After winning the toss, Cockfosters put in a solid batting display from top to bottom, with Steady top scoring with 51 and Flat Track chipping in with 39. There were also useful contributions from Ben Wood (24), Danny Becker (23) and Tony Sayers (23).

In reply all of the Cockfosters bowlers chipped in with wickets. Most successful was quicky Matt Stead who took 3 for 48. Tim Haydon bowled his usual lengthy spell taking 2 for 54 and there was a wicket apiece for Mark and Tony Sayers and James Stead - James also chipping in with a run out.

Sadly though the final over did not bring the final wicket as it had done the previous week and the side will have to settle for a hard earned 19 points.
 

Stand in skipper Chris Stead won the toss and decided to bat first on what looked like a flat, hard wicket. A target score of 250 was hoped for and we were soon underway with Declan playing some trademark drives. Ian Cooper at the other end was more circumspect and despite a quick start, a change of bowling and pace off the ball saw the runs start to dry up. Both openers took a few chances and Declan was dropped off a skier at long on trying to accelerate the run rate.

However patience paid off with both openers eventually falling in their 70’s after putting on an excellent opening stand of 120. Quick runs were then the order of the day, but the impetus failed to come. The Ampthill off spinner managed to find his line and length and soon became unplayable to the new batsmen as wickets started to tumble and a score of 200 was in doubt. A few lusty blows and some hurried running helped us to a respectable but slightly disappointing 197 off their allotted 53 overs, with the off spinner good value for his 7 wickets.

The second half of the game saw Fosters really take control. Matt Stead and Tim Haydon bowled in tandem to bog the openers down from the first over and Ampthill never really got started on their chase. At 30 for 3 off 13 overs they were facing an uphill struggle and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Two excellent catches from Tony Sayers as well as some injudicious batting from the oppo helped the cause as the bowlers continued to bowl with accuracy. It became apparent that Ampthill had shut up show and it was up to us to bowl them out. Haydon with 5 for 30 was the pick of the bowlers with the Stead twins taking a brace of wickets each. With 6 overs remaining Matt Stead hit the Ampthill No 11 bang in front, only for the umpire to turn the appeal down and it looked like our chance had gone with the Ampthill skipper at the crease farming the strike and looking comfortable.

Tony Sayers was called on for a 3 over spell to finish the game and good accurate bowling followed from him and the returning Matt Stead. Keeping an excellent line, Tony managed to get a little extra pace and bounce out of a wicket which confounded everyone by playing slow and low and induced the Ampthill skipper to play at a slightly wide delivery that was nicked behind to win the game with just 2 balls remaining.

The game was played in an excellent spirit and the Ampthill skipper was good enough to walk after nicking the ball, when many would have waited for the umpire to earn his money!

Officially we won by 106 runs (bowling Ampthill out for 91 and in the process showing how well our openers built our innings), but 2 balls was really the winning margin. An excellent win and good all round performance to take into week 2.

Finally we would like to pass on our condolences to the family and friends of John Bunker, Ampthill’s scorer of 54 years, who sadly passed away on 1 May.