FINAL WEEKEND OF THE SEASON ENDS IN A DAMP SQUIB    

Due to the hideous weather, the chance of Bar becoming the first side to smash through the 350 point barrier was sadly washed away.

The game with Harpenden was called off at 9-30am meaning that Bar finished with a 45 point cushion, accumulating 342 points and winning an amazing 12 matches out of the 14 completed.  The only teams we failed to beat in the season were Harpenden and Stevenage and we managed to do the double over 5 sides, namely Langleybury, Sawbridgeworth, Hertford, West Herts and runners-up Bishops Stortford.

The 2s were called off which is a sad finish as its possibly the last time we will see the legend that is Dean Dass represent the club.  It’s a sad day for me as Dassy has brought a lot of fun, a lot of laughs and will be greatly missed by everyone as his sense of humour is a unique one and has had people doubled up with his wicked one-liners and ability to go off on some bizarre tangents.  The cancellation of the game, despite hopes being raised it could be played, meant Bar had remained mid-table.

The 3s, who in truth were safe before the game managed to lose at Old Camdenians.  Losing the toss on a wicket that resembled a marsh, Bar managed to make just 90 in some 40 overs.  This was bolstered by 29 by Michael John.  The promotion chasing hosts lost three early wickets with only 30-odd on the board but a captains knock and some umpiring where the Trades Descriptions Act people are going in for an urgent investigation, enabled the hosts to win in handsome fashion and gain promotion.

The 4s despite playing on the neighbouring pitch were called off, answers on a postcard there please (obviously didn’t have any chance of promotion) and the 5s were called off despite Flamstead having an artificial wicket meaning they finished stone cold bottom so Division 13 awaits the boys next year.

Sunday proved to be another washout as the Chess Valley game at Wembley meaning we have somehow managed to secure our Division One status by playing just 3 matches all season by thrashing Ealing and Hemel Hempstead and losing at Chingford.  Who said Sunday League cricket was dead?

So another season is gone and as a club we have done okay.  The 1s will obviously take and quite rightly so all the plaudits as they have cantered to a league title, taking on and beating nigh on every side in the league.  Added to this we had a great run in he Standard and were narrowly  beaten by the probable winners of the County Cup in the Quarter Finals when the pathway was clear for us to be at Shenley if we chased down 140-odd in the remaining 20 overs.  

Of the players, Steve Gale who came from Division 3 as they were then, Hatfield topped the run charts with over 700 league runs.  He’s also become a regular in the Herts set-up which is something he was looking to try and achieve when he arrived in April.  Overseas starlet Lanka De Silva started the season like the proverbial house on fire sprinting to 562 runs after the first 9 games.  I am sure he would have been mightily disappointed in adding just 47 more runs from the second half of the season.  There were also major contributions from Nesan Jeyaratnam before injury finished off his campaign and both Adam and Jared Norman both added vital runs when needed.  Added to that, the continued development of Dave Breeze who batted sublimely when attacks were tiring was a massive bonus.

Of the all-rounders, skipper Len Cooper batted as well as he has for years as he averaged in the 40’s after an injury ravaged start to his season which in truth his first innings was at the end of June.

However, the star for me was Nick Walker.  He entertained with bat and ball on numerous occasions.  He averaged 45 with the bat and had a strike rate of the high 160’s which in itself is a fantastic effort.  He also took 42 wickets and considering we lost 4 games to rain and he lost 2 to injury, I have no doubt he would have shattered Paul McGee’s 52 wicket record haul.  I freely admit I love watching Walks play.  I want to see batters hit the ball to all parts.  His innings at Sawbridgeworth will live long in the memory. 

His bowling, when he’s fit and ‘up for it’ is electric and I want to see people run in hard and try and beat people for pace, try and bounce people and make them feel as welcome at the wicket as Darren Pattinson was made to feel in an England Test team.  For me there isn’t enough people like this in club cricket and hopefully Nick will return ‘fit n well’ and up for a far bigger challenge than that of this season.

Of the bowlers Nick obviously took the plaudits but there was another excellent effort by Paul McGee who rocked up and took 32 wickets and bowled Langleybury and Bishops Stortford when others failed on surfaces that were dead and where more life has been seen in a tramps vest.  Len took 16 wickets in a truncated season which saw him bowl for the first time in mid-June against Hemel Hempstead.  A word for Sal Hussain who came in on deadline day and took 7 cheapies and accounted for the entire top four in the biggest game of the season at Bishops Stortford and provided the little bit more energy when it was much needed.

As for next year, the boys go up a league and are now eating at the Home Counties Leagues top table.  The wickets will be far better, the standard will be far better but it’s a league we have to go in and fight toe to toe.  Both Radlett and Welwyn Garden City have gone in and raised the bar and it will be fantastic if all three sides survive next year and the county will make up 40% of the league, thus ending the monopoly the league has had over the supposed ‘poor relations.’

We will need another influx of players, maybe as many as 4 to supplement the squad we have already at our disposal to really have a go and compete.  No doubt a list of potential targets have been drawn up and Harry Redknapp (sorry Lol) and Len will have a busy winter ahead of them selling the club. 

The 2s had what can only be described as a frustrating season.  For me the success at the end by winning 2 games on the bounce clouded over a pretty poor season.  The midtable finish is still a decent achievement and the boys are playing against some established 1^st XI’s but with the players the boys have had out for one reason or another the teams only sporadically fired.  Hopes were high of a top-six finish but that was never likely as the batters rarely posted 200+.  Yes, mitigating circumstances were prevalent.  Addy Mehta went home, again, this time after a handful of weeks and never really looked happy and had seemed to have developed a bit of a chip on the shoulder which was most unlike him.  Sir Charles of Blackheath went to the US of A to teach them how to play football although on current form they could teach us a thing or two.

The 3s have defied all logic again and kept in Division 6 where for the second year running, from memory, went down to the last game.  Rob Daley again neared 400 runs and the addition of Addy Sheth was a godsend as he averaged over 50.  Both Rupert Pyrah and Michael John both took 20+ wickets and skipper Neil Raisborough ended his stewardship with 17.  However like the 2s, the element will be very much biased to the youth.  Tom Rowlands has done well in Sunday cricket higher up the food chain and will be looking to take many more wickets next season.  Adam Titmuss has come on as well and must look to listen, learn and develop even more next summer.

The 4s had a shocker in mid-summer and they couldn’t win a one-horse race but managed comfortably to get the wins required to survive in Division 9 but the 5s went down and after an opening day win, that was sadly as good as it got but thanks to the now legendary pub day, we have managed to secure a few new players and maybe next time we can get a couple more next season.

The colts have had a decent year as well as the U11 and the U-15’s both reached the County Finals day although when this will be played I have no idea as the weather has been a shocker for the last umpteen Sundays.  A word must also go out to the fillies who in their first year of competing in a bigger and better league they sit 3^rd with one game left but I can’t understand how they’ve played just 13 games when others have played as many as three games more? But to lose just twice in 13 league games is a top effort.

There have been a couple of other achievements to tell folk of.  My old dad Brian Shepherd was given the last ever Evening Standard Final to officiate in, which in cricketing terms is the richest club cricket game in the arguably the whole of the UK.  The game was set to take place at the home of Surrey CCC, but due to the incessant rain the curator presumably Doug Deep, cancelled the game at a shade before 10am, leaving everyone frustrated and as flat as a Walk wicket.  The fact that they played a full game at Lords, just some 5 miles away and the ground staff didn’t once have a “super-sopper” or anyone attempting to get the game is was particularly galling.  However the game will now take place at Ealing CC with a midday start against the conquerors of dear old Potters Bar, Sunbury.  He is also hopeful of making the Minor Counties list of Umpires, which is due to be announced after Christmas.

The other thing is that the Moon, Brian Leslie Salmon has been given the honour of Umpiring the Herts County Cup final.  His colleague is dear old Allen Wells, in what could be his last appearance wearing the white coat, where Welwyn Garden City should be overwhelming favourites to beat Sawbridgeworth, also on Sunday, this time at Shenley with a midday start.  It’s the second time the Moon has done the final, the last time Sawbridgeworth lost to Hertford in 2004 from memory.

So that’s about it for another year.  Everyone’s kit and particulars get thrown away for another 6 months and everyone’s liver a chance to detox and come back ready for next year.

Have a good year and thanks for reading my ramblings and hope to see you all at the Club Dinner / Celebration on October 11

That’s it till next time but remember, the futures bright, the future is and always will be Potters Bar

Fred