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So how will the Bar do this season? Who in my opinion is going to have a great year and who will be the ones to look out for this summer?
I, will be answering those and many more questions over the season but here is my version on just how well all elevens are set to do. Who are going to be the match winners and just who the dangers are on what is hopefully going to THE BEST season for the Cricket Club.
Is Fred right? Follow it here......
May
Cockfosters > see report>
St Albans > see report>
Enfield > see report>
Sawbridgeworth > see report>
Stevenage & Southgate > see report>
West Herts > see report>
June
Lanleybury & Blackheath see report>
Hertford see report>
Bishops Stortford and Saffron Waldren see report>
July
Harpenden & Totteridge Millhillians see report>
Sawbridgeworth see report>
Stevenage see report>
West Herts/ High Wycombe see report>
Hemel / Sunbury see report>
N Mymms/ WGC see report>
Langlebury see report>
Hertford/Presidents Day see report>
Bishops Stortford see report>
Harpenden see report>
Was he right in 2007>Go
1st XI
After finishing second in last seasons division for my money, although the league was ours to lose with 5 games to go, that’s exactly what we did. Saying that it could be argued that in 6 attempts we didn’t beat West Herts, Welwyn or Stevenage and if you want to go up as Champions then to be honest you have to beat these sides.
However this is the season we are equipped to beat all-comers as we have recruited well throughout the winter and have more than made up for the massive loss of Kash Weeraratne who has now gone and gained the National selection his talents deserved.
With the influx of new signings will for the first time in my time give genuine competition for places. Instead of maybe having a side containing 8 good first eleven players, we now have 11 with more ready and champing at the bit to come in. This bodes well for the club as a whole.
So the loss of Kash Weeraratne is boosted by the signing of Lanka de Silva who has played top cricket in Sri Lanka for 16 years. In that time he has maintained his average of 41 which is an amazing achievement. He comes as a top batter who bowls tidy off-breaks. If Lanka gets in he makes big scores so maybe the record Kash broke in 2006 could be under threat?
To replace the wickets Kash got as well as the ‘pick and mixes’ Nick Walker should step into the role and he will be a massive boost for the club. Nick is an aggressive opening bowler and gives our attack something we haven’t had at this level for a long while. Nick is also a top player, a bloke who can play a vast array of shots and used as a pinch hitter in County Cricket I expect us to be a force in all forms of the game.
Steve Gale, a prolific batter at his former club Hatfield will be a great addition as he is an ambitious cricketer who wants to try and break into the Minor County circuit and his move should enable some progress to be made on that score. We also have Adam Norman returning from Australia and Tommy Coughlan after his sabbatical to Enfield and at the time of writing we are in ‘the latter’ stages of talks with 2 other top performers. These players will more than make up for the loss of Kash as well as Gavin Baker and Paul Barker who have left for Welwyn Garden City and Radlett respectively.
All this is on top of a good squad pf players whose hunger and ambition have been re-ignited after a winter break and the knowledge of what could have been after the season tailed off somewhat towards the end of season when we were placed to both win the league and reach the County Cup final.
I expect us to not just compete but win the league as we are without a doubt the stand-out side in the division. On the downside, with the ‘stars’ we have at our disposal we are there to be shot at and every game will be the opposition’s chance to put one over the big boys and quite rightly so. Sides have had the quality we have now got and failed to progress so we have to still have to play to our optimum every week otherwise yours truly will have more egg on his face than a man with a liking for eggs on his face.
Fred’s Prediction Champions + County Cup Finalists
2nd XI
With the influx of new players into the club the domino effect on the whole club will be massive and the winners are every eleven.
With the influx of what could be up to 7 new players, this means there will be disappointed players coming from the 1s down to the 2s and this will only make Greg Hodge’s side even more competitive. The disappointed players will be hyped up to do well and that can only be good for the side.
Last year amazingly with the ‘scratchy’ availability, an overseas player who went home early, the boys did remarkably well to finish in 6th place and the highest placed 2nd XI in the competition, contrary to other sides beliefs. With the influx of new players the squad should be far more consistent and getting 11 top cricketers on the field will be a real probability.
With the new blood in, predicting a team is harder than trying to mind read Rafa Benitez but I doubt you will find a batting line-up stronger anywhere else in the Division. We welcome back Addy Mehta from India and his batting will be ably supported from a cast of plenty. The bowling will be boosted by Mark Taylor and hopefully young Luke Owers can push on and follow up his amazing haul of 40 league wickets in his debut season at that level.
With the skipper Greg Hodge not now heading for New York, this gives the boys some stability and Greg can push on and with the 2 new balls rule, enable him to get a good amount of overs under his belt.
For any team to do well they have to hit the ground running and start the league season well and they start at highly fancied Luton Town, relegated from Division One, in a positive frame of mind. There are still some top sides in this division but ambitions are high of the best season ever at this level and I can certainly see a top 4 finish. We maybe a little short of promotion but you never know.
Freds’ Prediction 4th
3rd XI
A new year and a new captain for the 3s this year and Neil Raisborough has taken up the mantel after the good work from Johnny Lewis after the last couple of years. Neil has been part of the club for the best part of 25 years, maybe more and again at this level and is a proven campaigner who bowls wicket to wicket and gives little away.
After scraping two wins in the last two games, the 3s finished in a slightly misleading mid-table position but they did manage to defeat the 2 sides who finished 1 and 2 in the league so the ability is there.
The 3s will be boosted by the selection headaches further up the tree and they will of course benefit from those. I’d expect Dan Brown to continue improving as last year he managed to play a massive part in 3 league victories for the 2s which as we all know is 4 grades higher. Neil will also have an overseas player from India to call upon, a left arm over medium bowler so that will also bring a new element to the attack which in the past has maybe looked a little one dimensional.
With the captaincy now lifted from his shoulders I expect John Lewis to score a lot of runs and he will be assisted by the likes of Matt Evans, Rob Daley and Andy Hughes.
The 3s will have a far, far better year than that of last year when they must have gone 10 weeks without a league win but they are of course at the mercy of the availability of sides above and the domino effect will help them enormously and a top 8 finish is far from beyond them
Fred’s Prediction 8th
4th XI
Another new skipper and a bigger challenge for Bertie Anderson, as he has taken over from the prolific Paul Kennedy who has managed more promotions than Frank Warren. With the 4s going through the leagues like a dose of salts it could well be a lot harder in Division 9 but they should still have enough in the tank to have a good year.
The return of John Erroll should help Bertie score a few runs and no doubt the Wing should take a fair few wickets at that level as well. John should be helped in the batting line-up by Bertie Anderson and hopefully Dave Rock may be tempted to pull on the whites and swap them from the pressures that come from the officiating in the Football League.
The ‘smiling assassin’ Ajith Walallawita returns for a 7th season out of 8 and considering he scored an 80-odd in Division 2 last season, as well as taking it to Ealing in the Chess Valley League. He will be the ‘big fish’ at Robert John Anderson’s disposal and with the glut of Sri Lankans’ coming and going I think the boys can have another good year. Whether they can follow up the promotions of the last few years I am not so sure, but I am sure of one thing, there will be lots of fun and laughs during the summer.
Fred’s Prediction 5th
5th XI
After Berties, promotion to lead the 4th XI, the baton has now been taken up by Colin Titmus and this will a good learning curve for him. This is a hard thing to call as the 5s are reliant on the youth element of the club developing and coming to the table rather than relying on the adults.
The runs last year came from Rocky but as he was a Grade 1 running in a plate seller at Newton Abbot but there were good performances by Big J (Jamie Trust) and Jim Fennell. However its was the bowling from youngsters Andrew Knight and Tom Rowlands who impressed many and they will again expect to take as many wickets as their ‘over allocation’ allows.
Whether Colin can supervise a second successive promotion remains in the balance but I expect the boys to carry on progressing, which at the end of the day is the most important aspect of the game.
Fred’s Prediction 8th
Here’s to a great summer, hopefully one that’s better than last season on the field but most importantly a summer of enjoyment for all members and visitors that come to the club. Let’s not forget that whilst the matches and results are important, it’s the social side off the park that we all look forward to and enjoy - long may that continue.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, I sincerely hope each and every player does better than they did last term and the club as a whole can keep improving.
Fred
AKA Mark Shepherd
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