3’s Shine in the Sun for First Win This Season

They say many a match is won at the toss, but the captain’s call makes a huge difference. This was one such case when Capt. Ian Codd took the brave decision to bowl first on a sunny day and a wicket that looked reasonably flat. Further credit should be given to his decision given the short boundary at one end (read ‘short’ = 8-9 yards between the inner circle & the boundary).

An excellent start from the Hertford opening bowlers David Beardsley and Flynn Ruskin ensured the Radlett openers were kept in check. David Beardsley was luckless (again) as two chances were grassed at gully. However, Flynn ensured a tight line and flawless length at the other end. Flynn was duly rewarded with two quick wickets in his first appearance for Hertford 3’s this season. His pace & accuracy will be a welcome addition to the team for the rest of the season. David Beardsley persisted once again to bowl through his quota at one end to finish with an impressive economy of 2.2/over.

Hertford continued to pile on the pressure with the change bowlers. The off spin of Shridhar Kumar and the brisk pace of Ross Murphy ensured the Radlett batsmen were on the backfoot through the middle overs. Apart from the Radlett No.3, Azhar Kayani who crafted a half century, the rest of the Radlett batsmen couldn’t create or sustain any scoring momentum. Ross Murphy’s length and pace was testing and he managed two wickets to his tally. Shridhar Kumar continued to bowl a steady line and managed to deceive the batsman at regular intervals to finish with a well-deserved 4/21. It did require the tactful bowling of Ian Codd to restrict the final partnership for Radlett who finished with a meagre 120 runs.

At this point, it is critical to call out that the Hertford 3’s have an uncanny habit of sensationalizing matches against Radlett in the recent past. Unfortunately, this was the case in point again, when opener Hugh Walsh played a casual shot off his first ball to be caught at square leg. This, followed by the quick exit of No.3 Ashan Abeywickrama and No.4 Alex Carter left Hertford at an arduous position of 3/14. As low scoring games go, this set the dressing room in a frenzy with doubts creeping in. However, two young guns in the form of Lewis Harris and Matt Bartlam put on a fine partnership which saw Hertford moving steadily towards the target.

Lewis showed great temperament and strong shot selection in his innings of 39 before he mistimed one to short mid-wicket for a one-handed grab. Matt continued to score at a steady pace dispatching the bad balls whilst showcasing a strong defence technique. However, when Matt was bowled around his legs for a finely crafted 37 Hertford were still short by 21 runs for their first win of the season. A brief partnership between Rob Carter and Captain Ian Codd was restricted by Yasir Mughal when he dislodged Rob leaving Hertford short of 13 runs for a victory. With doubts looming around the dressing room of another defeat, Ian Codd stepped in to finish the game in style with 3 solid boundaries to take the team home.

Overall, a great win for the Hertford 3’s aided by some fine performances with both the bat and the ball. Next week, the team is away to Old Camdenians hopefully, to continue the winning streak.

Author: Shri Kumar