Hertford 1st XI Prevail on Damp Derby Day

Having been denied an opening weekend fixture by persistent rain, Hertford were left checking the weather radar as drizzle looked set to scupper them yet again.

With their newly promoted local rivals arriving at Balls Park off the back of a victory against Radlett, Hertford knew they had to be ready to face a confident Hoddesdon side. Having put in the hours on the training pitch throughout the week despite the persistent threat of heavy rain, Hertford were well prepared for what was set up to be a great game.

Both sides had to remain patient as light rain continued through the scheduled start time. After two and half hours and the loss of 18 overs per side, the sun finally broke through and shone on Hertford captain, Ben Cowell, as he won his first toss of the season to put Hoddesdon into bat.

The visitors started strongly in the power play, punishing some unusually over pitched bowling with typical aggression. Reaching 32-1 from their opening six overs, Hoddesdon’s fast start was checked by Adam Carlson, who removed danger men Rob Walters and Jayden Broodryck in quick succession to reduce them to 47-3.

Despite some patient middle order batting, runs remained hard to come by for the visitors thanks to Hertford’s well drilled fielding display. The hosts’ preseason preparation was exemplified by smart ground fielding in the deep and a sharp run out from youngster Max Lawrance.

With seven overs remaining and 107 on the board, the Stags kept their foot on the pedal. Some restrictive bowling in the middle and late overs meant that Hugh Cavener and debutant Jamie Regan were able to share a set of late wickets and hold Hoddesdon to 138-8 from their 32 overs.

Having seen how difficult it was for batsmen to establish themselves on the green wicket, Hertford’s opening pair of Will Ray and Jamie Riddle knew they had to produce a solid display to chase down what could prove to be an awkward total.

In a similar fashion to the visiting side, the opening pair set off to break the back of the run chase early. Riddle in particular took a liking to some loose bowling to dispatch the second over of the innings for 16. But after reaching 48 from the opening five overs, the rain returned in a bid to disrupt the hosts’ efforts once more.

The brief shower meant that upon their return Hertford were facing a revised total of 127 from 28 overs. However, thanks to Ray and Riddle’s pre-delay shotmaking, the rain did little to apply much scoreboard pressure.

Picking up from where they left off, the pair continued to make light work of a demoralised bowling attack. After taking the sixth and seventh overs for a combined 22 runs, Ray and Riddle raced past 100 in only 85 balls, with Riddle bringing up his half century in 40 deliveries.

Ray himself soon followed, bringing up his own fluent 50 from 53 balls, placing Hertford firmly in the driving seat with the winning line in sight.

Sadly the Stags couldn’t quite make it home with an unblemished scorecard. Just shy of the target, Riddle received a well guided delivery to remove him for 63. At that stage however he had done more than enough to make it a formality for the hosts.

Ray comfortably wrapped up the dominant victory in the very next over, guiding his side to the 25 points with a run-a-ball 55 and 10 overs to spare.

Despite the rain-affected opening fortnight of the season, Hertford’s preparation was clear to be seen with bat, ball, and in the field.

Speaking after the win, Hertford’s captain was quick to praise his side’s efforts. “We spoke at length during pre-season about the importance of preparing well and imposing ourselves on teams,” Cowell said. “The hours we have put in clearly showed this weekend, and we are now focused on carrying this momentum into our next games.”

Hertford will be looking to repeat their derby day performance as they travel to face Harpenden next weekend.

Written by Andrew Knight.