1st XI Win Relegation Play-Off by 109 Runs

After Hertford’s nail-biting loss to Totteridge in the final week of the league season, they found themselves in 9th place and having to extend their season by a week, with their 2023 Hertfordshire Premier Division status on the line. Seeking to swap places with Hertford for the 2023 season were Shenley Village, off the back of a 2nd place finish in the Championship.

With one of the driest summers on record, this pivotal game inevitably followed the wettest week of the summer, and Hertford arrived at the magnificent Shenley ground, to sights of a leaf blower and towels being used to dry the wicket, and the Shenley scorer in some strife having slipped on the bank leading to the scorebox.

With memories of last year’s premier division playoff triumph still fresh in Hertford’s mind, they knew that they were capable of performing under the highest pressure and were confident that a professional performance would see them retain their place in Hertfordshire’s top division. However, the confidence would have been shaken slightly when Benji Cowell lost the toss and Hertford were asked to bat on a still wet wicket.

Following a minute’s silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth II, the reliable pair of Hugh Cavener and Fayaz Homyoon walked to the crease for Hertford and successfully navigated the early overs in a watchful manor, picking off the bad balls where they could. Homyoon in particular looked the more fluent of the two and just as Hertford may have felt assured by their solid start, Cavener, in looking to punish a short wide ball from Nissen, only succeeded in picking out backward point, to leave Hertford at 23-1.

Homyoon was joined by Will Ray and the two continued to slug it out in tricky conditions, pushed the Hertford score past 50. As Homyoon approached his own 50, he was trapped in front by Fahim Akbar for 43, an extremely valuable contribution, having done much of his work in the toughest conditions.

Shenley now turned to spin in the hopes of forcing Hertford to push the pace, on a slow wicket with large boundaries. Ray and Bailey Eustance were initially cautious and continued to accumulate, however after the departure of Ray for 22, Eustance started to push the pace a little, targeting off-spinner Thurston, using his feet well to slug the ball for a few valuable boundaries. Supported by new man Richard Leather, the pair pushed the score forward, consolidating a great platform to take Hertford into the final 10 overs, with a very competitive score of 200 in their sights. Leather fell next caught and bowled, but had made a valuable 18 in a partnership of 57 with Eustance. This brought captain Cowell to the crease and he continued the good work of his teammates, trying to score off every ball and not falling into the trap of trying to find the boundary at every attempt. Eustance fell at the start of the final over for an excellent 66 and Hertford ended on 197-5, 3 short of their target but extremely pleased with their effort in difficult conditions.

The inexperienced pair of Dan Orchard and Flynn Ruskin took the new ball for Hertford, with much vocal encouragement both from their Hertford teammates but also the wedding singer who had just begun his pre-dinner set. Key man Charlie Thurston opened up for Shenley and survived an early chance as a miscued pull shot just evaded the long arms of Tom Orchard at mid-on. Hertford may have been fearing that they may pay for this missed chance, but it was not to be as Ruskin sent down another short ball in his next over, which Thurston top-edged to his new ball partner Orchard for a smart catch at fine-leg. Hertford were jubilant but aware that there was a lot of work left to do.

With the help of some extras and a few well struck boundaries, the Stear brothers managed to progress the score to 43 before a crucial Tom Orchard over saw Hertford strike some decisive blows. First George Stear, slog swept a ball straight to the waiting Ruskin at deep mid-wicket before Will Thomson edged through to first slip Adam Carlson, via a deflection off keeper Cowell, leaving Shenley at 44-3. This became 44-4 when Matt Stear played on to his own stumps off the bowling of Carlson. Shenley were reeling.

With Carlson holding down one end, Cowell rotated his spinners from the other, as Shenley’s middle order tried to come up with a plan to get their innings back on track. Neither Shenley’s own Graydon Orchard nor captain Morgan Stanley could inject any impetus in this period and Hertford took full control. On the stroke of drinks Orchard edged through to Cowell from the bowling of Homyoon and Shenley were now 61-5. With the skies darkening and the DLS score visible to remind Shenley how far they were behind the game, the onus was now on Shenley to try and pick up the scoring rate.

As had been evidenced throughout the game this wicket was not one where it was easy to find the boundary and so the task looked tall at this point. It looked even harder when Willingham drove Carlson to Ray at cover, with the score now 63-6. At this point all hope seemed to have gone, and some of the intensity drifted from the game. Hertford continued to send down spin and invite the Shenley tail to take them on. This plan worked as Eustance and Cavener were gifted the next 3 wickets between them. This left Tom Orchard to take the final wicket, crowning Hertford the relegation play off winners and guaranteeing them another season in the Hertfordshire Premier Division, and generating cheers from the many travelling supporters.

Written by Richard Leather