Match reports

On a dry and sunny morning it was a surprise when with an hour to go to the start it started to rain.  After a delayed start the game was reduced to 35 overs, with Adrian continuing his losing run with the toss, and the oppo electing to field.

The Ives innings didn’t get off to the greatest start and with 4 wickets falling for just 24, and with 10 overs gone it didn’t look like the Ives would get to the their desired goal.  Then first  Phil K (17) and then Saqib and Phil P  went into bat and with a hard working display Phil (35) and Saqib put on a partnership of 63 before Phil was caught off of the bowling of Connor. Another wicket fell quickly after that with Adrian departing for 1, but  another battling display from Ciaran (21no) in partnership with Saqib (43no) put on 42 as the Ives inning came to a close on 142 for 6.

Mayfield’s innings mirrored Ives with wickets falling in quick succession from the bowling of Adrian and Andy H. Andy H as ever keeping the economy rate low while taking wickets finishing his spell on 7-2-22-3. Then Bowden came in to bat adding runs for the oppo, scoring quickly before being run out by Richard for 36. With the introduction of the new bowlers the game was finely poised with Mayfield on the desired run rate but the Ives taking wickets.   Richard (4.5-2-25-3)  and Ciaran came on to bowl with Richard starting his spell with a maiden  before  struggling with  his footing on a slippery surface in the middle of his spell, before taking 2 the final 2 wickets.  While Rich was struggling with his footing ,Ciaran (3-1-3-2) bowled his best session of the season  taking 2 wickets including a  catch by Denis who  ‘didn’t see the ball until it was 2 feet in front of me’.Other catches went to Ciaran (2) and Earle (1)  ThevMayfeild Innings came to an end on 85 all out and another great victory for the Ives bringing this season to played 6, won 3 lost 3.

Man of the Match – Saqib

Lovely venue, Friendly crowd. That seemed to be the prognosis.

We turned up with 12 players, and donated 2 to their cause resulting in a 10 v 10 match.

Ivanhoe batted first, New player Andy hit 14, Adrian 23, and Richard high scored with 39 with a couple of
others (Andrew 16, Saqib 17) in the teens. Disappointing.. a larger score was to be had and we ended up with
only 132 on a pitch that offered much more.

Bentlley Heath batted and got the runs for the loss of 7 wickets despite some tight bowling from Andrew and some
good wickets from Adrian(2) and Richard(2). At times it seemed quite close, and despite our donated team mates throwing themselves
on their swords when batting for the Oppo (0 and 1? I think) we simply did not have enough runs on the board.

The Boddingtons tasted fine though and we soon cleared out their Fridge.

The skipper having lost the toss for the 4^th time this season Ives were put in to bat on  a green early season wicket. Den and Malcolm opened and after a slow start both departed with the score on 24 to be quickly followed by Phil K and Richard with only 55 on the board.  A small recovery with Bob digging in for the long term followed but at 82 for 5 a score of 150 looked the best that could be hoped for. Enter the fray to join Bob came Ali in his first game to plunder a quick fire 21 but with his and Saqib ‘s departure, at 114 for 7,  a big score still looked long odds.  But with Bob still there he was joined by Ciaran in an entertaining 8th wicket stand of 78 that took the score to 192 before both fell,  Bob for 72 and Ciaran for 34, and with overs running out a final total of 199 all out which had seemed unlikely an hour earlier.

After tea Andy H and Adrian opened and kept the Arkley scoring in check (aided by some outstanding fielding from Phil K) whilst taking valuable wickets early on in spells of 1 for 22 in 11 overs from Andy and  2 for 32 in 11 from Adrian with catches for Matthew and Malcolm. With the final 20 overs coming up it was the turn of Ciaran and Richard to take over and with further catches for Adrian and Bob, both took wickets in their first over to eventually reduce Arkley from 59 for 3 to 91 all out with10 overs remaining, Ciaran taking 4 for 17 in 6 overs and Richard 3 for 17 in 7.1 overs and a fine win for the Ives.

Man of the Match – Ciaran

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.