2nd's Fixtures and Results 2005

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Weekends details by Dave Pett:                  

                        Stevenage 2^nd X1 178-7                      Potters Bar 2^nd X1 179-3

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 beat Stevenage 2^nd X1 in convincing style, by 7 wickets at The Walk on Saturday, to be crowned as Champions of the Saracens Herts League Division 3 for 2005.

The home side went into the game knowing that a win or a minimum of 16 points would see them take the title, whilst second place Hemel Hempstead had to beat Hoddesdon to maintain their own chances of claiming the title. Visiting captain Ian Brown won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat first on another belter of a wicket on a hot and sunny afternoon in Potters Bar.

Vice captain Chris Boyce opened the bowling for the home side and immediately had the batsman under pressure with a super spell of new ball bowling. Boyce bowled with good pace and control making life tough for all of the visiting batsmen.

Wickets began to fall at regular intervals whilst at the same time runs were proving hard to come by. In the 25^th over of the innings, skipper Dave Pett turned to Michael John, at which point Boyce had returned the excellent figures of 3-17 from his 12 over spell. Mark Taylor was proving his normal reliable self at the other end maintaining the pressure throughout yet another 20 over spell. Taylor finished with 3-74 from 22 overs and in doing so took his 59^th league wicket of the season.

Boyce returned to take another wicket to end up with 4-23 and despite a late flurry of runs, the home side reached the tea interval having done a good job in restricting Stevenage to just 178-7 from their 53 over allocation. At this stage the whole side were confident that if they batted sensibly the title would surely be theirs.

Openers Gavin Baker and Adjitka Mehta went out to bat and showed absolutely no sign of nerves as they got off to a flying start. Both players played some superb shots in racing to 53 from just 9 overs, before Baker played a loose shot and was easily caught at mid wicket for a well-made 30.

Mehta was joined at the wicket by Bar’s leading run scorer Ian Henderson and the pair took the score to 96 in the 17^th over before Henderson was dismissed for 15, shortly followed by Charlie Hodge for 9.

Mehta appeared to be in no trouble what so ever as he continued to dominate the innings reaching his 50 from 71 balls. When the visitors took the new ball with 21 overs remaining Mehta decided to launch a counter attack and smashed the bowling to all parts of the ground.

The winning runs fittingly came when Mehta hit another fine drive through mid on to leave him unbeaten on 85 as victory was achieved by 7 wickets with 15 overs of the innings remaining.

Skipper Dave Pett was understandably pleased and proud of his side’s achievement in winning the title. “This has been a great team effort throughout the summer, every one of my players has contributed at some stage with bat or ball. We have played to a consistently good level throughout the campaign; indeed the latter part of the season has seen us win our last 10 games in a row to take the tiltle.

We have come up against some good sides this season in a league that contains 12 1^st teams and only 8 2^nd X1’s. This title win has been a fine achievement and I am proud to say is also a good indication of the strength in depth we possess throughout the club”.

League Averages (Saturday)

BATTING	Inns	Not Out	Runs	HS	Average	50's
Ian Henderson	17	2	536	80	35.73	5
Adjitka Mehta	12	3	395	85*	43.89	3
Dave Pett	11	2	275	57	30.55	1
Mark Taylor	13	-	243	68	18.69	1
Charlie Hodge	13	2	214	50*	19.45	1
Gavin Baker	8	-	184	71	23	2
Matt Evans	12	2	164	58*	16.4	1
Ajith	9	2	135	49*	19.28	-
John Pett	10	4	103	28	17.17	-
Paul Martin	6	2	75	23	18.75	-

BOWLING	Ovs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Average	RPO	Strike Rate
Mark Taylor	316	107	747	59	12.66	2.36	32.13
Chris Boyce	130	31	392	25	15.68	3.01	31.2
Rick Martin	72	11	281	14	20.07	3.9	30.86
Jeff Hackett	69	17	200	11	18.18	2.89	37.64
Gavin Baker	46	8	170	9	18.69	3.69	30.67
Charlie Hodge	93	21	330	8	41.25	3.55	69.75

Wicket Keeper	Catches	Stumpings
John Pett	20	7
PR Martin	9	3

Previous Reports 2005

Saturday v’s Wormley 1^st X1

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 177 all out              Wormley 147 all out

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 went top of the Saracens Herts League Division 3 with a tense 30 run win away to Wormley on Saturday.

The home side won the toss and had no hesitation in asking the visitors to bat first on a wet wicket that offered assistance to the bowlers.

After the early loss of Gavin Baker, Ian Henderson and Adjitka Mehta set about the bowling with clear intentions of scoring at a rapid run rate in order to ensure there would be plenty of time to bowl the hosts out in reply.

Henderson was particularly aggressive reaching his fifty from just 31 balls before going on to make an excellent score of 80 until he was caught by a good catch in the deep on the mid wicket boundary.

Mehta also played extremely well mixing solid defence with aggression until he was out for 43.

Wickets then fell at regular intervals throughout the latter part of the innings as Bar were bowled out for 177 in the 40^th over of the innings, crucially meaning there would be 60 overs available to take 10 wickets required for victory.

The Wormley batsmen were in no mood to surrender their wickets and Bar struggled to make in roads into the top order despite keeping the scoring rate to a slow rate. The home side had reached 114 for the loss of just 3 wickets in the 46^th over meaning the game was well within their grasp unless wickets started to fall.

Skipper Dave Pett continuously rotated his bowlers and was rewarded when Michael John and Gavin Baker made the crucial double breakthrough in successive overs. Taylor then took another wicket and Mehta nipped out two more with his leg breaks as wickets tumbled rapidly.

The last wicket fell as a result of a mix up between the batsmen, which resulted in a suicidal run out meaning the last eight wickets had fallen in just ten overs for just 33 runs.

This win saw Potter Bar 2^nd X1 leapfrog Hemel Hempstead and go top of the league following Hemel’s draw with Letchworth. This now means that the destiny of the league title is in the hands of the Potters Bar side.

Bar now go into the last game against Stevenage knowing that a win or 16 points will guarantee them the league title, whilst Hemel Hempstead will look to win their last game away to Hoddesdon and hope that Bar slip up in the process.

Skipper Dave Pett knows that his side face a difficult game when they entertain Ian Brown and his side Stevenage side this Saturday. “ I know that Ian will have his boys fired up to do all they can to make it hard for us to win, however I am pleased with the way we are playing as a team. We have won our last 8 games in a row to get us where we are now and if we can produce one more top quality performance I am confident that we can gain the 16 points required to win us the league title”.

Bushey 1st X1 115 all out  PB 2nds 116-1

PB 2nd X1 moved within 7 points of top place in Saracens Herts League Div 3 with a 9 wicket away win to Bushey on Saturday.

PB (jockey) skipper Syrup won the toss and had no hesitation (which is surprising considering he spends so much time on the fence) in asking the home side to bat first on what looked like a poor track.

Charlie Hodge was the pick of the bowlers picking up 3-18 from 9 overs with good support from Mark Taylor 3024 from 13 overs.

Boycey took 2 wickets on his return from a 3 week holiday (what sort of commitment is that in the middle of the season-nice tan- vain bugger)  whilst Michael John also chipped in with one.

Rain began to fall steadily and the players left the field twice (Petty 3 times to blow wave his hair) when the umpires decided it was too heavy. The differing league positions meant that both teams were keen to continue which they duly did when the rain relented.

As the weather closed in again, PB batsmen Ian Henderson and Charlie Hodge decided to attack in order to ensure victory.

Both players wasted no time in achieving the target of victory in only 21 overs for the loss of 1 wicket Adjitka Mehta for 17. Henederson finished unbeaton on 48 from just 46 balls whilst Hodgey was not out 38.

Saturday v’s Southgate Adelaide 1^st X1

Southgate Adelaide 1^st X1 160 all out                      Potters Bar 2^nd X1 161-1

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 cemented 2^nd place in Saracens Herts League Division 3 with a very comfortable nine-wicket victory at home to Southgate Adelaide 1^st X1on Saturday.

The visitors won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat first on another excellent batting wicket at The Walk.

Holiday commitments meant that the home side were missing no less than four top line bowlers so as always Mark Taylor was to be relied upon to do the bulk of the work. Taylor was supported well in sharing the new ball by classy youngster Gavin Baker who went on to produce an excellent all round performance with both bat and ball.

Baker bowled 10 excellent overs in 2 spells taking 3-29, whilst Adjitka Mehta also bowled 9 excellent overs of leg breaks returning figures of 1-29.

Taylor meanwhile bowled throughout the innings at one end and his accuracy troubled the visitor’s batsman from start to finish. When Taylor took the last wicket to fall his bowling figures of 6-60 from 25 overs meant that he is now just 15 wickets away from the league record of 61 wickets in a season.

Not content with his superb bowling spell, Baker then opened the innings and proceded to smash the Adelaide bowling all around the park as he raced to his fifty from only 33 balls. Mehta also played splendidly in an opening partnership of 115 until Baker was caught for a classy knock of 65.

Ian Henderson then joined Mehta in an unbroken match clinching partnership, Mehta batted beautifully in registering an unbeaten 65. Henderson finished unbeaten on 29 as Bar romped to victory by 9 wickets with more than 20 overs to spare.

Next week Bar travel to Bushey with skipper Pett keen to ensure the side maintain the high level of performances of the last 5 weeks that have seen the side win all 5 games played. Top of the table Hemel Hempstead are 27 points ahead of the 2^nd place Bar with 4 games to play so victory is vital if the team are to keep up the pressure in their push for the title.

Saturday v’s Bishops Stortford 2^nd X1

Bishops Stortford 2^nd X1 139 all out                 Potters Bar 2^nd X1 140-5

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 maintained their promotion push with a fairly comfortable five wicket victory away to Bishops Stortford 2^nd X1 on Saturday in their Saracens Herts League Division 3 clash.

The home side won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat first on a good wicket. Michael John, making his first appearance for the 2^nd X1 this season, opened the bowling with Charlie Hodge and the pair had the home team batsmen in trouble from the word go.

Both bowled with good pace and aggression as wickets began to tumble immediately with John taking 3-21 from 9 lively overs. Hodge finished his first spell with 1 wicket to be replaced by the ever-reliable Mark Taylor.

Taylor as always maintained the pressure on the batting line up as he bowled throughout the remainder of the innings taking 3-30 from 19 overs. This now means Taylor has taken 40 league wickets this season and the league record of 61 wickets is in sight with five games remaining.

When Hodge returned to take his second wicket of the innings the home side were dismissed for 139 in 52 overs. By this time the rain had started to fall heavily and the run chase would begin an hour and a quarter late with the visitors only allocated 30 overs in which to chase the target.

With this in mind Taylor was promoted to open the innings and he made his intentions clear when he hit the first ball of the innings out of the ground for six. A few more lusty blows followed until he was caught behind for 32 leaving the visitors on 41-2.

Skipper Dave Pett then joined Ian Henderson aiming to maintain the required scoring rate, this they did until Pett was caught in the covers for a quick fire 20. Henderson batted sensibly and brought up his fifty with another boundary but then fell shortly after stumped for 52.

By now the rain had returned and was starting to get heavier, however there were to be no further alarms as John Pett was joined at the wicket by Michael John who immediately hit two enormous sixes to bring up victory by five wickets with five overs of the innings to spare.

The visiting side won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat first on another superb wicket. The Hodge brothers, Charlie and Greg, shared the new ball and both bowlers picked up a wicket apiece as they removed the two opening batsman.

Mark Taylor replaced Charlie from The Walk end and as always maintained a tight grip on the middle to lower order batsman bowling 20 unchanged overs and in doing so returning figures of 3-54.

Skipper Dave Pett rotated his bowlers at the other end and there was a wicket each for Jeff Hackett, Gavin Baker and Adjitka Mehta as the visitors posted a total of 193-8 from their 53 over allocation.

The home side’s reply did not start well when Mehta and Ian Henderson were both dismissed early for 6 and 2 respectively to leave the game in the balance.

However Gavin Baker proceeded to bat with a touch of class, despatching the visiting bowlers to all parts of the ground. Matt Evans, playing his first game for 4 weeks, joined Baker and the pair added 90 for the 3^rd wicket before Baker was caught at slip for an excellent innings of 71.

Evans batted on doggedly until he was out for a well made 41 soon followed by Charlie Hodge who contributed a brisk 21 before being bowled to leave the home side 150-5 with ten overs remaining.

Skipper Dave Pett and Paul Martin then batted sensibly to ensure there were to be no more scares and victory was achieved with 2 overs to spare. Pett finished unbeaten on 32 with Martin 8 not out.

Saturday v’s Clarendon 1st X1

Clarendon 1^st X1 113 all out                Potters Bar 2^nd X1 117-2

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 cruised to an eight wicket victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Clarendon on Saturday in their Saracens Herts League Division 3 clash.

The home side won the toss and elected to bat first on a hot sunny day on a good wicket that offered pace and bounce to the visiting bowlers. Chris Boyce was soon in the action taking the first two wickets to fall as the home side struggled against the high quality bowling on show from the visitors.

Mark Taylor replaced the luckless Charlie Hodge and as always immediately put the batsman under pressure backed up by an excellent spell from Gavin Baker who nipped in with two wickets from six overs.

Taylor’s accuracy was rewarded when Jeff Hackett took a fine catch at mid wicket to dismiss the dangerous Clarendon skipper to firmly put the game in the control of Potters Bar. The return of Charlie Hodge for his second spell proved crucial as he took two quick wickets and when Taylor had taken his 34^th wicket of the season the home side had been dismissed for a below par score of 113.

Taylor finished with four wickets whilst Hodge, Boyce and Baker all picked up two wickets apiece.

The visitors reply did not start well when Gavin Baker was run out without scoring, soon followed by the in form Ian Henderson also dismissed for a duck leaving the total on 5-2.

However this brought Tom Coughlan to the wicket with a point to prove having been dropped from the first eleven where he had been playing all season. Coughlan joined Adjitka Mehta and the pair set about rebuilding the innings against some pacy bowling from the home side. Both batted with a touch of class mixing solid defence with attacking stroke play to swing the game firmly back into the visitor’s hands.

Despite making various bowling changes the home side could not find a way to break the partnership which had passed the century mark when the winning runs were scored in the 28^th over of the innings, both batsman had past the fifty mark with Coughlan finishing unbeaten on 56 and Mehta not out 54. 

Saturday v’s Hemel Hempstead 2^nd X1

Potters Bar 192 all out               Hemel Hempstead 2^nd X1 153 all out

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 produced an excellent performance in beating Hemel Hempstead 2^nd X1 at The Walk by 39 runs on Saturday in their Saracens Herts League Division 3 clash.

 
The visitors came to Potters Bar sitting top of the league and their confidence was further boosted when they won the toss and asked the home side to bat first on a wicket that was damp from the previous weeks heavy rainfall.

Paul Martin and Ajditka Mehta opened the batting and found the conditions and accurate bowling attack difficult to come to terms with and they were both dismissed within the first 10 overs to leave the home side on 22-2.

Ian Henderson and Charlie Hodge then began to rebuild the innings with a good partnership until Henderson was bowled for 35, soon followed by Mark Taylor who was caught behind for 8. The home team then found themselves in further trouble at 110-6 when Hodge was also caught behind for a patient 25.

Skipper Dave Pett then batted patiently with Ajith Wallawallawitta with the aim of making sure the full 53 overs were used up.

The total had reached 140 when Wallawallawitta was dismissed however by this time Pett had settled in at the wicket and the scoreboard had started to tick over to ensure the home side would post a decent score to give their bowlers to bowl with.

Pett brought up his fifty with a six over long on and had moved on to 67 when he was well caught in the outfield at deep mid wicket.

A quick fire 25 from John Pett gave the innings a further boost and when Chris Boyce was the last man out lbw, Bar had posted a good score of 192 from 53 overs.

Early wickets were required by the home teams bowlers and this was achieved when Chris Boyce and Mark Taylor both took a wicket apiece to leave the visitors 30-2.

Boyce was replaced by Adjitka Mehta who bowled his leg breaks for the first time this season and he was rewarded with his very first delivery when wicket keeper Paul Martin took a swift stumping to give Bar their 3^rd wicket.

A stubborn sensible partnership between the Hemel captain and young number four batsmen appeared to be swinging the game firmly in the visitor’s direction as the score progressed to 130-3 with 12 overs remaining.

However Mark Taylor continued to probe bowling a steady line and length and he was rewarded when he made a double breakthrough in dismissing both players within one over. Mehta then returned to ball at the other end and wickets began to fall in rapid succession to such a degree that one wicket was required for victory from the final four overs.

This was achieved when Taylor took his 6^th wicket when he bowled the last man to finish with excellent figures of 6-54 from 23 overs. Mehta’s contribution was 3-29 from 9 overs to leave the home side in 6^th place in the league and still right up there in the promotion race.

Next week the team visit high flying Clarendon for what promises to be another tough test boosted by a what appears to be an almost full strength line up being available for the first time all season.

Saturday v’s Totteridge 1^st X1      Totteridge 1^st X1 - 119all out    Potters Bar  69 all out

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 were well beaten by Totteridge 1^st X1 at Totteridge Common on Saturday in their Saracens Herts League Division 3 clash.

Skipper Dave Pett won the toss and asked the home team to bat first on a wet wicket that had been effected by the wet weather of the past week. Despite the conditions the home sides batsman as expected, came in and played big shots from the word go.

Wickets and runs both flowed in equal measure with Chris Boyce and Greg Hodge taking three wickets apiece, whilst Mark Taylor and Jeff Hackett both took two wickets each as the home side were dismissed for 119.

In reply the visitors under strength batting line couldn’t come to terms with the home sides high quality spin bowling attack that had the innings on the back foot throughout.

Only Dave Pett and Jeff Hackett managed double figures as the reply capitulated to a poultry score of 69 all out.

Next week Pett’s side are almost back to full strength as they look forward to welcoming top of the league Hemel Hempstead to The Walk with a much improved batting performance required.

Saturday v’s Hoddesdon 2’s       Hoddesdon 2’s 181all out    Potters Bar  182-4

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 produced probably their best performance of the season so far in beating previously unbeaten Hoddesdon 2^nd X1 by 6 wickets at The Walk on Saturday in their Saracens Herts League Division 3 clash.

Skipper Dave Pett won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first on a good wicket that offered pace and bounce throughout the day.

The home side’s new ball bowling attack of Chris Boyce and Greg Hodge both bowled with plenty of effort to ensure that the visiting batsman were under pressure form the word go.

Boyce was rewarded with two wickets in his opening spell that meant the powerful looking Hoddesdon batting line up didn’t get off to a flying start.

The whole innings was an excellent contest between bat and ball with the experience of the home side bowlers in the shape of Jeff Hackett and Mark Taylor coming up with quality accurate bowling against the strong and experienced visiting batting line up..

Hackett, returning from 3 weeks holiday in Barbados, took 3-35 from 14 his overs whilst the ever reliable Taylor returned figures of 2-32 from his 14 over spell.

The visiting batsman never quite managed to get right on top throughout their innings and when Chris Boyce returned for a second spell he polished off the innings for 181 and in doing so returned impressive figures of 4-44 from 15 overs.

The target of 182 for victory was achievable, however it was important that the home side batsman got off to a good start in their reply.

This they did as Matt Evans and Adhitya Mehta put on 50 for the first wicket in eleven overs until they both fell in quick succession for 21 each.

In form number three batsman Ian Henderson was joined at the crease by Charlie Hodge and the pair batted well until Henderson was out for 30 leaving the score on 91-3. Mark Taylor came in and hit a brisk 12 including one big six over long on but when he was dismissed the game was very much in the balance at 120-4 with 12 overs left.

Skipper Dave Pett then joined Hodge who was playing well, mixing good defence with positive stroke play and the pair started to put the home side on track for victory.

Pett started cautiously to ensure there would be no costly batting collapse and when Hodge brought up his own 50 victory was insight.The pair continued the partnership all the way until Pett hit the winning boundary with 2 overs to spare for a hard earned 6 wicket win.

Hodge ended unbeaten on 52 from a high quality innings that contained 9 x 4’s whilst Pett was not out 33 in an innings that included 5 x 4’s and 1 x 6.

Skipper Pett was rightly pleased with the teams performance saying “ this was a good win against a strong Hoddesdon side that will be up there throughout the season, if we can maintain this high level of performance there is no reason we can’t also be involved in the promotion race at the end of the season ourselves”.

Next week the side face a difficult looking fixture away to Totteridge with a slightly weakened side showing three absentees from the team that played against Hoddesdon.


Saturday v’s County Hall                      County Hall 172-9        Potters Bar  176-8

Potters Bar 2^nd X1 won a thrilling game by 2 wickets from the penultimate ball of the match in their Saracens Herts League Division 3 clash with County Hall played at The Walk on Saturday.

Skipper Dave Pett won the toss and asked the visitors to bat first on a good wicket that offered pace and bounce throughout the day.

The home side’s new ball bowling attack of Chris Boyce and Greg Hodge both bowled well with plenty of pace and aggression which ensured that the visitors batsman were under pressure form the word go.

Boyce was rewarded when he clean bowled opener Richard Hale for a duck to give the home side the early initiative and the bowlers maintained the pressure throughout the innings as wickets fell at regular intervals.

Hodge and Boyce both picked up two wickets apiece and the pressure on the visitors batsman was maintained with the introduction of Mark Taylor who bowled beautifully returning impressive figures of 5-37 from 17 overs.

As well as the home side bowlers bowled, credit must go to County Hall opening batsman Bartlett, who despite scratching around a little early on, showed plenty of guts in hanging in around as wickets fell around him.

His grit and determination were rewarded when he reached his century in 3 hours of dogged resistance, which ensured the visiting bowlers had something to bowl at.

The home side got off to a poor start as Pett played back to a straight one and was rightfully given out lbw to the first ball of the innings. Ian Henderson continued his good run of form with a well-made 25 but when Charlie Hodge and Mark Taylor were both dismissed cheaply Bar looked to be up against it.

Matt Evans joined opener Adjitka Mehta in rebuilding the innings with some patient batting until both were dismissed in quick succession, Mehta for a well made 42 and Evans for 21 leaving the home side struggling at 120-6.

Ajith Wallawallawitta came in at number seven and appeared to struggle with the pace and bounce of the wicket early on, a situation that was not helped by the loss of wicket keeper John Pett and Greg Hodge. Both players were guilty of poor batting as they recklessly charged down the wicket to the slow left arm spinner and were easily stumped without making a significant contribution to swing the game firmly into the visitors hands.

The arrival of vice captain Chris Boyce appeared to give Wallawallwitta renewed confidence as he hit three slightly lucky boundaries to gave the innings a lift. From then on he didn’t look back in his attempt to chase the winning target and with Boyce batting with all his experience suddenly 20 were required form the last two overs with two wickets in hand.

Wallawallawitta didn’t disappoint the large crowd that had gathered as he hit the winning boundary off the second last ball of the match. In doing so Wallawallawitta had scored 49 from 40 balls to give the home side a 2-wicket victory from a highly charged game of cricket.

Next week Pett’s men travel to Letchworth looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season but will have to do so without leading run scorer Ian Henderson and Paul Martin.