Although the League decided to reject our appeal in respect of the shenanigans below - with an apology accepted by our Committee, we were then informed via e-mail on November 13th, that following Ickleford Cricketers withdrawal from Division 9, the League had decided that we were to be promoted after all! Apparently in an unrelated decision it was decided that we had a far better case for promotion to replace Ickleford Cricketers than the potential saving of relegation for Potton Town.

This is great news......and all now confirmed by one look at the fixture list!

Postscript posted Sept 13:

We now know that Parkfield were forced to concede their match against Old Elizabethans on August 12th due to a breach of League rules and that as a result, going in to the final game, they were in fact 17 points behind us in 5th place. However knowledge of this fact was not made available to any of their competitors - the league table only updated for this after the final games were played - and therefore we were unaware that the real scenario was that we needed 14 points for promotion from our final game as compared to the summing up in my match report of Sept 2.

Clearly we would not have employed the game plan we did against Clifton had the full facts been available and I am confident that with a revised game plan those 14 points would have achieved.

A letter has been sent to the League in protest at the position we now find ourselves in - namely in 5th place and out of the promotion places by just 5 points - due to the League's failure to communicate the correct situation before the final games were played.

Sept 9th - CCC 217 all out lost to Clifton II 230 for 8 by 13 runs

Team: A Gregory (Capt), R Wells (V/Capt), G Williams, A Levy (Wkt), C Edwards, P Bullen, I Cooper, M Langley, S Barker, J Worley, S Westbury

A heartbreaker for the 3rd team as in the end the campaign fell 13 runs short of promotion. Gregs won the all important toss and asked Clifton to bat. There were 2 fairly early wickets for Gregs and Jon Worley as catches were taken by Paul Bullen and Shag. Crucially the number 4 batsman was given a reprieve by Spooks off the bowling of Worley, as he entered a late candidate for drop of the season.

Nevertheless when drinks were taken Fosters were quite content with only having conceded 87 runs from the first 26 overs. Clifton though came out all guns blazing after tea with their number 4 and 5 batsmen both scoring fast half centuries and their opener also bringing up a 50. Sam Barker chipped in with some vital wickets taking 3 for 38 and Wellsy bowled wonderfully at the death taking 1 for 44 from 11 overs. In between there was a rather dubious run out given that it looked like the keeper took off the bails with his gloves.

There was the usual confidence at tea but this was soon shattered by some excellent opening Clifton bowling that soon saw Fosters at 31 for 4, with Geoff, Jon, Matt Langley and Paul Bullen all back in the hutch. Shag, determined to beat Anthony in the averages then ran him out, and Ian Cooper and Spooks soon departed to leave the score on an impossible 61 for 7......or so we thought.

Wellsy though had other ideas. This was his 'hit' day as everything seemed to come off including a couple of relatively simple dropped catches and lofted shots that fell away from fielders. In between of course all sorts of shots were going to all parts and before we knew it the score had moved to 170 and the run rate was barely an issue. Crucially though, Shag, who had supported excellently and was getting well into his stride, was run out for 53 when Wellsy looked for a very cheeky 3rd run from an overthrow.

Nevertheless it was still game on as 'Twiglet' Sam Barker surprised the Clifton team by being very resolute in defence and helping take the score to over 200 (he later described Wellsy's eyes as glowing) before he was bowled by Clifton's returning opening bowler. Gregs appeared with Shag as a runner, and with 5 overs remaining just 19 were required for victory. A wide and 4 byes brought that down and the watching spectators - none of whom had been allowed to change their seat! - were then deflated as Wellsy was bowled for 97 with the side 13 runs short. Annoyingly it turned out that Baldock achieved just 8 points in their match today so even a tie would have been enough to cap a wonderful season, with the promotion that we felt we deserved.

A silent dressing room was thankfully relieved by Paul Bullen breaking into 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'. There's always next season. 

Team: A Gregory (Capt), G Williams (V/Capt), A Levy (Wkt), C Edwards, P Bullen, I Cooper, M Langley, S Barker, C Nickolls, J Worley, S Westbury

Despite the best efforts of the Letchworth captain to dissuade the side from travelling, our arrival at the delightful Fairfield Hall ground found a dry outfield, a slightly damp pitch, overcast but dry conditions, and no reason not to get cracking.

Shag arrived barely on time with Paul Bullen - not even using the 12-30pm start time as an excuse! Gregs won a vital toss and inserted Letchworth. Earlier on, Jon Worley had announced which end he would be bowling from - clearly the calculations were not quite right as Chris Nickolls was brought on after 5 overs to switch the bowlers round. After that over Letchworth had reached 25 for 0 from 6 overs - but this was the last point at which they were in any sort of control.

Jon found the ball of the match to dismiss the promising Letchworth opener and from then on it was continual pressure and regular wickets. Gregs chipped in with 4 wickets from a miserly spell of 4 for 36 from 22.2 overs. Sam Barker took a wicket with his opening delivery - surprising the Letchworth batsman with the amount of turn - and late on Chris Nickolls took 2 wickets in one over including a bizarre stumping off a wide, when the batsman decided to go for a bit of a wander!

Amid all this the other opening batsman - Fernando (cue Shag, Wiggers and Beany giving an Abba rendition) - carried his bat for 26 not out. It was one of the luckiest innings we'll see this season which included what looked to the rest of us (but not the redoubtable James Grant) like a clear run out, a drop from Jon Worley (rare indeed) and a catch not given off the glove. However he did help to run out his skipper for 18 - the only player (after the other opener) that looked likely to help set a target. In the end Letchworth could only muster 98 from 45.2 overs, an innings that included just 2 boundaries!

The response was rather swift as the Dream Team - back together again at last - quickly racked up 69 for the opening wicket, taking advantage of some loose bowling. It was a surprise in fact when Jon yielded Letchworth their only point of the afternoon by holing out in the covers or 25 - his innings including a shot of the day cover drive.

Geoff though soon brought up his 50, as he finished on 58 not out, as he and Anthony (10*) saw the side home in just 21 overs.

A vital win therefore for a side that knows they are good enough for promotion but remain in danger of being the only Fosters XI that might miss out this season. Failure to win today would have been curtains. As it is the final week sees it almost in our hands as a win over Clifton can only be denied by a Baldock win in their final game with Old Cholmeleians, where OCs also pick up at least 14 points.
 

No truth in the rumour that Holtwhites cancelled this game on us thanks to our double win the previous Sunday! As it was Baldock incredibly lost without scoring a point and therefore the top of the table gets ever closer.
 

In what could prove a decisive rainout, Fosters have slipped 20 points behind their promotion rivals thanks to Baldock securing a one wicket victory over OEs - failure to get the winning runs would have left them 5 points behind us with games to play against 2 of the leading 3.

All we can do is play our games and win them.......

Team: A Gregory (Capt), R Wells (V/Capt), G Williams, A Levy (Wkt), C Edwards, P Bullen,   I Cooper, J Clune, C Somechand, M Viner, J Worley

A vital toss was won by Greggs as the usual 'road' 'featherbed' 'easy' (please insert as most appropriate) track presented itself so that chasing was clearly the most likely source of victory, particularly as this side batted all the way down until reaching the skipper himself!

10 players went out onto the field (Geoff having not realised this was a 1pm start) and 11 runs came from the first over including 4 byes from a ball that kept swinging from Wellsy and 4 from some comedy fielding from Shag. Control was brought by Jon Worley at the other end but 4 an over became the norm, and, despite 2 very good lbw appeals against both openers (I still have no idea which stumps were not going to be hit) a breakthrough could not be found.

Gregs replaced Wellsy and there was still no luck, with the opposition left handed skipper punishing anything loose and wide and the right hander riding his luck. Drinks (with ice - on the coldest day in 2 months!) came and went and finally a breakthrough came as Jon Worley took a good catch off of Gregs to dismiss the right hander. The score though continued to run along at 4 an over until Joe Clune bowled the number 3 bat. This dismissal did nothing for Fosters as it brought in Chorleywood's joint best batsman (with the skipper) and on his final game before a 4 month security assignment on a cruise, he proceeded to score a very nice 50 and help accelerate the run rate.

With a couple of overs to go he fell to a Mark Viner catch off of Gregs, which only left the debate as to whether the skipper would score 100, which he duly brought up in the final over - an excellent knock.

The end of the Chorleywood innings was somewhat marred by some toy throwing from Gregs. Not surprisingly, when the average age of the side is 37 (despite containing a 13 year old), there are bound to be a few opinions on the field and after 53 overs of chasing the ball around it became all too much. Little did we know at the time that Shag's taunts of '50 runs short' were to prove well founded.

After the usual plentiful Holtwhites tea, Joe and Geoff set off like a train in pursuit of the target. The 5 an over asking task soon seemed very simple as Joe hit a succession of boundaries (and lost ball 6s - leading to some rushing around to make sure the game didn't end abandoned due to lack of cricket balls) after the usual quick start from Geoff. When drinks were taken halfway through the reply almost 160 runs were on the board and it looked like Joe would bring up his first century for Cockfosters. Geoff asked Gregs whether he thought they were doing alright.

Joe's innings ended in somewhat comical style on 103 (score now amended!), as the young bowler lost his footing as he bowled, fell over, Joe lost sight of the ball and the stumps went flying. Anthony came and went (while still keeping the run rate in tact) and that brought Mark Viner to the crease to club (quite literally) 34 runs before he picked out the only man (their skipper) likely to take a catch off such an onslaught. Paul Bullen also came and went and it was left to Chirag to join Geoff to see off the target - Geoff hitting his final 2 balls through the covers for 4 to bring up the target with more than 8 overs to spare. Geoff finished on an excellent 80 not out - 12 behind his original target! 

In the end a comfortable win aided by what turned out to be a rather inexperienced Chorleywood bowling attack - only their top batsmen had really given them a chance.

Team: A Gregory (Capt), R Wells (V/Capt), G Williams, A Levy (Wkt), S Barker, C Edwards, T Pigden, I Cooper, J Clune, C Nickolls, M Viner

Bragbury play their home games at the home of Weston Park - interesting as Mr Cooper spent a lot of time looking for the ground in Bragbury End. Also there were a number of local rules pertaining to trees.......more on that later. As usual a number of players eyed up the conservatory just over the deep mid wicket boundary.

Gregs won the toss and concluded that this was clearly a result pitch that wasn't going to get any better - and with the opposition standing at 9 men (awaiting the return of 2 players from Headingley!) he chose to bat first. (Joe Clune for one had opined that in his experience such wickets never get worse and he was to be proved right).

Joe and Geoff went out to open and runs came up quickly at a rate of 6 an over with both batsmen looking full of confidence against the new ball. It was a surprise then when Joe was out caught behind for 20 having added a touch over 50 for the opening wicket. Anthony joined Geoff and with the advice of 'play yourself in, then this becomes easy' proceeded to scratch around for the next 30 minutes.

However once he had a hit a 4 through cow corner he started to accelerate dramatically (Shag was heard to ask his wife what he was on) with a number of boundaries straight back over the bowlers head whilst enjoying his fair share of luck with edges flying past fielders and some mistimed shots landing safely. He was just looking to overtake Geoff when Geoff surprisingly fell for a usual well made 52 (21 short of target) when he played on. That 52 took Geoff up to exactly 500 runs for the season - a remarkable performance at the age of 51.

Mark Viner came out to push the score along (and score his first run for the 3rd team!) and had a mixture of excellent strokes and periods of getting bogged down. Nevertheless he added another 50 partnership with Anthony and was eventually bowled for 34. In and out went Wellsy before Tosh Pigden came in to play a masterly cameo scoring 31 not out from just 17 balls. Anthony was eventually run out for 79 with 2 overs remaining and it was left to promising 13 year old Ian Cooper (7 not out) to help Tosh set Bragbury 250 for victory.

Tea was huge - in fact it was so large that even after spectators ha partaken and players had tucked in a bit more during and after the Bragbury innings there was still a huge amount left over.

Gregs and Joe took the old ball and after a period when nothing seemed likely to go our way, 4 wickets suddenly fell in fairly quick succession - firstly Gregs got one to shoot on trapping one of the openers in front. The an excellent caught and bowled by Joe was followed by a catch by Ian Cooper and then a stumping by Anthony, which helped leave Gregs with 3 for 24 from 13 overs.

The new ball was then taken but with little success, as the batsmen played out Gregs and feasted on a wayward spell from Wellsy. A change of ends finally brought a wicket as Wellsy finally found his length. However the Bragbury left handers continued to play well with their no 4 scoring a well made 50 before, late in the day, he was unlucky to be bowled by Joe Clune. Despite lots of bowling changes (including a couple of overs from Shag) no further wickets could be bought and a draw (16 points to 8) had to be settled for. No longer in the top 4, but with games against teams in the bottom half, and all the other teams at the top due to play each other, there is no reason why we should not get promoted.

For the Bragbury team the champagne moment came from Joe Clune. Having discussed the local rules with the trees on the pitch earlier in the day, Joe had specifically warned fielders to be careful. Late in the Bragbury innings Joe made an excellent save of 4 runs down behind the trees, got ready to hurl the ball back - to the cries of 'watch the trees' from his colleagues - and flung the ball straight at a large tree stump. It was 4 the moment it hit the tree, but there was the added bonus of the ball then careering across the boundary in any case.

Incidentally, based on our info from Elstree II, Bragbury were not a nice side ....what rubbish - they were a pleasure to play against and I look forward to a return fixture with them in Div 9 next season.

Elstree chose to bat and Fosters immediately had problems as following Wellsy's late withdrawal, Dean Johnson failed to shine on his 3rd team debut as injury impacted his performance. As a result Gregs had to bowl unchanged from one end and see the spinners Clune and Ronnie operate from the other end. Joe ended up with 3 for 40 and Sam was somewhat fortunate on this occasion to pick up 3 for 42.

Gregs non stop effort gave him 1 for 73 from 26 overs and left stand in keeper Matt Langley with plenty of bruises.

In response all seemed well for Fosters with Geoff getting back in the runs with 70, and despite the run out of Mark Viner for 0, another victory looked well within reach. However a clatter of wickets at the wrong time put the side behind the asking rate and despite every effort down the order the run chase finished 14 runs short.

Despite this result Fosters remain in the promotion places with just 6 games to go.

Baldock batted first and as usual at Holtwhites it was difficult to stem the flow of runs. Jon Worley put in a Gregory-esque performance taking 5 for 76 off of 22 overs, with Cheesy chipping in with 2 for 34 off of 7, and Gregs himself bowling a tidy spell of 1 for 35 from 11. The scoring rate fell rapidly once Wellsy had to go off to do some work leaving 10 men to battle without him!

In response Geoff, having been set a target of just 30 (it was a bit hot!), fell for just 28, and when Ian Cooper was crazily run out by the bowler in his follow through the innings looked in trouble on just 56 for 4. Paul Bullen changed the momentum of the match - once again he looked in trouble before scoring, but once the first boundary came lots more followed in a second successive knock of 51. Meanwhile at the other end Chirag, keen to stay top of the averages started to get in on the act and eventually became the star performer finishing on 81 not out and completing an excellent unbroken 6th wicket partnership with Shag, who himself helped himself to a welcome 38.

A big score reached without the need for the usual big score from Jon Worley and another 30 points to see the side climb to third place.

Team: A Gregory (Capt), R Wells (V/Capt), G Williams, A Pigden (Wkt), J Worley, S Barker, C Edwards, T Pigden, P Moruzzi, P Bullen, C Somchand

A very strong 3rd XI side easily defeated fellow promotion chaser Parkfield & Headstone on a difficult track in Hatch End.

Gregs inserted the opposition and wickets were initially difficult to come by despite excellent early spells by Gregs and Wellsy and Parkfield found themsleves comfortably placed on 82 for 3. In came the spin duo of 'Ronnie' Barker and Cheesy who between them bowled almost 13 overs for just 14 runs. Most importantly Ronnie as usual found prodigious turn and ended with the remarkable figures of 5 for 8 including one delivery sharply turn to hit leg stump as the batsman watched as if bemused.

Tea had not arrived when Parkfield were out so there was a quick turnaround and the early loss of Jon Worley to a ball that ran along the ground from way short of a length. Shag kept Geoff company for a while but he too went fairly cheaply - triggered by Tony Whaley. Adam (demoted again!) joined Geoff and took Fosters to 64 for 2 when tea was finally taken.

A bit of a wobble after tea as Adam fell for 23 and then Paul Bullen was also triggered by Whaley for 0. In came Tosh to settle things down with Geoff, who went on to make an excellent 46 not out and steer the team home to an easy 6 wicket victory. Based on the last 3 or 4 games against the top sides in the division, there is clearly no side to fear. 

Team: R Wells (Capt), G Williams (V/Capt), A Levy (Wkt), J Worley, S Westbury, S Barker, M Langley, C Nickolls, C Edwards, K Brady, S Babwah

Skipper Wellsy failed to make the toss and it was instead left to Geoff to call correctly and insert the opposition on what appeared to be a pretty good track at Highgate School.

Wellsy first over went for 10 which didn't appear to auger well, however both he and Jon Worley (bowling up the hill and into the breeze!) soon found their line and the pressure started to build. After being struck for 4 from a long hop, Wellsy put in an effort ball and was rewarded with a simple catch to the keeper.

In from Bishops Avenue came the No 3 (average of over 200 this season!) and he soon clubbed some boundaries and looked the part....until John Worley induced an edge and for the third time this season Geoff took a catch at first slip via the keepers gloves!

An annoying partnership then ensued between the remaining opener (clearly a class bat) and the number 4 (clearly not). This was proved as, once hit high up by a Wellsy delivery, he then proceeded to run away from anything short and straight with a number of deliveries passing just inches over the stumps. This action led to certain noises being suggested from the slip cordon and calls for the Daz challenge! In this period there was one very good shout against the opener for Leg before which for some reason Wellsy didn't appeal for, and equally oddly Simon's 'old man' standing as umpire thought was drifting down legside.

At drinks OCs were 84 for 2 and the message was clearly to get a move on........27 overs later the team had added just 32 runs and been bowled out! Whenever it looked that Richard or Jon was due for a change a wicket fell (apologies to Chris 'Tin man' Nickolls (nickle - geddit?), 'Ronnie' Barker and Shafi Babwah - all of whom were being planned for a bowl which was never required). They bowled through unchanged with Jon finishing with remarkable figures of 5 for 36 and Wellsy avoiding a jug with 4 for 69. At one point the frustrated OCs players called out 'bowlers name?' hoping for a change.

Two catches to Spooks at second slip, the first more luck then judgement and the second a good dive forward, another good slip catch by Geoff and further catches held by Matt Langley and Shag had OCs struggling to make 100 - only a last wicket stand that used up the overs saw them to 116 - the final wicket a run out with Anthony just out racing the 50 year old!

One sporting moment from Wellsy having struck the left hander on the glove. As we all went round sympathetically Wellsy behind a smirk commented 'well, there goes there left arm bowling options!'

After a tea which included a very rare cheese and pear selection and also some hot sausages, Fosters took to the field and after an hour it all looked over. Geoff was triggered for the second week running for just 2, but Jon Worley with 27 and confident batting from both Shag and Matt Langley took the score to 89 for 2 from just 18 overs.

Shag then pulled a long hop straight to mid off, Matt fell stumped for 38 having looked in excellent form and then Spooks was triggered by his old man for 5 to leave the score on 94 for 5. Anthony and Shafi put on 11 before Anthony pulled the ball straight to the only fielder in a 20 yard radius. Things still looked fine as Shafi and Kevin Brady (looking in fine touch) took the score to 115 for 6. Then disaster struck as Shafi holed out to mid on and then Wellsy, in his own way to a great heave to his first delivery and the stumps fell.

It was almost too much to take as Kevin played out a maiden - Jon Worley at this point threatening to resign if we didn't win! No worries though as Chris Nickolls pinched a single and then Kev hit a boundary for an unnecessarily nail biting win.

The league table now shows us up to 6th place and with Parkfield drawing and the Dolphins and OCs losing it is much closer at the top than last week. Roll on to Parkfield next week - a win could see us in the promotion places!

If ever a weekend summed up the wise choice of having 4 elevens this season, together with the strength in depth the club now has, it is the cheap 60 points picked up by the 3rd and 4th teams thanks to opposition that clearly do not have a similar strength.

Obviously a disappointment for those (particularly in the 4th team) who were up for a game - but simply being available gives bot teams a useful promotion push.

Team: A Gregory (Capt), G Williams (V/Capt), A Levy (Wkt), R Guerra, J Worley, S Westbury, S Barker, M Langley, C Nickolls, J Woodbridge, P Bullen

Another warm sunny day saw Fosters up against the league leaders and a team who aside from no results had picked up 30 points from every game. The Dolphins luck was in again as for the 6th time this season they won the toss and inserted the opposition.

On this occasion though they come up against a strong and in form line up. The Dream Team set things off with a lightning opening stand of 40 off of just 8 overs - the only surprise coming when Jon Worley was bowled for 27. Anthony joined Geoff and maintained the solid start before Geoff played on for 25 (a full 53 runs below his target!). Matt Langley looked good before he clipped one straight to square leg.

In strode Paul Bullen and at first he looked scratchy, struggling to get the bat on ball to the opening bowlers deliveries. A lofted 4, and a 2 off a misfield ('yes please, I'll have those!') brought all of the confidence back. The bowlers found it difficult now as Paul was hitting the straight ones and Anthony preferring some width, the partnership was approaching 100 when Paul was incredibly unlucky to see a ball fall from his pads and on to the wicket for a fine 51. Anthony fell soon after for a confident looking 56, holing out in the deep (if he'd hit it properly the fielder would have been irrelevant!).

That left some late order biffing from Riaz (18) and Simple Simon (26 not out) - if only he could time a shot he'd be dangerous! The score was an impressive 258 for 7 (another full set of batting points) but a gettable target for a team that had chased down their last 5.

In response though the Dolphins were immediately on the back foot and found themselves 8 for 3 (all ducks and at least one batsman was not helped by Simon's 'sporting' duck impersonations from square leg), thanks to excellent bowling from Gregs (3 for 42) and Jon Worley (1 for 18) and some good catches from Paul and Geoff. A long partnership then ensued between their 'one shot' opener and Mr Bonnie, who had held us up at Tudor Park last year.

Gregs turned to Sam Barker, whose final figures of 0 for 61 doesn't go close to telling the story as he had both batsmen in all sorts of trouble, consistently beating them and having one good stumping appeal turned down. The batsmen resorted to slogging 4s and 6s but despite this Sam maintained his control and on another day could easily have been the match winner.

As it turned out the partnership was broken by 3rd team debutant Chris Nickolls as Bonnie played one shot too many and played on. Chris put in an excellent all round effort with bat, ball and in the field (including chasing down the penultimate ball of the match). Gregs got one more and there was a difficult chance missed off his bowling down leg side (it was difficult, honest!) but the Dolphins finished on 152 for 5 and the 'one shot' opener had the last laugh finishing on 71 not out.

15 points to 3 (we wait for the offical website to actually reflect the scores the correct way round!!) and another excellent all round performance against the league leaders, who we made look anything but. Hopefully we'll be playing them again next season in Div 9. 

Another weakened team had a long chase in the field as OEs knocked up 250 having won the toss, despite another excellent bowling effort from Shafi Babwah with 4 for 52 from 19 overs. In response Fosters put together an excellent response, despite a relative failure from Geoff Williams who scored a mere 46. Chirag batted excellently again for 40 and a draw with full batting points was secured.
 

Team: G Williams (Capt), A Levy (Wkt), R Guerra, S Babwah, C Somchand, S Barker, J Barker, D Pearce, W Hicks, J Woodbridge, A Singh

From one extreme to the other. Last week was easily the strongest team I have seen put out for a third team - this week saw almost a complete change due to poor availability with a number of players making either third team or league debuts.

Geoff won the toss and concluded in the hot weather that batting first was in order. Unbelievably following last week's opening partnership of 145, the openers Geoff and Anthony this week put on 152. Geoff batted beautifully for his 94 (target this week of 77!) and I can only recall one false shot before he was unlucky to be bowled off his legs. In contrast Anthony, fresh from 2 ducks earlier in the season, was given the task of batting the whole innings. He started very slowly and unsteadily but gradually gained in confidence and he very nearly made his captain's target, finally out for 57 in the 45th over given out lbw (a courageous decision according to his fellow colts) by Duncan Pearce.

This dismissal simply increased the misery for Knebworth Park as Chirag and Sam scored a brisk 50 run partnership with Chirag ending up on 37 not out in a remarkable total of 242 for 6.

Plenty of fluid at tea and quickly off again - after 15 overs Knebworth Park were in disarray at 40 for 6. Wickets fell to openers Will Hicks (wicket with first ball on debut!) and Chirag and this was followed up by Sam Barker and Shafi Babwah bowling some delightful spin in tandem (this included great relief for Sam as his brother held on to a tricky chance at mid on!)

What followed was simply frustrating as the number 7 and 8 batsmen batted through 22 overs - they always looked likely to get out but apart from one relatively easy stumping chance didn't give any clear cut opportunities.

A late switch of bowling saw 3 wickets in 6 overs though as Chirag ended the partnership (a fine catch by Will) and then Shafi and Sam both got their just rewards. This left us 23 balls to get through batsmen 10 and 11 and despite some edgy moments it just didn't go our way.

This was a wonderful effort by an extremely weakened team - but gives plenty of promise for the future as everyone played their part and no doubt there will be further league opportunities for all involved.

Team: A Gregory (Capt), R Wells (v/capt) A Levy (Wkt), G Williams, J Worley, M Langley, C Edwards, D Pigden, P Bullen, S Barker, J Stead

A useful toss to lose as skipper Gregs had favoured batting first on a wicket that turned out to be pretty good and got better as the match went on and had enough time to fully dry out.

Choosing to bat first Ickleford were soon looking in trouble to Gregs and Wellsy, but it took a moment of luck to turn things against them - a shot hit back hard to Gregs was a potential catch but instead ricocheted off Gregs' hand straight on to the stumps, stranding the unfortunate non striking batsman. Wickets then fell at a steady rate with Wellsy at last finding the furniture and Geoff Williams holding on to a nice slip catch off Gregs.

On came youthful spinners James Stead and Sam Barker. Both took a wicket apiece - James struggled a bit to find his length bowling up the hill but still claimed an early wicket thanks to a handy catch by Dave Pigden. Sam showed tremendous maturity, keeping things together despite being hit for 2 sixes and getting a deserved wicket the ball after an edge off a wrong'un had deceived both batsman and keeper.

Then came the bowling spell of Man of the Match Jon Worley. Fancying his away swing with the slope in his favour he soon had figures of 1 for 3 off of 4 overs with the batsmen having no answer to his consistent line and length. This spell ensured that Ickleford were never able to set a reasonable target despite a last wicket stand of 20 which helped ensure that the innings used up 51 overs.

In reply Geoff (target today of 67) looked immediately at ease and despite a slow start he and Jon soon upped the scoring towards the required run rate. After 14 overs (his own admission) Jon had finally played himself in, after being a bit scratchy early on, and suddenly it all looked too easy as he first overtook, and then went steaming ahead of Geoff's score to at last reach a first Cockfosters 50. Once he brought up his 50 Jon played some lovely strokes for boundaries including 2 sixes.

At the other end Geoff continued to accumulate in his own usual style and brought up a deserved 50 with another boundary. The end came soon as Geoff hit the winning boundary to leave him 56 not out and Jon with his top score for Cockfosters of 80 not out.

This all left No.3 Shag looking for cream to sort out the rash he'd picked up for wearing pads for no reason for a full 35 overs. Thanks for coming to the rest of the batsman!
 

Team: A Gregory (Capt), R Wells (v/capt) A Levy (Wkt), G Williams, J Worley, M Langley, K Brady, C Somchand, R Guerra, S Barker, J Stead

Skipper Gregs finally got a chance to toss up and after winning it, wisely chose to insert the opposition on a damp pitch. The team talk in the dressing room was made special by Geoff's impersonation of the teacher's pet - putting his hand up to ask questions.

Somehow after 20 odd overs, despite a fine opening spell by Gregs and Wellsy, Dunstable found themselves on 60 without loss - I say somehow because lots of balls had flown in the air wide, short and by the side of fielders (usually just after Gregs had moved them from where the ball went); Geoff had unusually dropped one at slip; he had also caught one off a Wellsy no ball; potential run outs had been misfielded; and somehow the stumps had failed to clatter when the batsmen missed the ball.

It was looking like one of those days until, within the space of 2 overs, Wellsy found the castle of both openers and eventually finished with 3 for 41. Once that happened it was really plain sailing as Dunstable succumbed in 40 overs for just 129. Some excellent catches followed from Geoff, (President) Chirag, Matt Langley and Wellsy and some fine cheap mopping up of the tail by James Stead brought him 4 for 20. Special mention for the President with a useful spell after a couple of years out, and also some excellent work in the field from unused young spin bowler Sam Barker.

The Dream Team - Geoff and Jon Worley - proceeded sedately towards the target taking 66 off of the first 26 overs. However, Jon as usual succumbed before reaching what would have been a well earned 50 (stumped for 38), and then 10 runs later Anthony Levy once again failed to trouble the scorers despite looking quite comfortable, but giving lots of fielding practice instead of scoring runs!

That brought in Matt for his debut innings in the third team - he proceeded to take 33 excellent runs, looking full of confidence and making it all look very easy, off a partnership of just 46 with Geoff, before he too fell stumped off the spinner. Kevin went in to protect his average and Geoff soon hit the winning 4 to bring his final total to 44 not out. 30 well earned points!

Special mention for Shag who did a fine stint of umpiring having been called up at late notice for the 2nd XI, only to find the game was cancelled!

Team: R Wells (Capt), A Levy (Wkt), G Williams, C Edwards, S Westbury, T Hutton, P Bullen, N Hale, R Guerra, S Barker, J Stead

Fresh from failing to beat Gregs in the vote for the captaincy, vice captain Wellsy secured the captaincy berth by ensuring that Gregs got picked for the second team!

Having consulted with his players he wrongly called heads and Fosters were asked to bat first on a pitch that made the batsmen long for Tudor Park! Despite the state of the pitch an excellent (if understandably slow) opening partnership of 50 was brought up between Shag and Geoff, even if Shag only contributed 4 of those! There were then 3 quick wickets as Geoff was adjudged lbw for 36, Anthony was triggered (I would say that wouldn't I!) for a duck and Simple Simon soon followed, also without troubling the scorers.

Shag was then joined by Tommy Hutton and as the rain began to fall, the runs began to flow as Hatfield Hyde lost discipline in the field with numerous catches going down. Eventually the rain proved too much and everyone trudged off - Tom remaining not out on 37 and Shag with 28. Tea was consumed, the rain kept falling and the game was called at 5pm. Thanks for coming to too many players on a depressing English summer afternoon.