After Hillingdon got off to a quick fire start on a cloudy afternoon it took the intervention of Den (3 for 13 in 5 overs) to bring the scoring rate down and reduce the opposition from 60 for 0 to 79 for 3, aided by catches from Malcolm & Richard. Hillingdon then rebuilt with a century stand before a late wicket from Andy C to a catch by Earle and 2 wickets from Ciaran brought the Hillingdon innings to a close at 200 for 6 at tea.

In reply and in gloomy conditions Ives made a steady start from Andy H (19) and Den (11) before 3 wickets quickly fell. Phil K (21) and Richard (35) restored some order and with Adrian (20) and Earle (31no) making a late charge, Andy C (17no) tried to get the Ives over the line but was left a little too much to do as the innings closed on 188 for 8.

One run out, one catch, one wicket and two runs. Maybe Andy C should play once every 5 months all the time. Still great to have him back in action, puffing away as usual, but at least now on multi coloured ecigarettes and not the dreaded weed. Added to that Andy H came up with another excellent fixture with the tea very much up to the standard the Ives have come to expect and friendly opposition.

As to the match, Little Berkhamsted went off at quick pace, scoring at close to 8 an over initially and it took Andy C to show what we have been missing in the field with a lightning piece of fielding(!) to run out the opener by the length of the pitch and bring the 1st wicket. The introduction of Lawrence and Adrian slowed the scoring and after the other opener had reached his half century Adrian enticed him down the pitch to bowl him for 66, beating him in the flight and finish with 2 for 27 from 8 overs. With Lawrence taking 1 for 49, Richard 1 for 63 and Andy C in his first spell of the season 1 for 19 and catches for Earle and Lawrence as well as Andy C, Little Berko closed on 224 for 6 at tea.

Andy H got the Ives of to an excellent start with a quick fire 24 and after Phil P fell quickly, the innings continued at an average of 5 an over with scores of 38 from Richard, 23 from Phil K, and 27 from Adrian. Unfortunately no one went on to the big score that might have carried the game home and Ives eventually succumbed, 159 all out but an enjoyable match nonetheless and one o hopefully retain next season.

With one or two players feeling a little lethargic following Den’s surprise 65th birthday party the night before and one, who shall remain nameless (Joe), not even making it to the match, Ive’s batted first against Nazeing and after the early departure of Bob, Den and Raj set about giving the Ives a start with a 2nd wicket stand of 53 before Raj fell for 34. 80 was on the board after the first hours play as Phil P joined Den and kept the score moving with 22 before a lull as 3 wickets fell and the score quickly became 131 for 6 with 40 minutes still left to bat. Den outscored his age by 1 before departing for a fine 66 as Andy H with a quick fire 43 made sure the 200 came up with Ives declaring at 202 for 9 at tea.

In reply the Nazeing openers proved difficult to remove and put on 49 in good time before Lawrence stepped in to take the first wicket and it was then Adrian aided by catches from Richard, Phil P (2) and Ciaran who turned the match Ives way with 5 for 38 in 11 overs to reduce Nazeing to 129 for 7. Richard then removed the stubborn Nazing no. 8 with his first ball for 23 again caught by Phil P, but victory proved elusive as Nazeing held on, closing on 139 for 8 and a draw.

A 12.30 start today, 40 over game on a not prepared greenish wicket. With the toss won Mayfield are put in to Bat.
What a nice change this week all bowlers, bowled in the right areas which makes life so much easier for setting a field .
The tone was set with a fine catch by Jonathan as wicket keeper, one to watch. Fine spells from Ciaran and Andy H opening, both taking wickets, backed up by Den with 5 for 9 from 7 overs, Earle and AD with 2 late wickets.
Earle picked up a good catch in the deep and Den one handed off his own bowling like picking apples from a tree.
Mayfield all out for 80 .
With the threat of heavy rain, opening as the last two weeks Den and Richard. A couple of blows for four set the innings on its way, with the wicket of Richard brings AD to the middle. Runs are chipped away, waiting for the bad balls to score. Den departs for steady 25, and with the wicket of Matt, Andy H to the Middle. With some fine blows from Andy not out 17 and AD not out 31 see Ives home with 19 overs left .

A WIN. Man of Match Den

So with summer in full flight, Ives made the shortish (for some) journey to the lovely town of Hertingfordbury. In a surrounding that really lends itself to being the quintessential English cricket ground, Ives were met with a rock hard pitch and one of the fastest outfields in many a year.
So with the suntan lotion on, Ivanhoe began in the field. Despite some handy bowling spells by Ciaran and Andrew, only one wicket between them from the opening 9 overs led to the introduction of AD. After a first over where he attempted to full toss the opponent out in a Graeme Swann to Rogers fashion, however he soon settled into his rhythm, bowling one of the best spells of spin bowling I have seen. In fact it was too good, as countless times he just missed the edge of the bat or the stumps! Den followed toiling away in the heat, and can count himself very unlucky not to have at least two wickets to his name by the end of the spell!
Then it was time for the man of the hour, Golden arm himself. Earle showed the rest of the bowlers how its done. With his unorthodox technique cramping the batsmen for room and some accurate bowling, he disrupted the flow of the Hertingfordbury, finishing with 5 wickets for43! Meanwhile Adrian ”stamina” Dancer was still bowling a 17 over spell! So when the time limit eventually arrived, Ives had bowled 49 overs for only 231, pretty good going on a solid pitch and at tea Ives felt that the chase was on.
With Den and Richard opening the batting, and getting off to a good start Ives looked in a good position. When Richard departed Phil P took over the batting. An exhausted looking Den made 45, in good time before finally the heat of the day took its toll on him. Phil P, arguably the most improved batsman of this season began to take control and despite an increasing required run rate, Phil was smashing the ball about. Despite AD and Matt P’s assistance the score to chase and the overs to do it in were proving a hard task, and when Phil P eventually departed for a well earned 54, it was left to the Malcolm and Andrew to round off the innings, and settle for a draw.
Despite falling short Ives can take a lot of credit from their batting display. If the overs had been equal, or even 2 more to Ivanhoe they would have made the total. Still in order to win games like this Ives must also look at the areas in which they can improve, runs can be saved by a change in the manner in which they field, and this may in the coming weeks prove to be the difference between wins, draws and losses. Still a good display from Ives in which the majority of the game can leave Ivanhoe with plenty of positives!

Mentally wrung out after watching England just pull off a last gasp Ashes victory so nothing left to write a match report of any length.

Suffice to say on another hot sunny afternoon, in a time game, Arkley scored 208 for 7 with a century for their opener Candy (118no) assisted by a couple or more missed chances to remove him. Andy H took 3 for 80 in 14 overs, and their was one wicket for Richard and 2 for Earle in an excellent spell of 2 for 32 in 7 overs, with one run out.

In reply promoted to open, Richard (36) with Den (58) put on 103 for the 1st wicket in 19 overs but when both were dismissed in successive overs followed quickly by Bob and Phil P and the momentum was lost despite Adrian (24) and Matt P having a brief flurry. In the end the match petered out as Ives shut up shop with 5 overs to go to close on 162 for 7 and a drawn game.

Two match reports in one as despite being played on completely different pitches both matches were similar in many respects.
Played on the hottest weekend for some seasons Ives batted first on both days and whilst on an unpredictable pitch against Chaseville with the ball regularly keeping low or lifting unpredictably throughout the innings there was some excuse for only registering 72 with no one making double figures against some good bowling particularly from the Chaseville skippers excellent leg spin, to register only 146 against North Mymms on a perfect batting strip on Sunday was well under par with 200+ always going to be needed to have any chance of a win. Den, Earle & Richard all got into their 20’s and were going well but couldn’t go on to make the big score needed and & it was only with the aid of Andy H’s 22 towards the end of the innings aided by Ciarans 15no that the score of 146 was achieved.

So defending low totals in both matches, only Ciaran on Saturday with 2 early wickets and Adrian on Sunday dismissing the North Mymms opener made any inroads as inevitable defeats followed as, particularly on Sunday, the North Mymms batsmen showed how it should be done and a lesson to all to try and stick in there longer and the runs will come.

Finally, the last day of June approached “blazing”, and as summer arrived so did Xmas, with skipper Adrian electing to bat after winning the toss, and allowing his team to remain in the shade during the hottest part of the day.
With the team at 9 for 2, he must have been regretting this decision and whilst things had stabilised (whilst Ciaran fell asleep) after 10 overs the score was still only 19-2 , so defeat was clearly the likely option! The opening bowlers bowled well and gave little away , but eventually occupation of the crease led to boundaries and first Bob moved the score along , and then latterly Phil P spectacularly attacked the bowling so they both reached 60 around the same time. Having put on 132 , the score of 141 was looking promising and 200 was on the cards. Games can turn in a moment and this was the case when a tired Phil raised his head and tried to pull a ball that kept low… cue scattered stumps and Bamville celebrations. The young spinner then removed Phil K and Richard, with neither troubling the scorers and Ives became becalmed in the crucial last overs. Bob (71) left soon after to the same young spinner and it was left to Adrian (16 not out) and Matt P (10 not out) to add 25 runs and set a score that after 10 overs had looked beyond us, but after 30 overs was certainly less than expected and hoped for.

After the usual Bamville hospitality with a sumptuous tea ( up there for tea of the season?) Ivanhoe took the field with the beginnings of a breeze. 1st over Ciaran bowled his best ball of the season to remove one opener and a few overs later Richard took a spectacular catch to leave Bamville in some disarray. The fielding of Ivanhoe was much improved as we sensed victory but hardly a chance was offered and Bamville skipper John Smith, always the batting danger man, again proved a thorn in Ives side. He played the initial overs cautiously with a solid and textbook defence but when the bad ball came it was dispatched violently to the boundary. As the overs progressed his scoring rate increased so that Ives were unable to increase the run rate required. His supporting partner played a vital role and also punished the bad ball. Many bowlers were tried but the next wicket did not fall until too late .. and Bamville finished with just 4 wickets down and 11 balls to spare.

Despite the defeat this match (as usual) was a highlight of the season – venue/hospitality/attitude and sportsmanship of Bamville and Ives performance was a creditable one, recovering from a bad start whilst batting and sticking to the fielding task with determination throughout.

On the positive side another lovely ground, excellent tea, friendly opposition and most importantly a welcome back to the skipper for his first game of the season. Unfortunately after taking 3 quick wickets after a good Aspenden opening first wicket stand to reduce them to 75 for 3 a quick fire 66 from the their No 5 took the game away from Ives, not helped by the fielding and catching on the day not being up to scratch, thus allowing Aspenden to close on 243 for 7. Wickets were evenly spread with 2 for Lawrence and Earle and 1 each for Ciaran, Richard and Dan, with 1 looping caught behind for Bob. Overall maybe our worst fielding display of the season.

In reply apart from Den (25), Bob (30), and Richard (36), the latter two putting together a 40 run 4th wicket stand, the scorers were not particularly troubled as Ives fell well short of the target, bowled out for 121.