Road to Shenley 

Fosters went to Div 5 outfit Holtwhite Trinibis in the last 8 of the Becker Plate on Sunday while as chance would have it the 2^nd XI played on the pitch below against Holtwhite’s 2XI in the Chess Valley Sunday League. Half the club was present to see both sides victorious.

Matthew Fisher the first team skipper, looking slightly knackered after Vanessa recently got back from holiday without him, won the toss and elected to bat. The wicket promised to give the bowlers a hand early on but seemingly nothing that O’Leary and Fisher couldn’t handle and hopefully go on to dominate and slap about. However Fosters got a shock when O’Leary (6) and Fisher (16) departed with only 26 on the board after 6 overs and worse still Penny (0 - quack) and Wood (26) departed soon after leaving their team 65-4 off 15 overs with all the top order scratching their balls and making excuses on the side lines. Colin Hukker picked up three wickets for the opposition when really we could have done with Darrell Hair at square leg but never mind.

Luckily James Stead (57) and Chris ‘Errol’ Xavier (59) had their batting heads on and came to the rescue. They put on a 120 partnership taking the score to 185 off 34 overs by trouncing first and second change bowling to all parts of the ground some aerial and some carpet. James played some very sweet back foot shots and Xav looked back to his destructive front foot best hitting a couple of juicy 6’s. Holtwhite’s had a very sharp keeper who made some superb takes and was unlucky not to take a screamer as Xav tried to guide one down fine to 3^rd man early on, apart from that it was pretty chanceless stuff. Both departed having given their team a fighting score on the board but Pumpkin (55) and Gareth Hooper (18) made it into a winning score adding a further 87 runs late on with Pumpkin’s fifty coming off 38 balls- good work gorgeous.

Sayers (0) and Haydon (0) went in late and both got golden ducks from the Holtwhite spinner Micallef who is on a hat trick next time he plays. Fosters ended 272 all out

Tea was pretty good until we found out the Man U score and that the 2XI had been set an unlikely chase of 280 with Edwards and Munson in the top 5.

Fosters went out to field with still a lot to prove and it looked worrying when the opening bat Hewitt (35) played aggressively early on and looked confident whacking Pumpkin (3-30) and Steady (2-42) and putting Holtwhites way ahead of the required rate 10 overs in. To be fair it couldn’t last forever and Stead, as he has done all season long dug one into the pitch and got his man caught by Xav waiting at second slip off the batsman’s glove. Pumpkin bowling with a hangover, flu, swollen glands and Ibuprofen bowled well considering and was unlucky as he missed the outside edge several times during his 7.4 overs.

Mark Sayers (3-26) and Tim Haydon (2-37) the deadly first change duo came on and finished off a fine fielding performance with Sayers bowling the other opener Burgess (26) with a snorter middle stump. Holtwhites ended with 140 in reply off 33 overs. Pretty comfortable victory after the openers went.

Man of the Match. Pumpkin

Moment of the Match. Jim Stead hitting a wonderful 6 off his hip that was given as 4

After Tracey Sayers was kind enough to bring down a jug of Carling for us (thank you Trace) we watched the most unlikely victory on the other pitch as Westbury & Co polished off a fantastically comical chase of 280 for the 2^nd XI. Cheesy being given out when a furlong home by umpire Lloyd who changed his mind was brilliant and Westbury, run out 3 times & stumped twice still managed to hit the winning runs. Wisden will contact shortly to see if that’s a record Simon.

Many thanks to Andy Gregory for standing at both ends and giving batsmen out with such aplomb. Cheers also to Mike Pratt for dealing with the post-match administration.

A fine opening stand from Fish (68) and Flat Track (46) gave the innings the impetus it needed and useful contributions from lower down the order including 25 from Adam Pigden and 28 not out from Bondgirl took Fosters to 218 from their allotted overs.

Wormley put up much more of a fight than they showed in their recent league encounter and Fosters were indebted to remarkable spells of 3 for 10 from 7 overs from Matt Stead and 4 for 13 from Tim Haydon to secure the win.

Stevenage won the toss and proved too good for the Fosters bowling attack plundering 356 off of an increasingly improving track. None of the bowlers really had much success in checking the flow of runs.

In response Fosters always had a chance whilst Flat Track O'Leary was around as he completed a magnificent century. Once he went for 105 the innings fell away and closed on 234 all out with 11 overs still to be bowled.

Cockfosters v Cheshunt – Becker Cup R1 - Ben Wood

Cockfosters won the toss and batted in glorious conditions. O’Leary, Penny & Wood got off to a flier knowing that the NZ touring party were expecting a show. With a huge score looking on, O’Leary got a lifter, Wood ran Xavier out (without facing!) and then saw his off stump knocked back. 67-1 to 76-4 in the truest of CCC traditions! Adam and Gareth then produced a salvage mission, batting serenely to put on 70 with the minimum of fuss.

With the entertainment levels dropping, Adam played an aerial shot with 3 needed for his 50. As the ball safely evaded the fielder, the crowd looked back to applaud him. Unfortunately, he hadn’t evaded the strapping, seven-stone colt Hooper and was laying face-down, covered in blood on the wicket. With Hoops fine, Umpire Westbury promptly triggered him lbw to go and check whether Adam was alright.

At 167-7 Cheshunt smelt blood until Wells unleashed some shots that only he knows how to play. He was ably supported by M Stead with an unbeaten 39, no doubt riled into action by J Stead’s 51no the previous day. The innings finished on 248-8 from 50 overs with Adam re-emerging to complete a well deserved 56no.

Cheshunt started off reasonably well until they lost 3 quick wickets. Their opener got one that stayed low, Adam took a good catch and Steady trapped the number 3 on his crease. With a rebuilding job on the cards, Cheshunt’s West Indian had a minor disagreement with Westbury which, as any self-respecting umpire knows, only ends in one way. Cue a bat being thrown 30 yards on the way back to the changing room.

The game could have drifted at this point but much to their credit Cheshunt refused to give in. Wislen (52) and Brooks (32) dispatched it to all parts until Xav brought himself on to finish the job. Some tight bowling induced one aerial shot too many and Wood took a good running catch to break the partnership. Xav finished with 5-0-19-3 as Cheshunt were bowled out for 192. M Stead (10-3-14-2) deserves a special mention for stemming the flow of runs when a shock may have been on the cards.

So an all-round team performance from ‘Fosters produced a win against a side who gave it their all. The next round brings Stevenage to Chalk Lane on 2^nd July. In the meantime, if anyone wants a drink out of Westbury, simply threaten to give his address to the 6ft 4ins West Indian…
 

Sun 07/05/2006 – Evening Standard Knockout Cup - Matt Fisher

Cockfosters 80 (39overs); Eastcote 82-2 (20overs)

Back-to-back Sunday cup matches were never going to be easy games for Cockfosters so early in the season, but after National Cup defeat at Potters Bar the week before, the trip to Eastcote in the Evening Standard was a daunting one. Mid-week dropouts then made the task that little bit harder.

The early warning signs were there for all to see. Arriving at the ground to see the opposition (some in coloured bibs) being put through a demanding warm-up drill, we promptly headed for the safety of the changing rooms. “Blimey, they’re a bit keen!”

It all hinged on the toss. If we could field first and try and limit their total to something we could have a go at, then we might be in with a chance. Outcome: the toss was duly lost and we were inserted!

Still, a good start by the top order would give us hope. Two wickets in the first over put paid to that idea! O’Leary caught at slip for 0 was soon followed by a bemused looking Xavier who, having smashed a four through midwicket, then got cleaned up next ball by one that nipped back. Fisher didn’t trouble the scorers much either and was caught at slip after nibbling at a wide one. 15-3!

This brought Wood and Penny together and after Ben survived their keeper making a hash of a caught behind, these two stuck around and patiently increased the total. Once past the lowest ever Evening Standard total (32) we could start to relax and enjoy the view. 42-4 was the total when Wood departed, soon followed by Adam Pigden and Matthew Stead.

Sam’s gutsy innings of 18 from well over an hour at the crease came to a close when caught at slip and aside from James Stead playing well for his 12not out, the tail surrendered weakly and we were 80 all out.

After a lovely tea and a quick look at the last ever game at Highbury it was time for another backs-to-the-wall bowling display. At 5-1 it looked on the cards as Matthew Stead bowled their opener comprehensively. A smart stumping by Adam off Mark Sayers bowling made it 15-2 and gave us hope. But it was a tall order and the home side went on to reach their total without further scares and with 30 overs to spare.

Special mention should go to James Stead who batted beautifully and looked totally at ease against bowlers who had cleaned up the top order. One more chance of cup glory awaits us when we face Cheshunt in the Becker Transport Cup in mid-June.

Sun 30/04/2006 – Cockspur National Cup - Matt Fisher

Cockfosters 129 (45overs); Potters Bar 130-5 (38.5overs)

Having won the toss, elected to bat and received the consensus of opinion that 220 would be a par score, 0-3 was not quite the start Cockfosters were looking for. Fisher was first to go, after leaving a delivery that cut back and bowled him. Then followed O’Leary, whose decision to track down the pitch and slog may have come a little early in the innings. The third victim was Adam, who was a little unlucky to snick his first delivery to second slip, who took a good low catch diving forward.

Gasps all-round from the pavilion where numerous small children could be heard asking fathers if 0-3 was a good or bad score because they hadn’t ever seen it before!

The away team’s innings was rescued by Xavier and Alexander, whose fourth wicket partnership of 58 restored faith and helped make things more respectable. Sam Penny made a useful 30 to help things along and then Hillier and Sayers with 10 and 11 respectively ensured Cockfosters posted a score that was defendable.

Spurred on by a good recovery and fuelled by Tracy Sayers’ McDonalds run, the away team got stuck into Potters Bar’s openers. Image of the day was provided by Matt Stead who, having bowled the number one batsman for 2, then uprooted the number 3’s off stump for a duck (worth the admission fee alone). The home side were 2-2 and then 20-3; suddenly 130 seemed a long way off.

Stead’s figures of 7.5-1-20-3 show the boy has arrived in adult cricket. Up the other end working hard for his new team was Matt Hillier. His spell of seven overs for just 10 runs deserved a wicket at the very least.

Potters Bar dug deep though and grafted a partnership of 57 runs for the fourth wicket but the game was still in the balance when the fifth wicket fell for just 82. Mark Sayers and Tom Woodbridge bowled tidy spells, picking up a wicket each (they could have had more) before Xavier was introduced to the attack and we had a moment of controversy.

Now it’s hard to believe, but Xavier won’t have had many bigger appeals in his long and distinguished career than the one for caught behind that the umpire turned down. In simple terms it was out, it couldn’t have been anything else, but as is sometimes the case, the batsman got a reprieve and proceeded to hit the next delivery over cow corner for six!

After that, the game ebbed away from us and what could have been a famous win became a defeat that was hard to stomach. Still, from 0-3 who would have given us a prayer of making a game of it?