Scorecard

Aldenham Cricket Club v Harpenden IV on Sat 29 May 2021 at 12:00
Aldenham Cricket Club Won by 9 wickets

Match report Match report (May 29, 2021): Aldenham v Harpenden 4s (league)

Likely lad destroys Harpenden yuf

What a sublime day for bat on ball - or ball missing bat in Harpenden’s case. Warm, fresh, balmy even, with hardly a cloud over the parish. Perhaps one of the best cricketing weather days I’ve known - and there’s been a few, as certain fellow parishioners will be queuing up to point out. Working out the oppo’s strengths, they had a couple of experienced hands and a bevy of young pretenders - maybe a talented schoolboy or two among them, perhaps?

We soon found out. Liverpool’s best, down south in one of hopefully several guest appearances this year, looked in menacing mood as he hurtled down the slope to start nipping away at the Harpenden off stump with a canny stream of late outswingers. It was up-the-hill Levers, though, who took the first scalp - lbw - before Munroe Ch started losing faith in anyone’s ability to catch by hitting the stumps not once but five times in what could well be the best bowling performance this season - any bets on beating 9-3-5-10?

It was a wrap-up and take home pitch across the Mersey for Chasler, aided and abetted by Levers (a sterling onefa 17 in nine overs from the bottom end) and bit parts from Jimbo (2), Shakey (1) and Dicky (1) who shared out the rest. There was just a slight lull towards the end of the oppo’s innings when one of their older members hung about, so much so that Munroe junior - not Jakie, though who could blame him - desperately wanted to liven up the show and asked for ideas. ‘Try a cartwheel?’ was one helpful suggestion - and sadly quickly rejected - but it led to what we had been missing all season and didn’t know it: that devastating, pyschological weapon of the unnecessary clap - twice in succession. It never fails. The last two wickets quickly fell and we wrapped up the oppo’s innings with a remarkable statistic - 10 wickets, 2 lbws, 8 bowled and NO catches. Sounds like John Humphries’ Mastermind. Highest score 11, extras 10, 63 all out. Game defo on!

A leisurely DIY gulp and slurp tea followed (how I miss those jam slabs and M&S selections), the weather continued as before, and Minty and Needs resumed their places in a now established league side opening pair. With Chris I guess determined to stride home with an asterisk next to his score, he started regularly hitting the boundary line, with anchor-like support from Needs.

By this time, the young bloods on the field were feeling the pressure, so much so that one bowler was desperate enough to plead for an LBW with umpire Jimbo (a welcome but very last-second appearance on the teamsheet). “Just allow it, allow it!” begged the boy. “He was very young,” said Jimbo, “but I had to reply ‘Sorry but I really, really can’t!’ ” Heartless, you might think, though not Needs whose wicket was in question. He eventually succumbed to - you’ve guessed, LBW - and it was left to Minty 40 (and yes, do add the *) and Sach coming in at 3 who hit the winning 4 to finish off what could be the hiding of the season.

Just a couple more statistics: Charlie M notched up his 500th game for the club, while brother Minty appeared to have spent all the previous week adding up his scores to announce he had now gone past 11,000 runs for the club. Pics were taken. Congrats all round, guys. What a win and, of course, Munroes rule OK, yeah?

Harpenden IV Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4b  
for 10 wickets
4
63 (34.0 overs)		     
Kalathi b  Munroe 11
Hughes lbw  Hale 0
Calladine b  Munroe 2
Howard lbw  Bazeley 8
Luffman b  Munroe 5
Townsend b  Munroe 0
Malckney b  Munroe 0
Bashford b  Ahmed 5
Field b  Bazeley 2
Richards Not Out  4
Bashford b  Doughty 6

Aldenham Cricket Club Aldenham Cricket Club Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Charlie Munroe9.031052.001.11
Tim Hale9.0017117.001.89
James Bazeley7.011025.001.43
Sheikh Ahmed7.0112112.001.71
Richard Doughty2.01515.002.50

Aldenham Cricket Club Aldenham Cricket Club Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 5w 2b  
for 1 wickets
9
67		        
Chris Munroe Not Out  40 37 7 108.11
Mark Needham lbw  Calladine 13 27 1 48.15
Sachin Sanghvi Not Out  5 5 1 100
Andy Jackson  
Itty Haque  
Tim Hale  
Ubaid Khaliq  
Sheikh Ahmed  
Richard Doughty  
Charlie Munroe  
James Bazeley  

Harpenden IV Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Townend3.001900.006.33
Mackney3.001000.003.33
Bashford2.001200.006.00
Calladine2.4017117.006.38
Howard1.00600.006.00