidescreens at the Remenham Hill End, a viciously struck 4 and a final 6 over long on.
Yet again, this was a game in which the level of commitment and intensity displayed by the Henley team as a whole and individually was far superior to that of their opponents. Henley were far sharper in the field. Wycombe’s defeat sees them drop to fourth spot, but things remain very tight between themselves, Oxford, Banbury, Radlett and Welwyn. Tring, who just held on at home to Welwyn, remain in the lead, 15 points clear. At the bottom, Falkland are now firmly in what the French call the “lanterne rouge” spot, thanks to yet another drubbing at home, this time at the hands of Banbury who won by 9 wickets. Elsewhere, Slough and Reading (still minus a certain D. Housego) achieved creditable draws at Radlett and Oxford respectively. Reading are now 2 points behind Slough who are on 93 points, but the good thing from Henley’s perspective is that though Henley still have some ground to make up on Welwyn and the chasing pack Henley are now 40 points clear of Slough.
As with Wycombe this week, so with Tring next week, Henley will be a very different proposition from the encounter in the first half of the season, and as recent results show, Tring have faltered in recent weeks. Another 25 points would be wonderful.
Finally, apart from the usual diehards that turn up, it was good to see more people turning up to spectate – the more the better!!
Scorecard
Result: Henley won by 8 wickets
Toss: Henley won the toss and decided to bowl
Highlights: Bjorn Mordt's 80 Not Out & 14 - 2 Dave Griffiths' 5 - 51
High Wycombe
Leo Sandino-Taylor b David Griffiths 18
Patrick Fallis ct Todd Ferguson b David Griffiths 13
Gregg Pooley LBW b David Griffiths 18
Paul Sawyer ct Bjorn Mordt b Mark Alleyne 23
Mathew Gitsham b Bjorn Mordt 12
Mark Morgan * ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 8
David Cranfield-Thompson + ct Bjorn Mordt b Bjorn Mordt 18
Keith Newell ct Todd Ferguson b David Griffiths 2
Zeeshan Arshad ct David Allaway b David Griffiths 2
Christopher Sketchley b Mark Alleyne 9
Timothy Cece Not Out 0
Extras ( ) 13
Total ( all out , 51 overs) 136
Fall Of Wickets
28-1 Leo Sandino-Taylor; 32-2 Patrick Fallis; 56-3 Paul Sawyer; 83-4 Mathew Gitsham; 96-5 Mark Morgan; 98-6 Gregg Pooley; 104-7 Keith Newell; 114-8 Zeeshan Arshad; 136-9 Christopher Sketchley; 136-10 David Cranfield-Thompson;
Bowling
David Griffiths 17 6 51 5
Tom Lambert 15 2 42 1
Mark Alleyne 9 5 16 2
Bjorn Mordt 8 1 14 2
Azeem Hussain 1 1 0 0
Paul Carter 1 0 3 0
Henley
Michael Roberts ct Mathew Gitsham b Paul Sawyer 9
Adrian Greyvenstein LBW b Paul Sawyer 10
Todd Ferguson+ Not Out 24
Bjorn Mordt * Not Out 80
Mark Alleyne Did Not Bat
David Allaway Did Not Bat
Paul Carter Did Not Bat
Chad Keegan Did Not Bat
Azeem Hussain Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
David Griffiths Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 18
Total (2 wickets, 26.4 overs) 141
Fall Of Wickets
14-1 Michael Roberts; 31-2 Adrian Greyvenstein;
Bowling
Paul Sawyer 7 0 31 2
Timothy Cece 7 0 25 0
Christopher Sketchley 6 1 27 0
Zeeshan Arshad 4 0 19 0
Mathew Gitsham 2.4 0 33 0
Umpires: Cliff Pocock, Kevin Beaumont
Scorers: Bill Waldron, A Kingshott
|
| Henley Get The Better Of The Draw Against Lacklustre Welwyn |
Henley v Welwyn Garden City
Date: 12th July 2008
Venue: Digwells Park, Welwyn Garden City
Weather: A gloomy morning and a stiff shower gave way to sun at the start of play. After later showers, a mostly sunny and bright evening, save for occasional dark spells when rain threatened but came to nothing.
Catering: A perfectly acceptable lunch of roast pork and salads and a good tea with nice sandwiches and cakes.
First trip for Henley CC, and indeed for all who travelled, to Digwells Park, home of Welwyn Garden City CC which is very much out on the far frontier of the HCPL and the longest trip of the campaign. For some of the more geographically challenged, finding the ground proved a difficult task. A Greyvenstein in particular would like Sat Nav in his Christmas stocking but, rather surprisingly, Bill Waldron also found locating the ground, hidden away as it is in the middle of a housing estate, a bit of an ordeal.
As everyone knows, Welwyn Garden City, as its name suggests, is a garden city, founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the 1920s following his previous experiment in Letchworth Garden City, and designed by Louis de Soissons. Following the establishment of Letchworth Garden City and prior to the commencement of Welwyn Garden City, Howard wrote:
“A city will arise as superior in its beauty and magnificence to our first crude attempt as the finished canvas of a great artist to the rough and untaught attempts of a schoolboy.”
Whether Howard achieved this and whether his creation has survived the rigours of post-war urban planning, development and general bad taste must await another day as a visit to Digwells Park via Junction 6 of the A1(M) does not take one through the town itself.
Anyway, a very pleasant spot Digwells Park proved to be, a nicely proportioned ground surrounded by mature woodland, boasting a good sized and modernish pavilion with all the accoutrements required to keep two cricket teams entertained (TVs, pool table, dart board etc) while the state of the pitch improved sufficiently to enable play to occur. All in all, an agreeable location for a day’s cricket and, on a social level, an affable bunch the Welwyn members proved to be. The only downside to the day was the theft of Todd Ferguson’s cricket spikes from the dressing room by an extremely audacious robber.
Henley’s Week 10 match away to Welwyn Garden City in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League proved to be another weather affected game with a consequent reduction in overs which made winning the game a difficult task. As it was, Henley achieved a winning draw taking twice as many points (10) as Welwyn which reflected overall superiority in all departments.
Heavy overnight rain resulted in flooding to the square, leading to a delayed start at 2pm and a reduction in overs to 77 (42/35). Invited to bat, Henley were soon in trouble as early wickets fell. Gavin Baker accounted for Chris Ellison, Todd Ferguson and Bjorn Mordt, all variously caught in circumstances where Bakers’ haul of wickets owed more to the generosity of the batsmen than the quality of his bowling.
Meanwhile, Adrian Greyvenstein rode his luck as his wholehearted all or nothing approach resulted to in two catches going begging. It was therefore somewhat ironic that he should be adjudged caught behind having made no contact with the ball. Greyvenstein’s wicket was to be Hewitt’s only success of the day in a wayward spell which twice leaked 5 wides. Indeed, and unlike the opening game of the season, there was a certain lack of performance and intensity by Welwyn who set defensive fields from the off and then batted with little ambition when their time came. Hewitt apart, Derek Tate in particular had a quiet game by his standards and was decidedly out of sorts.
Still at 34-4, some repair work was necessary and Mark Alleyne and Paul Carter duly obliged with a partnership of 111. Their efforts were interrupted in the 26th over as the heavens opened. In order to save the game, early tea was taken, and although both skippers had misgivings about the pitch, the umpires declared it fit to play.
The game was now reduced to the minimum 70 overs (39/31) so any further stoppage would lead to the abandonment of the game. Although rain threatened, it stayed away and the rest of the game was mostly bathed in evening sunshine. Alleyne eventually fell victim to Tate, caught and bowled, and an over later, Carter’s fine and valuable innings ended, but not before he had deployed his trademark big hitting and reverse sweeping to good effect. It was no surprise that he should be caught on the boundary rope at deep mid-off trying for another maximum.
It was left to Chad Keegan and Dave Allaway to see out the innings, Keegan in particular being ideally suited to the task, nonchalantly swiping a couple of sixes back over the bowler’s head to contribute to a healthy 176 which generously included 22 extras.
If the Welwyn fielding lacked intensity, the same could not be said for Henley as sharp and energetic fielding allied to excellent bowling by Billy Taylor and Tom Lambert soon had Welwyn pinned down and leaking wickets. White and Tate went for ducks and Alleyne made a difficult catch at slip look easy to dismiss Hewitt.
Lamb and Laraman batted on steadily without ever showing any great desire to go for a run chase, but when Laraman pulled a fairly innocuous ball from Azeem Hussein straight to Greyvenstein at square leg, that was the effective end of the contest. In their defence, Welwyn would doubtless say that they made sure that they did lot lose a game going for glory, but it all made for rather dull fare.
Hussein was fortunate to pick up the wicket of Dan Blacktopp, harshly adjudged lbw notwithstanding the woodiest of sounds, and had both Taylor and Keegan pitched the ball up a bit more in circumstances where runs no longer mattered, a few more bowling points might have come Henley’s way. It was not to be and as the shadows lengthened, the game petered out into a draw. It was unsurprising that the home side ended up with a point less than if the game had been abandoned.
Elsewhere there were some interesting results as Tring Park slipped up away to a resurgent Banbury, Craig Haupt recovering his form and dignity with an unbeaten 86. Neither High Wycombe nor Oxford were able to capitalise on Tring’s reverse as Wycombe were held to a draw at home by Radlett and Oxford’s game at Slough was abandoned due to rain. Down in the basement, Reading and Falkland drew on the windswept steppes of Sonning Lane, all of which means that Falkland stay bottom on 75 with Reading and the Slough just above them on 82 and 86 respectively. Henley now have 109 points but still remain a bit in no mans land, somewhat detached from the midfield and upper echelon but still not sufficiently distanced from the relegation zone. A few 25 pointers anytime soon would do no harm at all!!
Scorecard
Result: Draw
Toss: Welwyn Garden City CC won the toss and decided to bowl
Henley CC
Chris Ellison ct James Southgate b Gavin Baker 0
Adrian Greyvenstein ct Daniel Blacktopp b James Hewitt 10
Todd Ferguson + ct Daniel Blacktopp b Gavin Baker 6
Bjorn Mordt * ct James Hewitt b Gavin Baker 4
Mark Alleyne ct Derek Tate b Derek Tate 41
Paul Carter ct James Hewitt b Gavin Baker 67
Chad Keegan Not Out 16
David Allaway Not Out 10
Azeem Hussain Did Not Bat
Billy Taylor Did Not Bat
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1b 7lb 13w 1nb ) 22
Total (6 wickets, 39 overs) 176
Fall Of Wickets
2-1 Chris Ellison; 23-2 Todd Ferguson; 23-3 Adrian Greyvenstein; 34-4 Bjorn Mordt; 145-5 Mark Alleyne; 147-6 Paul Carter;
Bowling
James Hewitt 7 2 15 1
Gavin Baker 10 0 43 4
James Southgate 10 2 42 0
Simon White 9 0 36 0
Derek Tate 3 0 32 1
Welwyn Garden City CC
James Hewitt ct Mark Alleyne b Billy Taylor 10
Simon White ct Todd Ferguson b Billy Taylor 0
Aaron Laraman ct Adrian Greyvenstein b Azeem Hussain 19
Derek Tate ct Chris Ellison b Tom Lambert 0
Nick Lamb Not Out 27
Daniel Blacktopp + LBW b Azeem Hussain 1
Gavin Baker Not Out 0
Ben Frazer Did Not Bat
James Southgate Did Not Bat
Martin James * Did Not Bat
Raymond Hodge Did Not Bat
Extras ( 1b 7lb 3w 2nb ) 13
Total (5 wickets, 31 overs) 70
Fall Of Wickets
7-1 Simon White; 10-2 James Hewitt; 12-3 Derek Tate; 68-4 Aaron Laraman;
70-5 Daniel Blacktopp;
Bowling
Billy Taylor 11 6 18 2
Tom Lambert 6 3 9 1
Mark Alleyne 3 0 11 0
Chad Keegan 4 1 21 0
Azeem Hussain 6 3 3 2
Bjorn Mordt 1 1 0 0
Umpires: Mick Southerton, Bob Blake
Scorers: Richard Hill, Bill Waldron
|
| Henley Make Light Work of Osterley in the Sun |
Henley v Osterley
Date: 15th July 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Overcast humid and breezy at the start, soon giving way to bright and hot sunshine.
Catering: What needs to be said? One of Rita’s stellar teas.
There should be more midweek cricket. What an agreeable way it was to spend a Tuesday afternoon either watching or playing in a game played in genuinely hot and sunny conditions (it is summer after all).
Henley eased to victory in their Group 12 encounter with Osterley in the Cockspur National Knockout Cup at the Brakspear Ground in Tuesday afternoon. In a game which produced over 500 runs, there was no shortage of entertainment as the allotments were regularly peppered with sixes, courtesy of the short boundary on that side.
Having won the toss and inserted Osterley, Henley seized the initiative with two early wickets as Tom Lambert had Armad caught behind and Keegan removed Rizui’s middle and off stumps. But Osterley regrouped, and courtesy of some rather benign bowling by skipper Bjorn Mordt and Adrian Greyvenstein, F. Armed and A. Armed motored on in the hot sun for a partnership of 113 as both reached 50s. It took the advent of spin to break the deadlock and although Paul Carter and Chris Ellison took some punishment along the way, the wickets began to mount up. When Ewan Brock took a difficult catch at deep long-on to dismiss Dharamraj for the seventh wicket, it looked as though Osterley might not see out their 45 overs. But sides like Osterley often have a surprise or two down the order and so it proved as Nain, a decisive and clean striker of the ball, spanked 66 runs off just 38 balls. Tom Lambert returned to pick up the wickets of Manoj, caught by Michael Roberts at mid-off and Shekeel, bowled, but Nain was not to be deterred and Osterley closed their innings on 251.
In reply, Henley made light work of chasing down the score. Aided by some indifferent fielding, Henley never dropped behind the required rate and got the job done with 3 overs to spare for the loss of only 4 wickets. Ellison and Greyvenstein got off to an excellent start, scoring steadily until Ellison was caught behind on 47, the score on 103. Keegan, moved up the order to inject some firepower, duly obliged with a series of huge sixes and other viciously struck boundaries. Meanwhile, Greyvenstein looked as though a century beckoned until he was bowled around his legs for a fighting 72. Shortly after, Keegan was run out and Dave Allaway joined Michael Roberts. Whilst the pair took the singles that were by now readily available with the field spread, Dave Allaway mounted an aerial bombardment of his own, striking 42 runs off 29 balls including the biggest 6 of the day which ballooned over the gate into Remenham Lane, bounced off a car and was never seen again. Roberts was out lbw in the 40th over, but by then, it was all over bar the shouting as Allaway and Mordt closed the game out with plenty to spare.
Overall then, a pretty straightforward win for Henley, but that is to take nothing away from a plucky Osterley side which contributed hugely to an entertaining game of cricket played in an excellent spirit.
Scorecard
Henley won the toss and elected to bowl
Osterley
L Armad ct S Davison b T Lambert 11
A Rizui b C Keegan 0
F Armed b C Ellison 51
A Armed lbw b P Carter 58
M Dharmaraj ct E Brock b P Carter 21
M Qaiser ct B Mordt b P Carter 1
M Sohi ct S Davison b C Ellison 1
Manoj ct M Roberts b T Lambert 17
Nain Not Out 66
Shekeel b T Lambert 6
Aman Not Out 7
Extras: 12
Total: (9 wkts) 251
Best Bowling: T Lambert 3 – 30, P Carter 3 – 48, C Ellison 2 – 30
Henley:
C Ellison ct Qaiser b Shekeel 47
A Greyvenstein b Rizui 72
C Keegan Run Out 54
M Roberts lbw b Shekeel 19
D Allaway Not Out 42
B Mordt* Not Out 2
Extras: 16
Total: (4 wkts) 252
DNB: P Carter, P Smith, E Brock, S Davison, T Lambert
Best Bowling: Shekeel 2 - 31
|
| Henley Cruelly Robbed of Victory by the Rain |
Henley v Banbury
Date: 5th July 2008
Venue: White Post Road, Banbury
Weather: Overall, horrible. Very blustery, bordering on gale force at times, mainly cloudy, punctuated by the odd sunny spell and short, sharp showers, finally turning to persistent rain which brought about the end of the game.
Catering: An excellent lunch of chicken cordon bleu and salads and a commendable tea.
So much for watching cricket in England in High Summer, two words which evoke mythical, golden hot unending summers of the pre-1914 Edwardian era. There was very little of summer, high or otherwise, about on the prairies of North Oxfordshire as a nagging and incessant wind blew in from the west/south-west all day, a bit like a Mistral, albeit from a different direction and without the attractions of Provence to mitigate the harshness of the occasionally gale force blasts. Some years ago, Banbury moved out of town to their current home and this new ground with its attractive Cotswold Stone pavilion and ample parking has much to commend itself. The only trouble is that its exposed position and lack of shelter (apparently the Club would like to erect further trees but the locals object – words fail one) make days like Saturday almost unbearable. Little wonder then that most spectators remained in the pavilion for the duration. There is much to be said for Blustery Banbury seeking to twin with Chicago. Although American visitors to White Post Road might understand little of proceedings in the middle, the windy weather would at least feel like home from (sweet) home.
In last year’s encounter, Banbury scored about a million runs as an under-strength Henley bowling attack wilted in the heat of gorgeous summer’s day. Hector and Smith both got centuries and Henley were thankful to scrape a draw thanks to Chalkie White’s unbeaten 48 allied to a lack of ambition that day by Banbury in batting on far too long and then setting defensive fields. This year, along with the weather, we were treated to very different fare.
As it turned out, Henley were cruelly robbed of victory by the weather in their Week 9 clash away to Banbury in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League.
With Banbury in complete collapse at 43 – 7 and all their big guns back in the pavilion, the rain which had intervened in the form of short sharp showers several times during the day, finally arrived in a more persistent form, preventing Henley from mopping up the remaining three wickets in the twenty-one overs that would otherwise have been available. The game thus ended in a draw and certain victory went begging, depriving Henley of a further 13 points.
This dramatic outcome had looked far from likely earlier in the day as Henley, who had won the toss and elected to bat, lost Michael Roberts, Todd Ferguson and Adrian Greyvenstein in short order. At 49 – 3in the 16th over, it was time to dig in. Skipper Mordt and Mark Alleyne almost saw it through to lunch before Alleyne was extremely unfortunate to be adjudged out lbw. At 84 – 4, Banbury had had the better of the morning session. When Paul Carter became Ryan Newhook’s third victim of the day, the need to consolidate and see out the remaining 35 overs and prevent a rout became evermore pronounced. Mordt was ably assisted in this cause by David Allaway.
It was gritty rather than pretty as Mordt and Allaway toughed it out in cloudy, chilly and blustery conditions which were no fun for anyone. A couple of near run-outs apart, both batsmen were however relatively untroubled as Banbury rang the changes, using six bowlers in total.
Mordt took the lead in terms of scoring, again recording not merely the highest Henley score of the day but also yet another excellent innings that includednine 4s andone 6 before former England bowler Paul Taylor ended his resistance in the 51st over as Mordt tried to hook him out of the ground in consecutive balls and was caught behind.
After Azeem Hussein had come and gone, the durable Allaway was joined by Nick Denning. As the innings drew to a close, both batsmen opened their shoulders and found the boundary with some eye catching shots. Eventually trapped lbw by Taylor, Allaway’s contribution in the course of a long innings in which he faced 109 balls was immense in terms of enabling Henley to achieve a creditable and defendable score. The second rain shower of the day brought the innings to a slightly premature end and shortened the game still further, leaving Banbury with 50 overs to get 215 runs to win. As things turned out, Banbury were in for a nasty surprise.
In an inspired piece of captaincy, Mark Alleyne took the new ball, bowling into the wind from the pavilion end, leaving the strike bowlers to work with the wind from the other end. This tactic paid early dividends as Simon Hole was brilliantly caught by Carter off the bowling of Billy Taylor. Benji Hector, keen to get a move on, misjudged Craig Haupt’s pace and ability to make his ground, the latter, much to his annoyance, run out by a stunning direct hit by Denning. Edwards was Taylor’s second victim of the day caught behind, and when dangerman Hector was outstandingly caught behind by Ferguson standing up to the stumps off Alleyne, Banbury were rocking at 14 – 4 . Tea and rain arrived but not before Luke Ryan was adjudged lbw to Alleyne. Now on 20 – 5, any thoughts of victory were receding fast.
After tea, Banbury tried to cling on but Smith was Alleyne’s third victim, caught behind, and when Paul Taylor looped one to second slip which Greyvenstein theatrically pounced upon, the end looked nigh as Tom Lambert now ran in with menace. It was not to be however as the weather gods had the last word and Henley, albeit blamelessly, were left ruing yet another win that got away.
At least however, Henley looked like an outfit capable of beating anyone in the League on their day and this they must take forward into the second half of the season.
Elsewhere in the League, Tring Park had a comprehensive win away at Reading who were once again denied the services of Danny Housego who was apparently “resting”, just when Reading need him most. Plus ca change eh. Anyway, that win enabled Tring Park to consolidate their position at the top as Wycombe and Oxford were soundly beaten by Welwyn and Radlett respectively – Radlett’s Middlesex pair of Toor and Berg most definitely not resting and contributing mightily with the bat. Meanwhile in the basement battle, Slough beat a Falkland side that put up plucky resistance before going down to an excellent performance by Slough’s Sri Lankan all-rounder Cooray who took a leaf out of Bobby Sher’s book of winning games single-handedly, scoring an unbeaten 112 and then taking 5 wickets. Apparently star reinforcements are in prospect at Slough including, so it is rumoured, West Indies’ star Tino Best, so things may be looking up for Slough who have not been the same without Nantie Hayward and Chris Lewis to sort it all out for them.
Behind Tring Park, things are now ever tighter between Radlett, Wycombe, Oxford and Welwyn with Banbury now slightly adrift but not far away all the same. Henley now have 99 points, and lead Slough on 80, Reading on 75 and Falkland on 65. A win on Saturday would have put Henley in a much healthier position on 112 points which makes the result all the more galling.
Still, there it is, and every point has to be grafted for. Welwyn will be certain to go all out for victory next Saturday as the Herfordshire clubs make an increasing impact on the League and Henley will have to be on their mettle.
Scorecard:
Toss: Henley won the toss and decided to bat
Result: Match drawn. Henley 12 points, Banbury 6 points
Highlights: Bjorn Mordt 82
Henley
Michael Roberts ct Ian Hawtin b Ryan Newhook 3
Adrian Greyvenstein LBW b Craig Haupt 28
Todd Ferguson + ct Craig Haupt b Ryan Newhook 1
Bjorn Mordt * ct Ian Hawtin b Paul Taylor 82
Mark Alleyne LBWb Paul Taylor 10
Paul Carter ct Ian Hawtin b Ryan Newhook 4
David Allaway LBW b Paul Taylor 43
Azeem Hussain b James Phillips 0
Nicholas Denning Not Out 23
Billy Taylor Not Out 2
Tom Lambert Did Not Bat
Extras ( 4b 9lb 4w 1nb ) 18
Total (8 wickets, 63.1 overs) 214
Fall Of Wickets
17-1 Michael Roberts (Adrian Greyvenstein-13*); 29-2 Todd Ferguson (Adrian Greyvenstein-24*); 49-3 Adrian Greyvenstein (Bjorn Mordt-12*); 70-4 Mark Alleyne (Bjorn Mordt-23*); 84-5 Paul Carter (Bjorn Mordt-33*); 159-6 Bjorn Mordt (David Allaway-19*); 160-7 Azeem Hussain (David Allaway-20*); 212-8 David Allaway (Nicholas Denning-23*);
-9 ; -10 ;
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Ryan Newhook 11 4 30 3
Edward Smith 6 0 21 0
Craig Haupt 12 4 25 1
Paul Taylor 14 2 49 3
Olliver Murrey 8.1 0 35 0
Luke Ryan 6 1 21 0
Edward Phillips 6 1 20 0
Banbury
Simon Hole ct Paul Carter b Billy Taylor 5
Benjamin Hector * ct Todd Ferguson b Mark Alleyne 6
Craig Haupt ro 3
Edward Phillips ct Todd Ferguson b Billy Taylor 0
Ian Hawtin + Not Out 15
Luke Ryan LBWb Mark Alleyne 0
Edward Smith ct Todd Ferguson b Mark Alleyne 9
Paul Taylor ct Adrian Greyvenstein b Mark Alleyne 0
Ryan Newhook Not Out 2
Olliver Murrey Did Not Bat
James Phillips Did Not Bat
Extras ( 3lb ) 3
Total (7 wickets, 28 overs) 43
Fall Of Wickets
9-1 Simon Hole (Benjamin Hector-4*); 14-2 Craig Haupt (Benjamin Hector-6*);
14-3 Edward Phillips (Benjamin Hector-6*); 14-4 Benjamin Hector (Ian Hawtin-0*); 20-5 Luke Ryan (Ian Hawtin-4*); 36-6 Edward Smith (Ian Hawtin-10*);
38-7 Paul Taylor (Ian Hawtin-12*); -8 ;
-9 ; -10 ;
* = notout batsman,
Bowling
Mark Alleyne 14 6 23 4
Billy Taylor 10 4 13 2
Tom Lambert 4 1 4 0
|
| Ellison the Star as Henley Blitz Oxford in the Cockspur Cup |
An extremely well disciplined bowling performance and outstanding batting meant that Henley CC comprehensively knocked Premier League frontrunners Oxford out of the Cockspur’s National Cup on Sunday. Henley now progress to the Regional Final to be held at Marlow CC this Sunday due to the Regatta.
Henley started well in the field with Tim Chamberlain bowling at a good pace, just short of a length meaning the batsmen struggled to get the ball away. At the other end Andrew White bowled extremely effectively to a well set field. No wickets fell in the first 10 overs but scoring for Oxford was slow which undoubtedly created pressure resulting in the run-out of Oxford captain Jason Harrison. When Henley changed to a spin attack the pressure told further. James Yandell, right arm off-spin and Chris Ellison, left arm slow, bowled well from both ends, opener Cook (65) fell to Ellison, having hit him for two sixes and attempting a third, he holed out to deep mid wicket. Cook’s replacement Jobson also fell to Ellison first ball. Yandell pitched in with two wickets which he thoroughly deserved from his tight nine over spell. Young left arm spinner Euan Brock bowled well and took one wicket as did captain Bjorn Mordt. Chamberlain was rewarded for his opening spell that had given him no wickets by taking two in the final over of the innings, leaving Oxford on a total of 213 for 9 wickets off their 45 overs.
In reply Henley openers Chris Ellison and Mike Roberts started with the chase with no doubts in their minds and Ellison particularly took the Oxford opening attack to task. The score raced to 65 from less than six overs when Ellison had his half century. Roberts was prepared, at first, to sit back and play the supporting role, but as the innings continued he too played aggressive but considered shots. Indeed Oxford were forced to make bowling changes earlier than they might have wished - their spinners did in fact, slow the run rate down but Henley continued chasing at a rate of over six runs an over.
Chris Ellison reached his century, one of the finest spectators are likely to see in this competition, in the thirty-third over. He finally fell for 111 off 114 balls with the score on 190 in the thirty-sixth over. Henley lost a quick flurry of three wickets but finished the game in style with a straight six struck by Darren White with three overs remaining. Mike Roberts finished the innings undefeated on 73 and it was he and Chris Ellison who should be especially commended for their batting performance.
|
| A Winning Draw Against Reading as Mordt Breaks Records |
Henley v Reading
Date: 28th June 2008
Venue: Brakspear Ground, Matson Drive, Henley
Weather: A lovely sunny breezy day
We have our chairman Bradders to thank for this week’s report, your usual correspondent being absent, following the morning session, at a very enjoyable and entertaining wedding, more of which anon. Apart from missing the rest of the game, the other downside to this early departure was that your usual correspondent also missed Rita’s Chicken and Ham Pie (with Rita’s special secret ingredient) which apparently received several Michelin Stars and rave reviews from the assembled faithful.
Reading showed up minus erstwhile Henley player Danny Housego. Apparently fatigued by his efforts on Friday night in scoring 18 in the 20/20 against Surrey, Dan was apparently advised to rest and sat this one out. Had he fronted up against his old muckers, on his recent HCPL form at least, he would have been undoubtedly overshadowed by his erstwhile skipper Bjorn Mordt who, in scoring 146, comfortably eclipsed the previous record Henley CC individual HCPL record score held by Dave Taylor (135 v Potters Bar, 15th May 2004). Not only was this a key innings in the context of the game, but it reflected a level of performance which no one has really matched this season at the Club and to which all must aspire. Congratulations Bjorn on an outstanding innings!!
It was nice too to welcome John Dykes to the Scorers’ Box on Saturday. John is one of the great characters of Berkshire cricket at all levels and his presence at a game is always illuminating, enlivening and entertaining.
Bradders writes…..
In their eighth league game of the season against local rivals Reading CC, Henley were surprisingly inserted having lost the toss. The early departure of Ellison and Roberts made Reading’s decision appear to be the right one with Le Roux bowling well. However, the departure of the openers brought together Ferguson and skipper Mordt who proceeded to put on 128 runs for the third wicket. Ferguson played his best innings of the season and Mordt was in commanding form from the start, in spite of having been confined to his bed with influenza for much of the week. Unfortunately for Reading, Le Roux had to depart the field to go to hospital with a broken finger suffered as a result of a hard straight drive by Mordt. In his absence, the Reading attack lacked bite though Hartley did put the brakes on the scoring rate for a period of time before and after lunch.
With lunch taken at 138 runs for 2 wickets off 31 overs, Henley appeared to be in a commanding position. However, Ferguson quickly fell to Beavon and Alleyne fell with the score on 165, playing on to his wicket from a lazy dab to a ball outside the off stump. Sometime later, Carter also fell to Hartley and at 178 for 5, Reading appeared to be back in the game. However, the reliable Mordt and a sprightly Allaway had other ideas. The latter, who has not enjoyed the best of form all season, proceeded to play a cameo innings of 27 before he was unluckily adjudged to be lbw. Both he and Mordt were particularly strong off the front foot in putting on 50 for the sixth wicket. In the 55th over, Mordt reached his 100 off 142 balls, before cutting loose with a flurry of boundaries. By this stage, the Reading fielding had become ragged with a series of misfields contributing to the large total. With the score on 310, Mordt was eventually caught on the boundary edge for a wonderful 146, the highest score achieved by any Henley player in the Premier League.
Reading’s response soon faltered with Fray falling to an excellent slip catch by Alleyne off the reliable Lambert. With the score on 41, Perkins also fell to a superb catch by Ellison, the sort of catch which Jonty Rhodes would have talked about for a month. Again, Lambert was the successful bowler. At 41 for 3, Reading appeared to be in trouble, but Le Roux and Barnes steadied the ship, the former getting an excellent 51, in spite of his broken finger, before falling lbw to Alleyne. Good support was also provided by Kang with 53 n.o. and Barnes who displayed his usual skills batting sensibly for 44 runs. Meanwhile, wickets fell to Hussain, Lambert and Taylor. However, Henley were unable to drive home their advantage, with neither spinner Hussain or Carter looking dangerous. After a few more flurries and the occasional piece of excitement, and in spite of Henley’s domination of all but the first half hour of the match, the game petered out into a somewhat tame draw with Reading on 201 for 8, enabling Henley to get 15 points to Reading’s 9.
Henley’s Chairman Paul Bradbury remarked after the game “clearly this was a better day at the office, with Mordt particularly showing his grit and determination with the bat. However, the team must learn to press home its advantage if the office is to remain open all weekend”.
…….. Elsewhere in the League, the top of the table clash between High Wycombe and Oxford ended in a draw, allowing Tring Park, victors at home to Slough to leapfrog into the Top Slot. The battle for the championship is therefore very much a three horse race with Radlett, Welwyn and Banbury still very much in the mix if they can string some wins together. Radlett crushed Falkland at Wash Common whilst Welwyn and Banbury fought out what seems to have been a pretty feisty draw. Henley’s draw against Reading was in many ways yet another win that got away but at least they are now best of the rest with a bit of daylight and breathing space between themselves and then Reading, Falkland and lastly Slough. Though it is far too premature to speculate, Falkland and Slough now have a tough task on their hands. There is, however, no room for complacency or foot off the gas as things can change very quickly.
Division One - Week 8
Tring Park 156
Oxford 155
High Wycombe 152
Radlett 130
Welwyn GC 122
Banbury 114
Henley 87
Reading 70
Falkland 65
Slough 55
Scorecard:
Reading won the toss and elected to bowl. Match Drawn
Henley CC
Michael Roberts b Raheel Zaman 9
Chris Ellison ct David Barnes b Heinrich Le Roux 1
Todd Ferguson + b Jack Beavan 56
Bjorn Mordt * ct Raheel Zaman b David Hartley 146
Mark Alleyne b Jack Beavan 14
Paul Carter ct Tom Fray b David Hartley 10
David Allaway LBW b Gareth Edwards 27
Azeem Hussain LBW b David Barnes 14
Nicholas Denning b David Barnes 16
Tom Lambert Not Out 0
Billy Taylor Not Out 7
Extras ( ) 21
Total (9 wickets dec, 65 overs) 321
Fall Of Wickets
11-1 Chris Ellison; 11-2 Michael Roberts; 139-3 Todd Ferguson; 165-4 Mark Alleyne;
178-5 Paul Carter; 228-6 David Allaway; 294-7 Azeem Hussain; 310-8 Bjorn Mordt;
314-9 Nicholas Denning; -10
Bowling
Raheel Zaman 7 0 58 1
Heinrich Le Roux 4.2 2 11 1
Jack Beavan 11 3 49 2
Gareth Edwards 11.4 3 39 1
David Hartley 24 2 106 2
David Barnes 7 0 48 2
Reading CC - 1st XI
Jonathan Perkins ct Chris Ellison B Tom Lambert 16
Tom Fray ct Mark Alleyne B Tom Lambert 0
David Barnes * B Azeem Hussain 44
David Barr ct Todd Ferguson B Billy Taylor 6
Heinrich Le Roux LBW B Mark Alleyne 51
Richard Kirk + LBW B Billy Taylor 8
Sukhi Kang Not Out 53
Raheel Zaman st Todd Ferguson B Azeem Hussain 4
Jack Beavan B Tom Lambert 0
Gareth Edwards Not Out 4
David Hartley Did Not Bat
Extras ( ) 15
Total (8 wickets, 55 overs) 201
Fall Of Wickets
2-1 Tom Fray; 41-2 Jonathan Perkins; 49-3 David Barr; 112-4 Heinrich Le Roux;
128-5 David Barnes; 134-6 Richard Kirk; 166-7 Sukhi Kang; 185-8 Jack Beavan;
-9 ; -10 ;
Bowling
Billy Taylor 16 6 32 2
Tom Lambert 11 3 37 3
Mark Alleyne 9 0 40 1
Nicholas Denning 3 0 16 0
Azeem Hussain 12 2 47 2
Paul Carter 4 0 20 0
Umpires: Pete Tomlin Martin Thomas
Scorers: Bill Waldron John Dykes
|
| Victory at Last as Henley Edge Home in a Tense Encounter |
Slough v Henley
Date: 21st June 2008
Venue: Upton Court Road, Slough
Weather: Overcast throughout, drizzly conditions giving way to a chill breeze.
Midsummers’ Day in the suburbs of Slough – an oxymoron if ever there was one. Once upon a time, Slough’s ground was pretty much in the centre of town, but, some years ago, the old ground went for housing and was traded in for a new one, the location of which would justify renaming the team Langley & Cippenham Strollers. The new pavilion is modern, well appointed and spacious and boasts an integral scoreboard and scorers’ booth upstairs. The surroundings are verdant but there is a certain lack of character and charm. Maybe that comes in time and the erection of a hedge between the 2 pitches would do much to reduce the impression of being in the middle of Salisbury Plain.
Surroundings apart, the spectator is also subjected to an aural bashing by huge passenger jets grinding low overhead in first gear and the constant drone and rasp of traffic on the not un-adjacent M4. Deceptively peaceful by day, apparently, in the style of that great 70s movie (not the recent remake) “Assault on Precinct 13”, the whole area comes alive after dark -seemingly, the last groundsman left on account of the nocturnal activities of the local feral youth. It being Midsummer, the weather was anything but suited to the longest day, Druids were thin on the ground, three layers of warm and windproof clothing being moreappropriate to the conditions than white flowing robes.
And, by the bye, the assembled throng were treated to a tense and exciting game. Sir Alec Ferguson, himself no lover of cricket, has a great phase for such encounters – “squeaky bum time” and so it proved to be
Henley finally returned to winning ways with victory in their bottom of the table Week 7 clash away to Slough. In a game that produced a nail-biting cliff-hanger of a finish, Henley won with just one ball remaining and one wicket left.
Persistent drizzle made for a late start, the game getting under way in chilly and breezy conditions at 12.15., and the overs reduced to 98. This gave Slough, who lost the toss and were inserted, 54 overs to bat. In the event they saw them though to the penultimate ball, one way or another losing all their wickets along the way.
The bad weather during the morning had prevented the groundsman from giving the wicket a final shave with the result that the track was over grassy and bouncy.
After the early removal of Taj and Khan with only 10 runs on the board, Henley found themselves bogged down by the enterprising Burrows and the dour Quereshi who made their way to a late lunch on 74 without further loss. Not even Skipper Mordt’s season debut as a bowler could break through and Henley were left ruing a couple of missed catches.
Shortly after lunch, Burrows who had taken a blow to his arm in the morning session off Tom Lambert’s bowling, suffered another such blow and this time, he was forced to retire hurt. Burrows’ misfortune was in truth a lucky break for Henley as the hitherto unshakable Burrows was replaced by Slough’s talismanic skipper Bobby Sher and the scoring rate slowed dramatically. Mark Alleyne’s early removal of Sher with a classy caught and bowled, effectively turned the game. Quereshi, Sri Lankan all-rounder Cooray and Arachchige all sensed the urgency of the situation and ran hard, riding their luck as balls dropped wide of fielders and the bat was frequently beaten. One by one they departed and Arachchige eventually ran out of partners as Alleyne, Azeem Hussein and Lambert mopped up a rather lacklustre tail.
177 to win in 44 overs as a rate of just over 4 runs an over was readily attainable and although the scoring rate seldom dropped below par, in the end, Henley made heavy weather of it. Shrugging off the early loss of Chris Ellison and then Michael Roberts to Cooray’s wily leg spin, Adrian Greyvenstein and skipper Mordt were soon into a very confident groove. Striking the ball well, they looked as though they would win the game on their own before Mordt rejected an invitation to take a run and Greyvenstein failed to recover his ground. Alleyne soon proved to be Cooray’s third victim and when Mordt went walkabout and was stumped, the initiative was somewhat needlessly handed back to Slough. Slough though did not help their own cause as some of their fielding left a lot to be desired.
.
With 50 runs left to get, the field spread and Sher and Cooray bowling with menace, things were delicately balanced. As Henley inched towards the summit, Sher bowled Todd Ferguson and Hussein. Carter relieved the pressure with a huge 6 and a cheeky reverse swept 4 and had his huge hook shot made it over deep backward point and over boundary as well, that would have been that. It did not and Carter departed leaving an injured Nick Denning and Billy Taylor to get the all important 4 runs from 5 balls. In the end 2 runs were required from 2 balls. Taylor mustered up all his professional coolness and aplomb, calmly assessing the field before sweeping Sher into the open spaces wide of third man and running the required pair.
To say that this was a nerve wracking ending is something of an understatement and the first League victory of the season was greeted with unbridled joy and relief by the team, officials and travelling support alike. It was however a close run thing and Henley can be thankful that they did not pay the price for several soft and unnecessary dismissals.
Elsewhere in the League, High Wycombe beat Banbury, Oxford beat Falkland, whilst Reading lost for the third week in succession, this time at home to Welwyn by 7 weeks. As Reading have thus far failed to record the result on the Play Cricket website, the gory details are unavailable though Welwyn’s Derek Tate scored 90 not out. Finally, Tring Park thumped Radlett at home, the Cobden Hill Mob all out for 87. All of this means that Henley have leapt into 7th place on 72 points ahead of Reading and Falkland on 61 and Slough on 49. Victory next Saturday over a demoralised Reading side would put a very different complexion on things especially if Falkland and Slough go down again which is quite possible given that they face Radlett and Tring Park respectively. All that said, there is and will be no room for complacency. Reading will be wounded and determined to turn a corner and a few victories now will only make up for the earlier games that were lost or drawn when they should have been won or drawn.
Scorecard:
Result: Henley CC won by 1 wicket
Toss: Henley CC won the toss and decided to bowl
Slough CC
Fahum Quereshi ct Todd Ferguson b Mark Alleyne 48
Gheyas Khan + ct Michael Roberts b Billy Taylor 7
H Taj b Tom Lambert 1
Tom Burrows Retired Not Out 44
Zaheer Sher* ct Mark Alleyne b Mark Alleyne 13
Nilander Cooray b Azeem Hussain 24
Ali Ahmed ct Mark Alleyne b Azeem Hussain 1
Laknel Arachchige Not Out 17
Vishi Aery ct Bjorn Mordt b Mark Alleyne 8
Nheem Amin ro 2
Useman Arif ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 5
Extras ( 6b ) 6
Total (1 wickets, 53.3 overs) 176
Fall Of Wickets
9-1 Gheyas Khan (Fahum Quereshi*); 10-2 H Taj (Fahum Quereshi*);
79-3 Zaheer Sher (Fahum Quereshi*); 106-4 Nilander Cooray (Fahum Quereshi*);
139-5 Fahum Quereshi (Ali Ahmed*); 140-6 Vishi Aery (Laknel Arachchige*);
149-7 Nheem Amin (Laknel Arachchige*); 162-8 Useman Arif (Laknel Arachchige*);
-9 ; -10 ;
* = not out batsman,
Bowling
Billy Taylor 14 2 321
Tom Lambert 16.3 4 52 2
Mark Alleyne 13 2 40 3
Bjorn Mordt 4 0 13 0
Paul Carter 2 0 14 0
Azeem Hussain 4 1 19 2
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Gheyas Khan b Nilander Cooray 7
Chris Ellison LBW b Nilander Cooray 14
Adrian Greyvenstein ro 49
Bjorn Mordt * st Gheyas Khan b Zaheer Sher 42
Mark Alleyne b Nilander Cooray 3
Paul Carter ct Sub B Zaheer Sher 34
Todd Ferguson + b Zaheer Sher 13
Azeem Hussain b Zaheer Sher 0
Tom Lambert ct Gheyas Khan b Zaheer Sher 2
Nicholas Denning Not Out 1
Billy Taylor Not Out 5
Extras ( 2b 3lb 1w 1nb ) 7
Total (9 wickets, 43.5 overs) 177
Fall Of Wickets
21-1 Chris Ellison (Michael Roberts*); 27-2 Michael Roberts (Adrian Greyvenstein*);
99-3 Adrian Greyvenstein (Bjorn Mordt*); 103-4 Mark Alleyne (Bjorn Mordt*);
127-5 Bjorn Mordt (Paul Carter*); 151-6 Todd Ferguson (Paul Carter*);
151-7 Azeem Hussain (Paul Carter*); 164-8 Tom Lambert (Paul Carter*);
173-9 Paul Carter (Nicholas Denning*); -10 ;
* = not out batsman,
Bowling
Useman Arif 5 0 23 0
Nheem Amin 3 0 10 0
Nilander Cooray 19 1 69 3
Zaheer Sher14.5 1 55 5
Vishi Aery 2 0 16 0
|
| One Wicket Short of Victory |
Henley v Radlett
Date:14th June 2008
Venue:Brakespear Ground, Henley
Weather:Sunny and Cloudy spells
Result: Match Deawn
So near and yet so far. Henley’s Week 6 clash with Radlett in Division 1 of the HCPL ended in a draw, Henley falling just one wicket short of victory over a Radlett side which clearly fancied their chances, having won the toss and inserted Henley, doubtless hoping to exploit a perceived fragility in Henley batting.
When Henley lost Chris Ellison and Todd Ferguson in quick succession with only 11 runs in thirteen overs, Radlett must have thought that their had made the right call. But once the new ball had seamed around for the first dozen overs, a couple of boundaries from Michael Roberts in the 16th over followed by four more by skipper Bjorn Mordt in the 18th signalled a shift in the balance of power as Henley gradually assumed control of the game which they were never to lose. Mordt and Roberts motored on for a partnership of 81 before Roberts’ enterprising innings ended when he chipped one back to the bowler Walker. By now, Mordt was well into his stride. In the course an outstanding captain’s innings of 109 in 113 balls, Mordt found the boundary rope seventeen times, supported on his way by steady contributions by Mark Alleyne and Paul Carter.
Radlett’s abundance of spin bowling pinned back the flow of runs. Eventually Mordt perished when another mighty strike was caught just within the boundary at long on. But that was not the end of the fireworks as Chad Keegan put the Radlett bowling to the sword. Playing a role he was well used to in his first class days at Middlesex, Keegan was responsible for the loss of at least four balls as the houses on the other side Remenham Lane were bombarded by four massive sixes. His 46 off 53 balls was to prove a valuable contribution as the remaining wickets fell cheaply by the 66th over.
Chasing 256 for victory in 54 overs became a mountain to climb as Tom Lambert swiftly accounted for Radlett’s Lewis and Lowe. Tim Chamberlain, making an impressive return to the top level, was soon into the action as, in successive balls, he bowled Dill and then had the dangerous Kabir Toor brilliantly caught behind by Ferguson diving far to his right. When Felix Walker was caught at slip by Mordt off Lambert’s bowling and Radlett skipper Shane Berger was, somewhat surprisingly, adjudged caught behind, the end looked nigh for Radlett at 44 – 6.
But success in this League is often about who stands up and is counted in the middle order when the chips are down and Radlett keeper Tom Jenkins and spinner Paul Barker answered the call as they put on 85 for the seventh wicket. After a long period of relatively comfortable batting, Azeem Hussein eventually bowled Jenkins, but Barker was allowed to continue serenely on for another11 overs before he blocked a ball off Carter that rolled back onto his stumps. By now the clock was running down and the time to ring the changes and prize out the remaining batsmen was long overdue. With two wickets and five overs left, Lambert and Chamberlain returned to produce a nail biting finish. Lambert had the tentative Walker caught behind for his fifth wicket of the day but despite a compelling appeal for lbw off in Chamberlain’s last over which Umpire Len Reid turned down, the last wicket just would not come as Radlett eased themselves out of jail and into a losing draw.
This was nevertheless a much improved performance by a Henley side that showed a much greater degree of composure, cohesion and balance. Despite not winning, Mordt was justifiably pleased with the day’s work. Singling out Lambert, Chamberlain, Keegan and Roberts for special mention, Mordt said “It’s a shame we did not win but we took control early on and never lost it. We can take a lot from this and it will give us confidence in the games to come”.
Elsewhere in the League, Reading lost yet again, this time to Banbury, former Henley player Danny Housego registering yet another zero. Wycombe returned to winning ways at Falkland whilst the wheels finally came of the wagon for Qxford as Tring Park cruised to victory. The final game of the day was between Welwyn and Slough or rather Welwyn v Bobby Sher as Slough secured a draw thanks for 5 wickets and 95 not out from Sher in what appears to have been a one man display of resistance.
The shape of the league is becoming ever more defined with a top 4 a middle 2 and a bottom 4. As things stand, the relegation battle is now firmly joined between Slough, Henley, Reading, and Falkland all which makes Henley’s next 2 games against Slough (a) and Reading (h) ever more important.
Scorecard
Henley CC
Michael Roberts ct Rob Watson b Rob Watson 43
Chris Ellison ct Tom Jenkins b Rob Watson 2
Todd Ferguson + ct Tom Jenkins b Shane Burger 2
Bjorn Mordt * ct Graham Dill b Atul Sachdeva 109
Mark Alleyne ct Shane Burger b Atul Sachdeva 11
Paul Carter ct Felix Walker b Atul Sachdeva 17
Chad Keegan b Felix Walker 46
David Allaway ct Steve Lowe b Atul Sachdeva 6
Azeem Hussain Not Out 3
Tom Lambert ct Tom Jenkin b Felix Walker 0
Tim Chamberlain ct Shane Burger b Atul Sachdeva 2
Extras 14
Total ( all out , 65.5 overs) 255
Fall Of Wickets
8-1 Chris Ellison; 11-2 Todd Ferguson; 98-3 Michael Roberts; 139-4 Mark Alleyne;
168-5 Paul Carter; 219-6 Bjorn Mordt; 248-7 Chad Keegan; 250-8 David Allaway;
252-9 Tom Lambert; 255-10 Tim Chamberlain;
Bowling
Shane Burger 142 331
Rob Watson 95202
Felix Walker 70402
Paul Barker 90420
Kabir Toor 2090
Robert Crocker 90390
Atul Sachdeva 15.52635
Radlett CC
Graham Dill b Tim Chamberlain 11
James Lewis ct Mark Alleyne b Tom Lambert 4
Steve Lowe ct David Allaway b Tom Lambert 0
Shane Burger * ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 9
Kabir Toor ct Todd Ferguson b Tim Chamberlain 0
Felix Walker ct Bjorn Mordt b Tom Lambert 2
Tom Jenkins + b Azeem Hussain 50
Paul Barker b Paul Carter 56
Atul Sachdeva Not Out 8
Rob Watson ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 5
Robert Crocker Not Out 4
Extras ( ) 21
Total (9 wickets, 54 overs) 165
Fall Of Wickets
11-1 James Lewis; 11-2 Steve Lowe; 22-3 Graham Dill; 22-4 Kabir Toor;
31-5 Felix Walker; 44-6 Shane Burger; 129-7 Tom Jenkins; 153-8 Paul Barker;
166-9 Paul Barker; -10 Rob Watson;
Bowling
Tom Lambert 152435
Tim Chamberlain 101442
Chad Keegan 2040
Mark Alleyne 71230
Paul Carter 153331
Azeem Hussain 50111
Umpires:John AttridgeLen Reid
Scorers:Bill WaldronDoreene Browne
|
| Oxford Prevail in a Game of Hard Yacca at Cowley |
Oxford v Henley
Date:7th June 2008
Venue: Roman Way Sports Ground
Weather: Sunny breezy and cloudy, colder when cloudy turning into a very pleasant sunny afternoon/evening.
Oxford, a word that conjures up images of dreaming spires, cloistered academe, Blackwells Bookshop, Magdalen Bridge, the Bodlian Library, and Inspector Morse. Unusually for an Oxford policeman, Inspector Morse never seemed to venture out in the direction of Cowley and Blackbird Leys, preferring to solve the more genteel murders of Oxford Dons amidst the skulduggery of High Table. Had he done so, not that he was a cricket lover, he might have stumbled upon the Roman Way Sports Ground in Cowley - home of Oxford CC - which is about as far removed from the tourist images of Oxford as can be, nestling as it does in the heart of the BMW car assembly plant, bordered on one side by changing rooms, a bar and large function room (clearly designed by the same people that produced the Austin Princess and other unmemorable marques which together with Red Robbo hastened the decline and fall of British Leyland), on the other by the test track, and at the southern end by a large a featureless factory building. Glamorous, pretty or scenic it is not, though on what was, for the most part, a sunny day and certainly a gorgeous evening, it did look at its best.
Henley ended up well beaten by reigning champions and current League leaders Oxford, losing their Week 5 match in Division 1 of the HCPL by 7 wickets. This leaves them in 9th place just above Slough who also lost.
Losing the toss, Henley were put into bat on what was a slow, low and almost dead wicket on which batting and accumulating runs was not an easy task for either side. Openers Chris Ellison and Adrian Greyvenstein grafted through the first 16 over before Greyvenstein was unluckily adjudged lbw to Charlesworth’s first ball of the day, the score on 47. Todd Ferguson, the latest player to occupy the No 3 berth, replaced him. As he and Ellison tried to squeeze up the score by taking risky runs, Ferguson eventually paid the price, run out by an excellent direct hit by Brooks from point who had but one stump to aim at.
By lunch with 34 overs gone, the score had crawled along to 86. After lunch, something had to give and unfortunately for Henley, it was Ellison who perished in the 39th over. Skipper Bjorn Mordt who had replaced Ferguson was, Greyvenstein apart, the only Henley player to bat with any fluidity and confidence. He and Mark Alleyne put on 41 runs for the 4th wicket before opening bowler Brooks returned to bowl Alleyne. Mordt going well on 35 must have been disappointed at the manner of his dismissal, holing out somewhat tamely to backward point. Unfortunately, his departure precipitated an all too familiar event this season – a Henley batting collapse - as the last 5 wickets fell for 11 runs, Paul Carter left stranded on 15. Credit though must go to Oxford whose performance in the field was extremely professional. Their skipper rotated his bowlers, the team fielded well and, most importantly, the bowlers bowled effectively to the fields set for them.
Still, 166 for victory in 57 overs was no mean task for Oxford on this wicket and early wickets were the key. Unfortunately although Billy Taylor and Tom Lambert nailed down the openers, the wickets just would not come. At tea, Oxford were 44 for no loss off 24 overs. Soon after tea, Oxford skipper Jason Harrison was caught behind but his experienced replacement Laudat soon warmed to his task and began to move the score along. Henley can claim that they did not get the rub of the green with several very compelling appeals for lbw and a degree of frustration crept in. This led to an unfortunate sequence of events as Taylor shied Laudat’s stumps and missed. Mordt chased off after the ball, and, trying to cut off the boundary, had a nasty collision with the sidescreen. Oxford reached 100 in the 41st overs leaving them to get 66 in the remaining 16 overs. Hussein’s excellent bowling was eventually rewarded with Laudat’s wicket but his replacement was the hard hitting Charlesworth who, just as in last year’s corresponding fixture, closed out the game with some excellent striking of the ball to all parts of the boundary, reaching 50 off 40 balls. Taylor and Lambert bowled their hearts out and the Henley fielders grafted mightily. But it was to no avail. There was a certain untroubled assurance about the Oxford batsmen as they went about the job of getting the runs in a well judged and unruffled manner, never once showing any panic or concern that they would not achieve their goal and gradually building pace and momentum.
At the end of the day, Henley did not get enough runs and then did not get the early breakthrough into the Oxford innings that would have imposed pressure. It is not difficult to see though why Oxford are the current league leaders with four wins under their belt. They play to a plan, execute it effectively and do not fall apart.
Elsewhere in Divison 1, Falkland returned to losing ways at home to Tring Park and Reading continue to lose ground as they lost at High Wycombe. Radlett and Welwyn fought out what appears to have been a pretty feisty draw and Slough went down at home to Banbury, albeit not without giving the Banbury top/middle order a bit of a fright.
Oxford thus maintain a healthy lead over Wycombe and Radlett followed a bit further back by a current midfield of Tring, Welwyn and Banbury. The relegation scrap, for that is what it is already at this stage of the season looks to be between Henley, Slough and Falkland with Reading seemingly keen to join the party.
As is so often said about this League, there are no easy games and Radlett will be sure to present a tough challenge as Henley aim to get the season going in the right direction. A few good results can make all the difference.
Oxford CC - Oxford CC 1st XI vs Henley CC, Oxon - 1st XI
Result: Oxford CC - Oxford CC 1st XI Won by 7 wickets
Date: Sat 7th Jun 2008 @ 11:00
Ground: Rover Ground
Type: HCPL Division 1
Toss: Oxford CC - Oxford CC 1st XI won the toss and decided to bowl
Highlights: Graham Charlesworth 50 not out 40balls, Stuart Laudat 32, Rajiv Sharma 32not out, Rupert Evans 18.3-43-3, Joe Porter 4-0-5-3, Chris Ellison 36, B Mordt 35
Henley CC, Oxon - 1st
Chris Ellisonn ct Todd Hutcheson b Francois Vainker36
Adrian Greyvensteinn LBWb Graham Charlesworth 32
Todd Ferguson + ro Jack Brooks 12
Bjorn Mordt * ct Francois Vainker b Joe Porter 35
Mark Alleyn b Jack Brooks 18
Paul Carter Not Out 15
Chad Keegan ct Jason Harrison b Joe Porter1
Azeem Hussain b Joe Porter 1
Nicholas Denning LBWb Rupert Evans1
Billy Taylor ct Graham Charlesworth b Rupert Evans 0
Tom Lambert b Rupert Evans 4
Extras ( 4b 3lb 3w ) 10
Total ( all out , 62.3 overs) 165
Fall Of Wickets
47-1 Adrian Greyvenstein; 79-2 Todd Ferguson; 93-3 Chris Ellison; 134-4 Mark Alleyne; 154-5 Bjorn Mordt; 158-6 Chad Keegan; 160-7 Azeem Hussain; 161-8 Nicholas Denning; 161-9 Billy Taylor; 165-10 Tom Lambert;
Bowling
Jack Brooks 18 3 43 1
Rajiv Sharma 7 0 25 0
Graham Charlesworth 9 6 13 1
Rupert Evans 18.3 4 43 3
Francois Vainker 6 0 29 1
Joe Porter 4 05 3
Oxford CC
Jason Harrison * ct Todd Ferguson b Mark Alleyne 17
Adam Cook b Azeem Hussain 28
Stuart Laudatb Azeem Hussain 32
Rajiv Sharma Not Out 32
Graham Charlesworth Not Out 50
DNB Joe Porter
Patrick Jobson
Todd Hutcheson +
Francois Vainker
Jack Brooks
Rupert Evans
Extras ( 4b 3lb 1w 2nb ) 10
Total (3 wickets, 54.4 overs) 169
Fall Of Wickets
51-1 Jason Harrison; 77-2 Adam Cook; 102-3 Stuart Laudat;
Bowling
Billy Taylor 17 7 29 0
Tom Lambert 134390
Azeem Hussain 16 1 45 2
Mark Alleyne 8.4 1 49 1
Umpires: Peter Tomlin,Martyn Thomas
Scorers: Peter Coleman, Bill Waldron
|
| Henley Capitulate At Home to Falkland |
Henley v Falkland
Date: 31st May 2008
Venue: The Brakspear Ground
Weather: Initially cloudy, becoming sunny and warmer in the afternoon
Henley’s must-win game against bottom of the table Falkland in Week 4 of Division 1 of the HCPL ended in disaster as Henley were bowled out for 82 chasing 141 for victory leaving Henley winless and in 9th place in Division 1.
Having won the toss and once again inserted the opposition, Henley began brightly enough as both Tom Lambert and Billy Taylor extracted pace and bounce and had the batsmen weaving about and playing and missing. Once Taylor adjusted his length he quickly accounted for Chandler, victim of an athletic catch by Chris Ellison and then Morris, bowled through the gate. When Lambert bowled Gowland soon after, Falkland were 16 – 3 in the 12th over and a collapse looked imminent. But not for the last time during their innings, Falkland were allowed back into the game as Chapman and Malik held it together until lunch, taking advantage of some inconsistent bowling to put on 45.
All that changed after lunch, as Taylor, fired up by an earlier rejected lbw, removed Chapman and Malik in short order, courtesy of excellent catches by Mark Alleyne and Dave Allaway. Shortly after, Taylor claimed his “5’fer” accounting for Pope and Foster and once again Falkland were on the rack at 78 – 7. But yet again, Falkland slipped through the net as their opening bowlers, Akbar and the burly Chris “Tugboat” Chandler put on 59 for the next wicket. Though there were some streaky boundaries and dropped catches to help them, both worked hard and Chandler in particular hit some lusty shots including a 6 off Hussein into the hedge along Remenham Lane. Their dogged resistance was terminated by Lambert claiming Chandler, caught Carter, and then Taylor who had Akbar caught behind. When Chapman became Taylor’s seventh victim, it was all over, but at least Falkland now had something to bowl against.
To some, the portly Chandler might have seemed an unlikely candidate as the executioner of the Henley batting line-up but he was assisted in no small degree by an abject lack of application, organisation and technique allied to an inability to build partnerships. Bowling away-swingers of varying pace, length and bounce, Chandler reduced Henley to 24 - 4 removing Ellison, Keegan, Mordt and Alleyne – all either caught behind or in the slips, unable to resist the lure of the ball moving away from them. When the fluent Akbar bagged Allaway in the 21st over and then Carter and Todd Ferguson soon after, a rout was on the cards, the score on 46 – 7 at tea.
After tea, Chandler removed Hussein with his first ball. Lambert joined Nick Denning and these were the only two to bat with any cohesion and put together a partnership as they added 35 before man of match Chandler, now bowling from the Pavilion End removed them both and ended any glimmer of hope there might have been.
As other results in the League showed, this was indeed a bowlers’ day which, taking nothing away form Taylor’s outstanding performance, perhaps underlines the fact that Falkland were allowed to score far more than they should have. But chasing 141 should have been within the abilities of the team and a variety of issues plainly need to be faced up to and addressed. On the batting front, Henley need to get their act together and bring some cohesion and shape to their game. Echoing this, after the match, the Club Chairman, Paul Bradbury, remarked, “This was not a good day at the office for the 1st X1 and all players know that they have underperformed. So far this season, and with the exception of one or two players, too few of the leading batsmen appear to be willing or able to build an innings over a lengthy period of the match. I feel sure that this will come, the conditions on Saturday being ideally suited for good swing and accurate bowling. Both Billy Taylor and Chandler of Falkland exploited the conditions superbly. Having said that, it is now time for the batsmen to accept responsibility and get into the act”.
It was indeed a very good day for bowlers as Wycombe were shot out for 56 at Tring Park, Stanway taking 5 – 33. Meanwhile at White Post Road, Banbury dismissed Radlett for 149, Paul Taylor taking 7 -18, and must have fancied their chances which were dashed by Shane Berger (5 – 16). Banbury, at one stage 36 – 6, were eventually dismissed for 100 so Radlett march on. Oxford were comfortable winners at Welwyn, veteran Rupert Evans claiming 6 – 61, while Slough and Reading played out a high scoring draw.
Oxford, on 88 points, have extended their lead in the Championship and Radlett have taken over the second spot from Wycombe. Henley, on 27 points, are 5 points ahead of Slough and trail Falkland by 13 points.
Scorecard:
Henley CC, Oxon - 1st XI vs Falkland CC, Berks - 1st XI
Result: Falkland CC won by 58 runs
Date: Sat 31st May 2008 @ 11:00
Ground: Brakespear Ground, Henley
Competition: Home Counties Premier Cricket League - Division 1
Toss: Henley won the toss and decided to bowl
Highlights: B Taylor 7 - 32, T Lambert 3 - 22, R Akbar 3 - 45, C Chandler 7 - 28
Falkland
John Chandler ct Chris Ellison b Billy Taylor 0
Ross Gowland b Tom Lambert 7
James Morris b Billy Taylor 7
Ben Chapman ct Mark Alleyne b Billy Taylor 13
Khalid Zafar Malik ct Mark Alleyne b Billy Taylor 30
Rauf Akbar ct Todd Ferguson b Tom Lambert 36
Stephen Pope b Billy Taylor 2
Mark Foster*+ ct Todd Ferguson b Billy Taylor 0
Chris Chandler ct Paul Carter b Tom Lambert 32
Jack Chapman ct Nicholas Denning b Billy Taylor 1
Usman Asif Not Out 2
Extras 10
Total ( all out , 53.1 overs) 140
Fall Of Wickets
5-1 John Chandler; 14-2 James Morris; 16-3 Ross Gowland; 61-4 Ben Chapman;
66-5 Khalid Zafar Malik; 74-6 Stephen Pope; 78-7 Mark Foster; 137-8 Rauf Akbar; 138-9 Jack Chapman; 149-10 Chris Chandler;
Bowling
Billy Taylor 18 6 32 7
Tom Lambert 11.1 2 22 3
Mark Alleyne 9 3 28 0
Nicholas Denning 6 1 20 0
Paul Carter 7 3 15 0
Azeem Hussain 2 0 17 0
Henley
Chris Ellison ct James Morris b Chris Chandler 6
David Allaway ct Mark Foster b Rauf Akbar 15
Chad Keegan ct James Morris b Chris Chandler 0
Bjorn Mordt* ct Mark Foster b Chris Chandler 0
Mark Alleyne ct Mark Foster b Chris Chandler 3
Paul Carter ct Mark Foster b Rauf Akbar 8
Todd Ferguson+ ct Mark Foster b Rauf Akbar 0
Azeem Hussain ct Mark Foster b Chris Chandler 3
Nicholas Denning ct Ben Chapman b Chris Chandler 17
Tom Lambert ct Ross Gowland b Chris Chandler 19
Billy Taylor Not Out 0
Extras 11
Total (all out , 40.5 overs) 82
Fall Of Wickets
16-1 Chris Ellison; 16-2 Chad Keegan; 16-3 Bjorn Mordt; 24-4 Mark Alleyne;
39-5 David Allaway; 39-6 Todd Ferguson; 40-7 Azeem Hussain; 46-8 Paul Carter;
81-9 Tom Lambert; 82-10 Nicholas Denning;
Bowling
Rauf Akbar 19 6 45 3
Chris Chandler 15.5 5 28 7
Khalid Zafar Malik 6 2 4 0
Umpires: Geoff Callaway David Tysom
Scorers: Bill Waldron Charmaine Thomas
|
| Henley squeeze past Beaconsfield in the Cup |
‘A muddy pitch is a great leveller’ – sentiments ringing in the mind of the Henley side as they arrived to Beaconsfield CC on Sunday for their third round Cockspur cup National Knockout match. The outfield was left at a length more suitable to rugby than cricket and it soon became clear to the Henley opening batsman that the appearance of the playing strip flattered to deceive. Not so much a muddy pitch, but an over stressed one - the ball puffing up dust as it pitched, first length balls flying past the batsman’s grill then the same ball shooting past his toes.
Henley’s first three batsmen fell cheaply and it was left to the skipper to steady the ship. Bjorn Mordt, having witnessed the disconcerting variation in bounce coupled with strongly struck shots into the outfield undergoing such resistance as to turn fours into ones, assessed the situation and decided that 150 would be a par score. Alas the classic style of the Henley batsmen, the coefficient of friction was much less in the air.
Nothing should be taken away from the Beaconsfield bowlers, who all bowled very good areas and gave away few loose deliveries. Bjorn’s 67 took Henley to 100 of 35 overs, but even as they tried to accelerate with wickets in hand, it was disciplined bowling that caused problems and forced mistakes. In attempting to increase the pace Henley eventually lost 8 wickets and finished on 138 off their 45 overs. Perhaps 15 to 20 runs below par.
The Henley defence of their conservative total began well as Nick Denning got a good length ball to fly off the wicket, taking opener Thomas’ edge on the way through to the wicket-keeper. It was clear that the wicket was going to prove just a tricky for the home team as it had for the visitors and the game became one of attrition. The Henley bowlers had simply to bowl their areas and take their chances when they came, whilst the Beaconsfield batsmen had to ride their luck, take the bodyhits, and pounce on any loose deliveries.
And this was how the game progressed – full balls were struck high and straight over the bowlers head, notably by Sherry and Ahmed, good balls were left, missed, edged or hit in the air, so as runs progressed wickets fell. It was Henley who appeared to have control as the Beaconsield middle order struggled with the spin and bounce generated by Carter and Hussain and at 75 for 8 the result seemed a certainty.
Denzel Owen strode to the crease, batting at number 10 with other ideas. Immediately on the offensive, he struck three fours and raced on towards 20. The pace bowlers were brought back into the attack but Owens striking had fuelled his young batting partner with confidence and against all the odds he began to strike boundary followed by boundary. The game was turned in a matter of three overs and with 4 overs in hand and requiring only 10 runs it was only a terrible mix up between the batsmen resulting in the loss of Owen that could put Henley back into the game. Still requiring only a few runs with plenty of balls Beaconsfield moved on to tie the scores at 138 a piece. With 8 balls remaining to score one run, the Henley field moved in to save any singles, Tom Lambert ran in to bowl, releasing a slower full delivery that was mis-timed by the Beaconsfield youngster and ballooned up to mid–on. Beaconsfield were all out for 138, resulting in a Henley win due to the fact that they had lost fewer wickets.
Henley’s run in the National Knockout continues and is nothing if not of the highest excitement thus far.
|
| Spin dominates as Henley settle for the draw |
Tring Park v Henley
Saturday 24th May 2008
Venue: Tring Park CC, London Road, Tring
Weather: Initially sunny with a strong north-easterly breeze, clouding up and becoming markedly colder in the afternoon
Result: Match Drawn; Tring 13 pts, Henley 8 pts.
For the second successive week, Henley secured a draw in their Week 3 game away to Tring Park in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League, falling 42 runs short of overhauling their opponent’s total.
The verdant and sylvan backdrop of the higher Chiltern Hills was the attractive setting for a match played on a slow, low spin-friendly track in front of Tring’s stylish modern clubhouse which, built with a Lottery grant, is reminiscent of the Henley Regatta HQ albeit without the water feature and not, apparently, designed by Sir Norman Foster.
Winning the toss, Henley, with Dave Griffiths and Adrian Greyvenstein replacing Billy Taylor and Nick Denning, elected to bowl in sunny but blustery conditions. As a result of a u-turn by the HCPL, it is regrettably not possible to play Griffiths and Taylor together.
Characteristically, Tom Lambert struck immediately to remove Pusey lbw, but for the next hour and half, that was the only inroad as the experienced former Middlesex and Somerset player Keith Dutch joined Boyer for a stand of 90. Griffiths, with the stiff breeze over his shoulder found himself bowling too fully whilst anything short or wide from Mark Alleyne was carved to the boundary. Untroubled and untested, Dutch and Boyer scored freely, the ball deteriorating rapidly on the abrasive surface of the wicket. A change was needed and it came with the introduction of spin from Paul Carter and Chris Ellison who applied the brakes to the scoring. Meanwhile, Alleyne had exacted revenge on the hard-hitting Dutch, trapping him lbw, but on 123 – 2 at lunch, Tring had had the better of the morning.
A flurry of wickets soon after lunch raised the possibility of a Tring collapse. Griffiths claimed Van Vuuren lbw and clean bowled Brookes. Lambert ended Boyer’s excellent innings whilst Ellison’s well crafted left arm spin claimed the wicket of Steptoe, caught Mordt.
At 152 for 6, Tring looked vulnerable. However, Tring keeper Wynd was joined by his skipper Paul Atkins who normally opens. Between them, they put on 111, saw out the 66 overs and not only saved the day for Tring, but set up the possibility of winning. Skipper Mordt proactively rotated his bowlers and there was no shortage of good fielding, notably from Lambert, Michael Roberts and Dave Allaway. But against a spread field, Atkins and Wynd kept the ball down, pushed it around and ran hard for runs, giving few if any chances.
Chasing 264 for victory in 54 overs was always going to be a tall order, and so it proved. Skipper Mordt shuffled his batting order as Ellison and Greyvenstein began in a very positive fashion, putting on 45 runs on the first 10 overs. Ellison’s innings ended prematurely, lbw, attempting to slog sweep. Chad Keegan, all intent and aggression, replaced him but a trademark drive ricocheted off the bowler’s hands onto the facing stumps and Greyvenstein was adjudged run-out, standing out of his crease. Having launched several further missiles around the ground, including one ball which lodged itself in the radiator grill of a car, Keegan’s brief cameo performance ended, bowled by Byrne whilst trying to sweep. Alleyne joined Mordt. By now, Tring were completely reliant on spin, taking full advantage of their track and Henley steadily dropped behind the required run-rate as Alleyne struggled for runs and was dismissed for 10, victim of a tough lbw call.
Both Mordt and Carter played very positively indeed driving up the score. Tring, urged on by a large and vociferous crowd on the pavilion balcony, appealed incessantly and received a stern ticking-off from the umpires for dissent. Eventually Carter and Mordt were out, both hitting high balls to waiting fielders and at 207 – 6 in the 51st over, that was effectively that as Henley saw out the game. Ironically, as spin prevailed almost all afternoon (Dutch bowling 25 overs), Henley did get a further 5 overs as the allotted 54 were reached with 20 minutes to go to the alternative cut-off time of 7pm. But by then, it made no difference.
Elsewhere in Division 1, Falkland went down at home to Welwyn, High Wycombe trounced Slough and Reading, fresh from defeat by Kidlington (of Division 2 West of the HCPL) in the Cockspur Cup were soundly beaten away at Radlett, whilst Banbury held Oxford to a draw at Cowley. Henley remain in eighth spot on 22 points, only 6 and 7 points ahead of Slough and Falkland respectively, and 41 points behind early leaders Oxford who are closely followed by High Wycombe with Welwyn, Radlett and Banbury in the chase. Reading and Tring occupy the lower-mid-table berths on 31 points each. A pattern is beginning to emerge, although it is early days.
Henley’s next game is at home on Saturday 31st May to struggling bottom of the table Falkland in a match which they not only should win but need to win. Meanwhile Slough travel to Reading in a game which may well be definitive of both clubs’ 2008 campaign, Tring entertain Wycombe, Oxford travel to Welwyn and Banbury are at home to Radlett in what may well prove to be the clash of the day. Defeat for Slough or a draw with Reading and draws in the other games to reel in and slow down the early frontrunners would be most helpful to the Henley cause.
Scorecard:
Henley won the toss and elected to bowl.
Innings of Tring Park CC:
M Boyer b Lambert 60
A Pusey lbw b Lambert 1
K Dutch lbw b Alleyne58
M Van Vuuren lbw b Griffiths 7
T Brooks b Griffiths 5
G Steptoe ct Mordt b Ellison 8
A Wynd† NOT OUT 46
P Atkins* NOT OUT 58
Extras: 23
Total: (6 wkts, 66 Overs) 263
Did Not Bat: G Harper, S Stanway, R Byrne
Bowling:
D Griffiths 15 2 47 2
T Lambert 13 1 47 2
M Alleyne 13 1 62 1
P Carter 13 2 47 0
C Ellison 12 3 44 1
Innings of Henley CC
C Ellison lbw b Byrne29
A Greyvenstein Run Out 21
C Keegan b Byrne16
B Mordt*ct Harper b Van Vuuren 83
M Alleyne lbw b Dutch 10
P Carter ct Byrne b Dutch 42
T Ferguson† NOT OUT 8
M Roberts ct Van Vuuren b Byrne 6
D Allaway NOT OUT 3
Extras: 4
Total (7 wkts, 59 overs) 222
Did Not Bat: T Lambert, D Griffiths
Bowling:
S Stanway 5 12 1 0
G Harper 4 0 20 0
R Byrne 11 1 35 3
K Dutch 25 4 87 2
M Van Vuuren 14 4 58 1
|
| Henley hang on for the draw at Wycombe |
In the Week 2 game in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League at High Wycombe, Henley snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat in a game which had promised much but ultimately delivered little, leaving Henley feeling somewhat deflated and yet fortunate to achieve the result they did.
Having lost the toss and been asked to bowl, Henley soon gained the upper hand as Wycombe’s batsmen struggled for runs in dull and chilly conditions on a seaming track which, allied to a slow outfield, made life difficult. Wickets soon came. Tom Lambert removed Jones lbw in his first over, next accounting for Eyles via a stunning catch by Chad Keegan at gully. Sawyer was Lambert’s next victim caught behind by Todd Ferguson and then it was Nick Denning’s turn to add to the tally. Taylor fell to a leading edge which Paul Carter scooped up and the hapless Fallis, standing out of his crease, was run out by a firmly struck shot which Denning diverted onto the stumps.
At 82 – 5, Henley held the upper hand at lunch and now needed to kill off the opposition. This was duly achieved in the 53rd over as the remaining wickets fell for just 42 runs. Lambert bowled Cranfield-Thompson and two balls later had Sketchley caught behind. Only the experienced Newell offered any long-term resistance. Billy Taylor, who had bowled serial maiden overs in his wicketless first spell, returned to account for Curzon-Thomson and then Newell, also holding Hussein’s mistimed hook off Mark Alleyne to bring the innings to a close. Whilst 125 looked readily attainable, it was probably about par for the course.
The rain, which had threatened all day, finally arrived to delay the start of the Henley innings which finally began under even more sombre skies. Batting was to prove no easier for Henley.
The left-arm fast-medium pace of Sawyer accounted for Chris Ellison, harshly adjudged lbw and Henley were soon two down as Dave Allaway’s brief innings ended, caught off the bowling of Wycombe’s young South Australian, Tim Cece. Cece, clubmate of Michael Roberts and Todd Ferguson at Sturt District CC in Adelaide accounted for both his erstwhile colleagues. An unplayable delivery defeated the well-organised Roberts whilst Ferguson was bowled playing across the line. Although Cece contributed generously to the Henley score with no-balls, his deceptive and tidy bowling proved a major factor in the game.
At 43 - 3, Henley captain Bjorn Mordt was joined by Alleyne. Their partnership was short-lived as Mordt was caught behind. Next, Paul Carter failed to trouble the scorers, victim of a sharp low slip catch. A readily attainable score now began to look like a mountain to climb. At tea, Henley needed another 65 runs with 5 wickets left.
Tea coincided with the return of the rain and conditions became darker still. After a short delay, play resumed only for the purposeful Keegan to be bowled almost immediately by Newell – much to the glee of Wycombe who had thought they had got their man before tea. The rain returned and play was suspended for over an hour.
When play restarted, Henley’s innings was reduced to 35 overs, leaving 13 overs in which to win. Any chance of victory disappeared almost at once as Alleyne was comprehensively bowled by Sawyer. When Ferguson followed soon after, it was time to shut up shop and see out the game. Denning’s mixture of resolute defence and positive strokeplay was complemented by the equally sold and imperturbable Lambert.
No amount of excessive appealing, nor the deployment of the wily spin of Sketchley could secure the remaining wickets and the game was drawn, to the disappointment of Wycombe. Once again, several Henley wickets fell to poor shots and the last session of play might have been very different had Henley had more wickets in the bank.
Henley are now in 8th spot just with 14 points above of the relegation zone currently occupied by Slough (12 points) who were comprehensively defeated at home by a resurgent Radlett, (Kabir Toor ending on 87 not out) and Falkland (9 points) who went down at Banbury (Haupt scoring 72). Reading were thumped at home by League Champions and current unbeaten leaders Oxford. Reading were all out for 123, former Henley player Dan Housego contributing 10 of those runs. Oxford won by 7 wickets. Meanwhile the battle of the newly promoted clubs ended with the match between Welwyn and Tring Park being abandoned due to the weather
For Henley though, a second disappointing week in succession, but it could have been worse and the focus must now be on victory away at Tring Park next Saturday. If the last 2 rounds are anything to go by across the League, form and results may well be variable and the League correspondingly tight. The need to get on the winning trail is clear.
Scorecard:
High Wycombe won the toss and elected to bat:
High Wycombe:
M Eyles ct Keegan b Lambert5
R Jones lbw b Lambert0
L Taylor ct Carter b Denning 34
P Sawyer ct Ferguson b Lambert 1
P Fallis Run Out (Denning) 15
K Newell b Taylor 37
D Cranfield-Thompson b Lambert 12
C Sketchley ct Ferguson b Lambert 0
E Curzon-Thomson b Taylor 1
S Hussain ct Taylor b Alleyne 0
T Cece Not Out 0
Extras: 13
Total (All Out) 124
Bowling
B Taylor: 15.4 - 8 - 24 - 2
T Lambert: 16 - 5 - 29 - 5
N Denning: 11 - 2 - 35 - 1
M Alleyne: 10 - 1 - 29 - 1
Henley:
M Roberts b Cece 9
C Ellison lbw b Sawyer 9
D Allaway ct Newellb Cece 0
B Mordt ct Eyles b Newell 12
M Alleyne b Sawyer 6
P Carter ct C-Thompsonb Newell 0
C Keegan b Cece 13
T Ferguson b Cece3
N Denning Not Out 15
T Lambert Not Out9
B Taylor DNB
Extras: 19
Total (8 Wkts) 95
Bowling:
P Sawyer: 13 - 5 - 30 - 2
T Cece: 15 - 3 - 37 - 4
K Newell: 5 - 1 - 18 - 2
C Sketchley: 2 - 1 - 4 - 0
Match Drawn
High Wycombe 12 pts, Henley 8 pts.
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Week 1 in Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League got off an unhappy start as Henley lost at home to newly promoted Welwyn Garden City. Whilst Welwyn were not undeserving victors, this was undoubtedly a match in which a draw should have been secured, but which was lost through by too many wickets being given away cheaply and unnecessarily.
Henley Skipper Bjorn Mordt won the toss and understandably inserted Welwyn on a slightly overcast and sultry morning, ideal for seam movement. Tom Lambert struck in his first over to remove Dan Blacktopp lbw, but as the morning wore on, stalemate set in as Mordt rang the changes with his bowlers and the Welwyn batsmen grafted for runs. Despite a couple of chances going begging and a few edges falling short in the slips, the Henley fielding was sharp and inventive and there was good cricket all round. Honours were just about even at lunch as two further wickets fell with 93 runs on the board. Laraman was extremely disappointed to fall victim to a Mark Alleyne lbw and Lamb was the subject of an outstanding leg-side stumping by Aussie keeper Todd Ferguson returning to Henley for his third season behind the stumps.
Laraman’s demise made way for the much travelled Queenslander, Derek Tate, who joined the surviving opener, former Middlesex all rounder Jamie Hewitt. For the next hour or more, this experienced duo dominated the bowling as Henley toiled in the heat and sunshine without really looking like taking a wicket. Billy Taylor however must take no small measure of credit for pegging back the scoring rate and once Tate had gone for a hard hitting 62, the wickets came, Hewitt eventually holing out rather wearily to Michael Roberts at mid-off for an excellent 120. But the damage was done and Welwyn made it through the 66 overs available to them without being bowled out.
Set 283 to win in 54 overs, Henley did well to attain 229 in 12 overs less than Welwyn who set a very defensive field from the start, making boundaries hard to come by. The problem lay in the steady exodus of batsmen. Roberts was the first to go, caught at slip chasing a widish ball off the rather deceptive bowling of Gavin Baker who accounted for another three Henley wickets. He was shortly followed by Adrian Greyvenstein who took Laraman on with a massive 6 into the car park of the Little Angel, followed it up with two blistering fours, but was then trapped lbw by the same bowler. Chris Ellison, making good progress and displaying his trademark array of classy shots, chased one wide ball too many and holed out to point. Mordt, dealing as ever in boundaries, looked solid until Tate removed his middle stump.
With the exception of Alleyne, whose innings was a master class of controlled aggression, notably one six that almost made it to the road, and judicious shot selection, the remaining batsmen came and went with monotonous regularity, the common feature invariably being rash choice of shot, a cavalier approach and a failure, as the game wore on, to bear in mind the need to see it out. Welwyn did not have a particularly fearsome bowling attack but all their bowlers stuck to their task and the fielders took all the chances offered to them, holding some impressive catches, notably that of Southgate in the deep to pick up Dave Allaway and especially Frazer at long on to bag Billy Taylor, having just seem the previous ball sail over his head.
In the end, it fell to Baker to complete his “four-fer” and remove the resolute Alleyne’s leg stump to secure a victory which Welwyn and their travelling support unsurprisingly greeted with great jubilation.
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Test senior report 2 body
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