Hertford 3s Batting Woes Continue Against Old Camdenians

However, the Old Camdenians had proactively covered the strip in anticipation & Hertford were greeted with a slightly damp wicket for the Div. Five A clash. Given the conditions, it was not a bad toss to lose for stand-in skipper Rob Carter.

Put into bat on a reasonably lively track, the Hertford openers Lewis Harris and Sam Read faced a no-nonsense opening bowling attack. Both B. Gravett & Adrees Yasin were accurate and generated enough pace off the wicket to trouble the batsmen. Lewis Harris was the first to go succumbing to a short ball from Adrees Yasin. The next phase of cricket from Hertford could well be summarised as a mixture of loose shots, poor defence & lack of application. B. Gravett continued to sustain the pressure at one end with the occasional short pitch delivery to trouble the batsman. However, Adrees Yasin was the pick of the bowlers for Old Camdenians as he bowled with guile & skill forcing an array of false shots from the disconcerted Hertford top order. In an enthusing spell, Adrees Yasin finished with impressive figures of 10-1-37-6, his best since 2013.

Though the pitch offered some assistance, majority of the Hertford wickets were gifted rather than earned by the opponents. The only exception was Sam Read (once again) who put a fine price on his wicket and battled the odds with skill and determination. Sam Read crafted a fine 38, which showcased his willingness to battle hard against a quality bowling attack.

With a meagre target of 87 to chase, Hertford had a glimmer of hope when David Beardsley got rid of the opener Rizwan Sirdar in the first over. However, the other opener, Imran Zain Roy kept the charge going with some risqué shots which helped the Old Camdenians sustain the momentum. Along with No.3 H Gravett, Imran put on 61 runs for the second wicket. David Beardsley walked away with a consolation wicket when he dislodged Imran Zain Roy. However, the Old Camdenians had done enough to secure a well earned 30 points.

Completely outplayed, the Hertford 3’s will now have to find some quick answers to their batting woes to nurture any chances of staying up in Div. Five A.

Author: Shri Kumar