Hertford 1st XI Slip to Second Defeat of the Season

Following a convincing away win against Reed last weekend, Hertford were looking to build some momentum as they hosted a strong Potters Bar side at Balls Park.

After some overnight rain, the hosts won the toss and elected to field in a bid to capitalise on the best of the conditions. Opening bowlers James Leather and Andrew Knight were seeking to make the most of the overcast late morning conditions.

The Potters Bar opening batsmen had other ideas however, and were able to settle quickly against some loose bowling in the early overs.

With the visitors racing to their 50 in the opening ten overs, Cowell had to turn away from pace in favour of line and length, bringing on Adam Carlson to join Knight.

The pair were able to regain some control and slow the visitors' run rate. But Potters Bar continued to make good progress as the weather closed in and they headed to a rain-enforced early lunch with all ten wickets intact.

After the clouds parted, Hertford needed some early answers. Knight soon obliged after his probing approach finally broke the opening partnership by removing Pat Scott for a well made 62.

The breakthrough meant that Hertford had a new batsman to target, but it was the set batsman Steve Gale that was next to fall. His attempts to accelerate the run rate failed after he was smartly caught by 'keeper Cowell.

With added impetus, Knight and Carlson continued to restrict the visiting batsmen, creating a number of chances without reward. Potters Bar's third wicket partnership between Hussain and Ashane Wijesuriya frustrated the hosts and pushed them beyond the 150-mark.

Knight soon came to the end of his economical 19 over spell, finishing with solid figures of 2-58. The enforced change gave the visitors the chance to push on with wickets in hand, and took the attack to the Hertford bowlers.

Carlson however continued to make progress, claiming two late wickets of Wijesuriya and Machado to reduce the visitors to 183 for 4. He too finished his spell of 19 overs in impressive fashion to finish with 2-81.

Despite the hard yards of the Hertford bowlers, Potters Bar were able to declare on 251-4 from 53 overs, leaving the hosts requiring a tempting run chase with a minimum of 56 overs in the bank.

The chase started in the worst possible fashion for Hertford, however, with Jamie Riddle falling early without scoring and Will Ray riding his luck with a couple of missed early chances.

Joined by Jones, Ray was able to settle and the pair began to accumulate some important runs on what was turning out to be a good cricket surface. But the hosts' fortunes soon ran out as Jones was caught for 30.

Despite a number of small partnerships and good starts, the Stags continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and struggled to gain a foothold in the game.

Ray provided constant stability for the Hertford side though, and was able to bring up a patient half century in the 29th over and give the hosts a glimmer of hope.

Having passed the halfway point in their chase, Ray was then caught for 62 and the hosts once again faltered to leave themselves with work to do to salvage the game.

Middlesex spinner Thilan Walallawita heaped further pressure onto the Stags by claiming three middle order wickets, including that of captain Cowell for 38, to knock the last remaining wind out of their sails.

With the draw their only realistic option, the hosts sought to bat out the remaining overs. But they continued to be faced with some persistent bowling and strong close catching, and Hertford soon slipped to their second defeat of the season, 36 runs short of the target.

Vice-captain Will Ray was keen to reflect on the positives after his own innings of 62. "We know we have the talent in the team to push on in the second half of the season," he said. "All it takes is a couple of wins to build the momentum we need to make a case for the top four."

Hertford host Totteridge Millhillians next week in the second of back-to-back home fixtures, aiming to return to winning ways.

Author: Andrew Knight