2014

Let’s get tea out the way first; another excellent one scoring highly on the Andy H ‘quotient meter’.

Turning to the match, having won the toss Leyhill elected to bat, and a good opening stand of 46 looked as if it might threaten a score in excess of 200 at one point. However with Richard (4 for 42) taking a wicket with his first ball to a fine legside catch by Phil K and Ciaran (1 for 18) bowling an excellent 8 over spell backed up by Max, Lawrence, Andy (1 for 36), and guest Jason (1 for 10) and good fielding (catches for Phil K(2), Richard(2) and Earle), Leyhill relied on a 5th wicket stand of 80 to set a score of 181 for 7 in their 40 overs.

Probably for the first time in more years than the two players would care to recall, Lawrence (32) and Malcolm (28) (and that’s not their ages!) opened for the Ives and set the stage for the innings with an opening stand of 53 in 13 overs. Max and Richard (23) pushed the run rate along and after Richard departed, Phil K joined Max in a decisive stand of 71 to take Ives within 2 runs of victory before Max fell on 49 trying for his third consecutive 4 leaving Phil K unbeaten on 39 and Matthew to hit the wining 4 with 6 overs to spare and an excellent win,

A beautiful late season afternoon as Ives took to the field. Fine opening spells from both Andy and Ciaran ( 13 overs 2 for 45 )kept the run rate against strong opposition to under 3 runs per over for the first 20 overs with the added bonus of 3 wickets falling including a catch at the 2nd attempt by Matthew. As expected Little Berkhamsted batted well down the order and on a fast outfield as every shot or edge that went past the infield went for 4 they quickly accumulated runs despite the best efforts of Adrian 2 for70( ) and Richard (2 for60 ) and with Andy coming back at the end to finish on 12 overs 1 for 50.

After an excellent tea Ives Den opened with Jamie but quickly found himself having to temporarily retire with a shiner having diverted the ball of his arm into his left eye. Phil P and Phil K and Matthew all seemed to be heading for scores only to depart leaving Ives 53 for 5 it was left to Adrian (39 ) and Jonathan with an excellent knock of 68 to put the innings back on track with a 6th wicket stand of 104 with Jonathan unlucky to lose his wicket in the last over of the match and an encouraging draw as the innings closed on 176 for 7 to be followed by hot sausage rolls and beer. What more could a person want!?

Time game this week. Aldenham are put in. Good opening spells from both Ciaran and Andy. Andy ending up with 2-31 from 2 spells of 13 overs, as good as his bowled all year. Ciaran from his two spells of 13 overs ending up with 1-51 and what I can recall plenty of drop catches he could have bagged 5 this week. First change bowlers Lawrence 1-51 and Richard 1-56 and again drops of his bowling.

Ground fielding a vast improvement from last week, shame about the number of dropped catches. Aldenham are 188-5 from 45 overs.

Batting. Opening this week with Den is Jamie. After a early exist from Den, Jamie is joined by Richard. A fine 2nd wicket partnership of 74 with Jamie scoring 22 and Richard with overdue 54 from some solid blows.

At the 20 overs mark we are all set up for a tight end, but with the change of bowlers scoring gets harder. With the departure of Jamie and then Richard, followed by Phil k; Phil p and AD at the crease.

With runs getting harder to get and the bowlers not taken wickets, the needle starts. Wicket Keeper/Captain starts up, with the sledging backed up from the field and the bowlers. After that Phil and AD DIG in and ride the storm, with the score at 128-4 from 36 OVERS.

HAPPY DAYS

Almost a mirror image of the previous match but this time with Ives on the receiving end as Hatch End racked up 246 for 9 in their 40 overs and Ives replied with 164 for 9, albeit having kept up with the run rate throughout but with no one going on to get the 50+ score that might have provided the win.

On a quick and undulating outfield where if the ball beat the fielder it went for 4 on the majority of occasions fielding was difficult and Ives were not at their best in the field it has to be said. The best bowlers were Ciaran with 3 for 26 and Andy H with 3 for 36. Denis chipped in with 1 for 62 and Earle with a wicket in the last over but the runs proved difficult to stem. Two caught and bowleds from Denis and Ciaran and a catch for Malcolm.

In reply after Andy H quickly departed, Adrian & Richard with 29 and 26 respectively got the innings of to a quick start with Richard trading only in boundaries during his innings. Phil K continued with 21 and Denis 41 but it was not enough to ultimately overhaul the Hatch End score despite their being 10 overs remaining a the match game to its conclusion.

Venue: Mill Hill Village CC; North Ground; Central pitch; 30 degree declining Easterly slope; Side screens: Check; Club House: Check; Club House conditions: 3rd world; Tea Rating: Damn good!

Opposition: Average Age: 45; Quota: 10; Fairplay Index: 90% (Would have been 95% but for moaning sore-backed silly-LBW appealing bowler)

Result: Victory to Ivanhoe; Ivanhoe Innings: 3-244; Old Citizens Innings: 7-170;

Ivanhoe Innings: Brisk start after Mal’s early dismissal; 2nd wicket partnership of 66 between Dancer (67) and Richard (47); 3rd Wicket partnership of 100 between Dancer and Collins (68no); and 4th Wicket partnership of 72 between Collins and Max (43no); Highlights were :- Adrian’s 2nd (Wind assisted) 6 of the season; Max’s 43no in 8 overs; and Bobs slow start, fast middle part of innings and nefarious actions to take the strike away from Max in the last part of the innings. All in All a fantastic batting effort, best of the season, please God may it continue!

Umpiring Highlights: Hausler 1 (Despite best attempt to get rid of Adrian via LBW was thwarted by good sportsmanship decision by opposition captain who upon hearing Adrian’s girly pleas of innocence recanted the decision;)

Old Citizens Innings:

Bowling highlights:- Hausler (2-23);Laurence/Ciaran/Max/Adrian all chipped in with 1 wicket each;

Old Citizens lost wickets early and were on the ropes for a while, until steadied by Saldanha (52) and R.Bardsley (37no). We couldn’t quite put the nail in the coffin, but came away with a fine win all the same.

Swearbox: Hausler 2 ( Dropped catch:”#&%$ sake”; Legside collision with Earl: “F#&k&&g I£$%”)

Injuries : Hausler 1 (dyspnea caused by the 14:40pm Abrahamson Mill Hill Express collision); Abrahamson 1 ( Instant Adhesive Capsulitis caused by the 14:39pm Hausler to Enfield Express collision)

Catches: Hausler 1 from 2 (1 drop due to train derailment; 1 catch one handed);

Runouts: 1 Dancer (Despite Adrian throwing the ball and Bob catching the ball)

Victory Celebrations: 1 Woodcock (Clenched fists; “YEEESS”)

New and unknown opposition in Whittington CC for what turned out to be an evenly balanced time match but with Ives feeling they were slightly on top at the end of the game.

Put in after losing the toss Den and Malcolm put on 33 for the first wicket although it has to be said this was mainly down to Den with 25 rather than Malcolm(5)! However it gave a base for the innings and after Den departed for 29, knocks of 34 from Bob, 27 from Richard, 25 from Phil K, 10 from Adrain and 9 from Phil P all of whom looked like going on to bigger scores but perished trying to push the score on, the innings closed on 158 for 9 from 39 overs.

Thanks to Andy H with 3 for 21 and Den with 1 for 11, in reply Whittington were reduced to 41 for 4 in the first 18 overs with the final 20 overs to come leaving them requiring 6 an over and Ives 5 more wickets to win. However despite Phil P chipping in with a wicket their followed an unbroken 6th wicket stand of 82 from Whittington. However they could not maintain the required rate and with Richard bowling an economical 7 overs for only 18 Ives after Adrian’s 9 overs for 31, the innings closed with Whittington on 138 for 5 from 38 overs for a drawn match contested throughout in a good spirit by both teams.

Another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.. it was going so well…..

After Chaseville’s travelling holdups we started very late with Chaseville batting. Excellent bowling with supportive fielding meant that they were 87 for 7 when rain brought an early tea. Whilst Woodcock had bowled with some venom and real hostility, his opening partner Naresh had picked up the wickets (4 for 34). Perhaps Ivanhoe ate too many Bakewell tarts, perhaps some players began thinking of an early night out or just tiredness and/or complacency set in but after tea both sides were very different. Chaseville ensured they used the full 40 overs (there went the early night out!) and reached 144 for 9 (there went the complacency!). Fielding lost its edge and chances were missed – despite Chaseville getting at least 20 more than they should have there were some fine moments for the slow bowlers (Dancer 2 for 19, L. Parnell 8-4-10-1) and a superb catch by Lawrie Parnell. It took the wily Australian experience of Hausler (4-1-5-2) to limit the damage at the end.

And then the reply. a new opening partnership was restricted by excellent bowling . Laney bowled 8 overs for 6 runs, so pressure mounted as the score stagnated. Kenchington (1) left early to the in swinging ball of the day, and debutant Jamie C found rolling back the years a slow process… but will be more confident after the way he was seeing the ball by his demise. At 3 Matt Parnell helped to see off the opening bowlers and his coaching showed real rewards with the classic forward defensive and the textbook cut for 4 (off Laney!).. .. he showed patience and the ability to build an innings.. from now on he can add the runs to make the hard work worthwhile. Slow, but after 20 overs Ivanhoe were still in the game, though still needing 100 at 5 an over. Useful contributions followed from many in the middle order, but no one achieved the match winning innings required—in fact top score for both sides was 30, and yet the pitch was fine and played as well as it ever has. P Parnell (25) at 4 and Dancer (also 25) looked as though they could take the game home but both fell when set (Dancer to an outstanding – match winning? catch). Later Collins (18) and Evans(16) took things closer but wickets fell and despite some lusty blows from the last pair of Hausler and L Parnell, they had been left far too much to do, and Ivanhoe reached 140 for 9, a defeat by just 4 runs… so many what ifs.. and the margins are so small – one fielding mistake, one overthrow, 1 dropped catch , 1 drive straight to a fielder.. so while it looks like Ivanhoe have mislaid the mental toughness to win these close games, it can be retrieved if we all concentrate for 80 overs rather than 63 and a half!

Man of the match: L Parnell

Cloudy with rain forecast, chances of completing a match seemed slim, especially during a rain break mid-1st innings. However the weather changed and the sun made a very late appearance to ensure a result.

Ivanhoe openers Evans and Collins began confidently in the opening few overs but the run rate slowed as the bowlers steadied and the high but slow bounce restricted cuts and pulls. After 20 overs the score was 72-0 and when Collins (70) was out it had reached 147 in about 34 overs. Evans (64) soon followed, leaving Naresh (13*) and Dancer (11*) to attack the final overs, which they did well, to take the score to 175- 2.

Chaseville batted positively throughout, despite the loss of 2 early wickets to Woodcock (2 for 48), finding the boundary regularly. Ivanhoe were not able to put sufficient pressure on the batsmen. Only Hausler (8 overs, 0 for 32) and Naresh (7-1-18-2) were able to stem the flow of runs. In the end they reached the total, 4 wickets down, with 7 overs to spare.

In hindsight 175 was too few, so the scoring rate too slow, but, in light of previous batting performances this season, it was good to see the highest opening stand, and only the 2nd and 3rd half centuries of 2014. In addition the Chaseville bowling should be credited – tight at times and knowingly using the local conditions of steep bounce.

Also we should take some other positives from the game – Dancer’s six off the last ball of the innings – powerful and defiant; the welcome return of Blackstaffe with his exceptional performance in the field; the very welcome return of Hausler’s slip catching (skipper now dropped from slip!); the fielding overall (with a good catch from Matt Parnell); Woodcock’s aggressive bowling which brought rewards this week and above all the all-round performance of Naresh – his medium paced bowling, moving the ball both ways really restricted Chaseville.

Afterwards we were able to join in with the Chaseville barbecue – as always generous hosts.

The winning run may be over but let’s start another one!

Man of the match – Naresh

At last the IVES record a WIN for the first time this season , something the English Cricket Team and Football Team cant do ?
Having won the toss , we decided to bat , on what was dry and firm wicket .
Opening the batting AD and Den put on a solid start of 59 , with the loss of AD for 31 , two more wickets are lost for with the score on 60 with Bob bagging his second GOLDEN of the season .
Richard was run out from one of them bowler , stop / catches at the bowlers end, at this point i thought here we go again. Max with a return to the side joins Phil k who Bats as previous weeks with some good blows to top score with 33 . With wickets still being lost ives are all out for 130 with 10 overs left . At this stage most i think thought not enough .
After a Bamville Tea , we take to the field .
Opening the bowling Ciaran and Andy H . with what turns out to be as good as ive seen Ciaran bowl this season . With tight bowling from the pair, Bamville lose wickets with Ciaran 2- 18 and AH 3-18 to leave Bamville with 5 down for 20 ish ? Fine second change bowling from Richard with 8 runs from his first over then ending up with 2-16 from his 8 overs . Max with a 4 over spell for 12 .
The Bamville batsmen keep chipping away to the ives total , with AD 2-27 and Den taking the wining wicket with 2 overs to go and 10 runs short to leave the oppo 120 all out . WIN.

MAN OF THE MATCH the TEAM . WELL DONE ALL .

First the positives: stands of 55 by Phil K (29) and Richard (31) and 81 by Ciaran (26) & Denis (45). All the bowlers bowled well with Andy H (1 for 31), Richard (1 for 30), Adrian (2 for 47) in their 8 over spells and Den and Matthew each taking a wicket in their 4 over stints. 2 catches for Matthew including a caught and bowled and 1 for Adrian also caught and bowled. And a special mention and well done to Jessica for her fielding prowess and assistance during the latter 20 overs of the Bamville innings. Probably the youngest ever debutant for the Ives.

Unfortunately aided by some missed catches two Bamville batsmen contributed 150 runs of their eventual 239 for 7 and with being players short and despite the stands above and keeping up with the run rate for most of the innings Ives closed on 156 for 8.