Heavy defeat for Hertford 1st XI at Totteridge

Hertford won the toss and elected to field first in what were humid, overcast conditions at Totteridge. Opening batsmen Ben Howgego and Justin Le Fort set out in a composed manner, accumulating any runs on offer and putting the loose ball away. Despite enjoying some good early spells with the ball, mistakes in the field, dropped catches and loose bowling relieved any pressure Hertford could build.

When Adam Carlson came into the attack in the 11th over, Totteridge were well placed to post a large total. Carlson immediately found his rhythm and found the breakthrough when Howgego hit straight to Ollie Ray who took a smart catch at mid-wicket. At 112-1, Shaun O'Brien joined Le Fort at the crease and the two batted busily to move the score on to 181 when Le Fort was bowled by Richard Leather for a well made 82. O'Brien fell immediately after, leaving Hertford with a window of opportunity to apply some pressure with two new batsmen at the crease - Johnathan Miles and Totteridge skipper Chris Mason. Miles and Mason quickly found their stride however and began scoring freely. The score past 250 when Mason became the 4th Totteridge wicket to fall when he was well bowled by Richard Leather.

Hertford's Brad Dawson and Leather twins bowled excellently to induce a slight batting collapse which saw Totteridge fall from 256-3 to 291 all out in the 49th over. Hertford captain Richard Leather finished with impressive figures of 5-69 from his 9 overs. Hertford left the field feeling relatively positive that they had been able to restrict Totteridge to 291, having previously feared a score in excess of 300.

In reply, Hertford's openers looked to emulate the steady foundation they had built against Radlett the week before. This wasn't to be the case with Richard Leather caught attempting to hook the impressive Ben Lederman in the 2nd over. Leather's wicket was soon followed by Elliott King who was adjudged to have edged the ball behind. Ollie Ray joined brother Will Ray at the crease, with the former playing some pressure-relieving strokes before being bowled by the probing Simon Webster for 22.

With the score at 39-3 and Hertford reeling, Will Ray was next to fall when he caught down the leg side, bringing James Leather to the middle to join Stuart Barker. James, looking to follow up on his efforts the week before, was trapped in front by former Potters Bar spinner Mohammed Zarif for 7. Next batsman Ben Cowell preceded to strike some impressive blows, including a huge straight six, taking Hertford's reply past 50 and bringing hope of a resurgence. Any hope was quickly diminished though when Stuart Barker was caught for 12 and Cowell later followed for 33. Hertford's lower order failed to add significantly to score, and the total had only just crept up past 100 when last man Adam Carlson was bowled by Jack Cattrall. Cattrall was the picked of the Totteridge bowlers with figures of 4-16 from 6.2 overs.

In total it was a disappointing display from a young Hertford team who will be looking to improve upon their display in next week's important home fixture against Luton Town & Indians.