Hertford’s 2s Overcome Welwyn 2s at Sun-Soaked Balls Park

The Second XI was packed with bowling options for the opening league weekend of 2020, with all-rounders Hugh Cavener, Faiyaz Homyoon, Tom Orchard and Brad Dawson joining Rob McCarroll in a new-look batting order. New skipper Gus Joyce was watching the team but was absent from the starting line-up due to injury, so George Pavey reprised his near-permanent role as 2s stand-in skipper.

The pitch was hard but was such a vibrant green that someone with little grasp of current affairs could be forgiven for thinking that it was indeed an April start to the league season. Fortunately, the team took the time to update Noah Osborn on what had been happening in the news before play began.

Despite the green nature of the wicket, Captain Pavey won the toss and elected to bat first and Hertford's answer to Hutton and Sutcliffe (see G. Pavey and M. Chandler) strode to the wicket for the midday start. It is no small understatement to say that Pavey was responsible almost singlehandedly for putting the necessary preparations in place for this COVID-regulations-compliant fixture, and so more than normal it was felt among his watching teammates that he deserved to do well. There was a palpable gasp then, when the Welwyn opening bowler - limbs moving with the smoothness of a Thunderbird puppet - delivered a juicy full-toss for the first ball of the game. The gasp grew ever deeper when Pavey edged that same full toss to second slip. Disaster was averted, however, by two simultaneous actions. Firstly, the second slip shelled the chance. Secondly, the umpire called no-ball. Perhaps this would be Pavey's day after all.

Some tight stroke play and some loose bowling ensured that the opening pair made steady progress, Pavey striking the first boundary of the season and Chandler's more open stance and straighter bat-path serving him well. Chandler can at times appear to be like a coiled spring, ready to launch at the ball and throw everything he has at it, but his work in the nets seems to have given him balance and something resembling poise (I reserve the right to retract this analysis). The opening stand was ended when Chandler chased a short ball but could only feather it to the keeper. Wickets then began to fall steadily, Pavey again demonstrating his uncanny knack of bringing up a faultless 50 and then endeavouring to undo his hard work. This time he tried to play a straight ball too squarely and was bowled. Homyoon despatched an enormous 6 onto the nets and the score rattled on. Rob McCarroll looked instantly assured at the crease on debut, and ready to run at the drop of a hat. Once he and Tom Orchard combined, Hertford began to drive to a very competitive total indeed. McCarroll hit over the leg side early in his innings, before unfurling strokes straight down the ground and backward of point. Tom Orchard, less elegant than his batting partner, used his long levers to good effect, hitting down on the ball and punching holes in the field on the off-side. Both men reached 50 in good time and Hertford looked set for a total of around 270. When Tom Orchard was dismissed, Brad Dawson was told to head to the wicket with menace. As is so often the case, pad rash proved his down fall. The path of the delivery left Dawson groping at thin air, and the ball cannoned into his stumps. Noah Osborn then joined forces with McCarroll: Hertford reached 268 from their 45 overs. McCarroll was finally dismissed on the penultimate ball of the innings, to the obvious delight of Ben Orchard who was forced to trudge to the middle for a single delivery.

It was felt that this score was slightly better than par, and that the slow bowlers would be difficult to score off. If Hertford could avoid bowling as many extras as the Welwyn attack, this total would be very hard going indeed.

Welwyn's opening pair of tall, left-hander and short right-hander posed problems for the opening bowlers. The elder Orchard, Ben, adapted better to the changing lines and was unlucky not to have the right-handed opener taken in the slips as the ball flew harmless through the only gap in the cordon. The youngest Orchard, Dan, struggled with his line but almost proved enough to remove the left hander, as a number of plays and misses drew "ooh"s and "aah"s from behind the wicket. Veteran Rhodes was introduced from the pavilion end and set about his miserly work loudly and with the customary venom. Hoomyoon replaced the elder Orchard at the score box end and together with Rhodes attempted to constrict Welwyn's scoring. Few wickets fell but the required run rate mounted: the left arm spin of Osborn fianlly the left-handed opener who had just before reached a fine 50. This sparked some life into the game, as Welwyn's no.3 batsman abandoned his penchant for late cuts in favour of lusty blows off Cavener toward the short boundary. In Osborne's final over he effected a fumbled run out at the non-striker's end. The umpire hesitated and the fielders held their breath - a wicket now would put Hertford firmly in the driving seat - before confirming his decision: out. The dismissed batsman was not eager to leave the field of play but eventually saw the futility of his hands-on-hips gesture and strode despondently away from the sunlit middle back to the shade whence he came. This left Welwyn's no.3 to chase the final thirty runs almost alone. With 18 runs left to get, he hit the left arm spin of Homyoon straight towards the safest hand on Hertford's team, and Cavener gratefully took the catch. 15 would be needed off the final over. If Ben Orchard could only bowl to a plan, the game was safe.

The field was set. Captain Pavey was confident. The spectators had left the bar to watch a mere formality. All watching, playing and scoring knew, Ben Orchard just had to pitch it full and straight and Hertford would clinch the victory. In the context, then, the first ball was "maverick". Half-way down it pitched, on the line of off-stump. The last thing the batsman expected! The Welwyn man leaned back, making room to strike the ball toward the unprotected short boundary. The ball plinked high off of his bat and spiralled into the medium distance over cover. McCarroll, evidencing his boundless energy in the field which had been matched only by Dawson's patrolling of the shaded boundary near Mangrove Road, turned and sprinted after the tatty piece of heavily-sanitised leather. Perhaps he felt that such a maverick piece of bowling deserved a wicket, perhaps such effort is just natural for some. He dived headlong across the 30-yard markers and took a fine grab a foot above the worn grass. All agreed - this was a fine ending to a man of the match performance from McCarroll.

Written by Ben Orchard.

Orchard bowled more conventionally thereafter and even claimed another wicket with the final ball of the game, Hertford winning by the margin of 8 runs.

Among the long shadows of at Balls Park, between the aching bodies and the kit bags sprawled over the designated areas, cricket had returned to Hertford and it had returned a win!