Friendly v Old Habs - lost by 6 wickets
On a beautiful day for april, Ricky won the toss and chose to bat. However both openers, Shammi and Hailey were back in the hutch early doors as the ball just held up on them and they fell to catches off driven balls. Ibby with 28 and Zaheer batted well before both fell to good deliveries, and when Rick Firth fell to a stumping after smashing a four, Ricky looked doomed at 60 for 5. However, battling Blackie, with a typically stoic innings held up one end whilst players like Razzie and Razor biffed a few at the other. Once Callum had departed cheaply, Paul and new Captain Tom Gardener decided to open some shoulders and their partnership of 50 enabled the team to finish on a reasonable 170 all out.
A couple of early wickets only hastened to innings of Akash Christian who safely negotiated excellent bowling spells by Curly and Tom. Raz kept the middle overs quiet but Akash and Ali survived some close escapes and made hay against anything short or wide. Curly took 2 wickets, but Old Habs cruised to victory and left Ricky with a lot to think about before the first League games this week,
1st May League v North Mymms CC 2nd XI
Rickmansworths new look side nearly pulled off a great win against a North Mymms side containing 6 of their HCPL 1st XI squad, including star overseas player Chris Chellew, recently signed from Abbots Langley. Batting first Pete Brannen and Nas Nawaz started brightly enough, and once Nawaz departed for 15, Ibby Hanif and Pete started to draw clear from the NMCC bowling attack. Brannen departed on 46, just a boundary short of a desering half-century, but Ibby continued to hold the batting together. He formed good partnerships with Benn Glazier (13) and Kamber Hussein (5). At 137 for 4 Ricky had a good base to push on for the last 14 overs, however only Ray Collins with 14 provided good company for Ibby and from 171 for 6, the team collapsed to 174 all out. More will be expected of 9,10 jack as the season progresses and 200 would have been more fitting considering the work of Pete and Ibby up front.
With the ball in hand, Tom and Kamber were out of the traps quickly and Kamber ripped through the top order reducing their much vaunted HCPL batting line up to 4 for 3. Tom Gardener took 1 for 18 including Chellew for a golden duck, and Kamber 4 for 23 as North Mymms reached 55 for 5 before the rain came and put an end to what would have been an exciting game. Rickmansworth took 11 points from the game.
Northwood
Town lost by 96 runs to Rickmansworth
In a battle of the Captains, it was Northwood Towns Dave Bushnell with 7 for 83 who took the honours, whilst Tom Gardener of Rickmansworth with 6 for 32 walked away with the 30 points. Bushnell won the toss and decided to insert Ricky on a damp and cold afternoon and by halfway through the innings his gamble appeared to have paid off. Rickmansworth were 84 for 7 and looking like a side on the way to defeat. However this team doesn't knwo when it is beaten and despite Bushnell himself having taken all 7 wickets to fall, he was tiring and had no back up bowlers. And the ace in the pack, Sohail, was still gritting it out at the crease on 40. Rickmansworth’s batting depth began to take it’s toll. Opener Sohail Bashir formed a succession of partnerships with Callum Cusack (13) and Tom Gardener (16) which saw Rickmansworth up to 152 for 9. Possibly enough we thought, but then the icing on the cake was a run-a-ball 48 run partnership between Marc Robinson (21) and Bashir which ended with Robinson stumped as Rickmansworth reached the maximum of 200 runs, and Bashir carried his bat for a magnificent unbeaten 89 and a healthy appreciation from the watching crowd.
The Northwood Town reply never really got going as Rickmansworth’s Gardener set some aggressive fields, and once he had pouched the top 4, including a stunning return catch to dismiss his opposite number Bushnell for just 4, the Northwood resistance was crushed. Unlike Northwood, Rickmansworth held every catch and were duly rewarded in dismissing the home side for just 104. Towards the end, it was a comedy of errors for some of the wickets, but it doesn't matter how you get 'em - lucky or not.
A high spirited Gardener observed “We had victory snatched from us by the weather last week, but this week the team played exactly as that – a team. Sohail was the hero with the bat, supported by the bowlers, and we deservedly won the game for him today”.
Rickmansworth drew with Northampton Exiles
Winning the toss, Tom Gardener chose to bat first but Ricky quickly lost Pete Brannen for his second successive duck. Maz Shah with 30 helped to recover the position and with Ibby Hanif at the other end the fifty came up. This brought Kamber Hussain to the crease and in an astonishing display of power hitting, Kamber went on the clear the boundary 9 times in a blistering century partnership with Ibby. When Hanif departed for 62, Kamber just continued pretty much on his own and even put on 40 for the 7th wicket with Callum Cusack despite Cusack not hitting a run. Gardener declared on 247 for 6 with Kamber scoring 20 off the last over to race past his century and onto 117 not out. Kamber was the last person to hit a century at Park Road last year as well.
Gardener (1-26) and Khamber (2-25) bowled so tightly at first that the Exiles didn’t even attempt a run chase on what was still a plum batting track. Ray Collins (2-29) and some comedy spin from Ibby Hanif (2-10) bought a couple of wickets, but Exiles were still happy to finish on 164 for 8 after 50 overs. “We have bossed all three games so far” commented Ricky skipper Gardener “so to be in 12th place in the table isn’t a true reflection of what we can achieve”.
Rickmansworth Lose to Chipperfield Clarendon
Something had to give on Saturday as the two unbeaten teams in the League faced each other. However Rickmansworth were handed their first defeat of the season as they travelled up to top of the table local rivals Chipperfield Clarendon.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, Rickmansworth set about compiling a score on what looked like a wicket well suited to batsmen. Early wickets though put Ricky on the back foot, but when the in-form Khamber Hussain (98) stepped to the crease, Ricky were still heading for a decent total. His clean hitting and stroke-play again a feature of another great innings for one of the most in-form local batsman averaging 115 in League Cricket this season. Unfortunately whilst Sohail Bashir (22), Pete Brannan (19) and Ballum Cusack (24) all got starts, the wickets kept falling and Rickmansworth struggled to post 212 all out. A vital 16 not out by Curly enabled Ricky to edge into 10 point territory.
The Rickmansworth bowlers stuck to their task, but a big 2nd wicket partnership took the game away from Rickmansworth. A small fightback managed 3 wickets without a run to place a little pressure on Chipperfield, but it was all to no avail as they chased down the runs in the 43rd over for the loss of 5 wickets. Marc Robinson (3-64) and Tom Gardener (2-27) the only bowlers to pick up wickets whilst Zaf Shah bowled well without reward.
Skipper Gardener now hopes for a bounce back at home this Saturday against lower-ranked Hertingfordbury."Whilst Khamber is at the crease we always look like posting a competitive score, and we want a reward for all the games we have dominated but been robbed by the weather - we could easily be in the top 4".
Rickmansworth Draw with Hatfield
Rickmansworth XI hosted the 6th place Hatfield on the weekend, eager to build upon last week’s win. Hatfield won the toss and elected to bat, a decision which most of the Ricky team were happy with. The bowlers soon set about the task, with tight bowling from both Marc ‘Curly’ Robinson and Ray ‘Razor’ Collins. Robinson continually beat the bat in a very long and tight spell, and was unlucky to only take the one wicket. All the bowlers bowled tightly, and as the wickets continued to tumble after drinks, Hatfield looked set to be on target for a score around the 170-180 run mark. Unfortunately the runs seemed to come thick and fast in the final few overs, as Hatfield eventually reached 211-8, ‘Cookie’ Latif finishing with 40-3.
Rickmansworth set about the chase, but with the old ball taken and spin used, the sting was taken out of the game somewhat. The real story of the Ricky innings was a knock from Maz ‘the General’ Shah. In a commanding innings, the General directed the ball to all parts of the boundary with some powerful blows, good placement and crisp timing. He deserved a ton but selflessly pushed on for bonus points, eventually falling for 84. Unfortunately there was a lack of support (air, see or land) for the General, with only Shammi Hussain (18) and Kamran Aslam (16) managing to build a decent partnership with Maz.
The game was left for Mark Raine and Neil ‘Knuckles’ Burdett to salvage the draw, leaving Rickmansworth 167-9. A 12-point draw enough for Ricky to gain 1 place on the ladder as we travel to 3rd place Ickleford this weekend.
Rickmansworth beat Ickleford
Rickmansworth travelled to third place Ickleford and we greeted with a green pitch after the covers had been left off overnight. After winning the toss and electing to bat, Ricky began well with a solid opening partnership (M.Shah 14, S.Hussain 24) in difficult conditions. The runs continued to come through Bashir (34) and a fine knock by K.Hussain (61) who managed to time the ball crisply despite the conditions. His innings feature so big-hitting to all parts of the ground. This platform was continued with some great batting by Hanif (42) and Collins (28) whose 6th wicket partnership of 46 ensured Ricky were heading towards a good score. Burdett (14 n.o.) helped push the final Rickmansworth score to 245-9 off 51 overs in a fine team display.
Ickleford then set about the task of chasing, not easy given the conditions and the reduction to a maximum of 45 overs. A brilliant catch by Burdett behind the stumps started Ricky off, and regular wickets began to tumble after this. Collins (33-4) then ripped through the middle order with Robinson (62-4) finishing off the remaining resistance. A fantastic result, achieved through every player contributing.
Rickmansworth will be keen to retain this form as they host Waltham X Rosedale next game.