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First XI Reports 2009
15th
August 2009
Won - NMCC (home) 262 - 6 (60 overs) Letchworth 201 (50.4 overs) - 4th in
division.
After a dismal batting display vs West
Herts, North Mymms captain Neil Black was keen to bat first to put the wrongs
right. Letchworth captain Steve March called wrong and Black had his way.
Andrew Hicks was promoted up the order
after his fighting innings versus West Herts. He opened the batting with
youngster George Thurstance. Letchworth openers Richard Barclay and Ed Morse
started well beating the outside edge on numerous occasions.
Barclay got his early reward dismissing
Thurstance caught at short leg. This brought Rhys Carter to the crease to join
Hicks. They added 64 before Carter was excellently caught behind by keeper
Ricky Fuller. This brought Saxby to the crease with 26 runs from just 21
balls, he added momentum to the Mymms innings.
Matthew then joined his brother Andrew
at the crease, they put on a well played 50 family partnership before Andrew
Hicks (53) unluckily played-on off the bowling of veteran Andy Newland. With
the score on 143-4, the game was nicely poised for either side to gain an
advantage.
With a quick flurry of wickets, Matthew
Hicks (29) & Ben Bagshaw were out with the score on a below par 152-6. With
Letchworth’s tails up they looked to increase the initiative, however like much
of the season the Mymms long batting line-up had other ideas.
Neil Bamford found his form striking the
ball to all parts of the Home Farm ground. He was well supported by Ben
Langford who “dropped some bombs” in the late stages. Langford ended with 31*,
but the Mymms innings was owed to Bamford’s excellent 74* off just 47 balls.
Having scored 60 runs from the last 4 overs, the pair pushed Mymms up to an
excellent 262-6 off their 60 overs.
Mymms had the momentum going into the
Letchworth innings and it took Andrew Hicks only one ball to remove opener
Jonathan Hilliard for a Diamond duck. Hicks took another and in-form Saxby came
on to bowl and went from strength to strength.
The pair had reduced Letchworth to 72-5
at the tea interval. Saxby took 2 quick wickets after tea and the visitors were
in trouble at 97-7. However, danger man, captain Steve March was still at the
crease.
March felt the best form of defence was
to attack and with the field up, March took on the challenge. With plenty of
time still in the game March knew he could still win the game. March well
supported by Morse made the Mymms players soon recognise that the win was by no
means a formality.
March continued to play through the line
and hit the ball a long way. It was down to Mymms legend Saxby to take his 6th
wicket and remove March for an superb 93 from just 73 balls, excellently caught
by Andrew Hicks.
Saxby quickly removed Newlands to make
it 68 for 7 off 20 overs for him. It was down to an excellent late spell of
hostile bowling from Matthew Hicks to claim the final wicket, caught at short
leg by the 17 year old Thurstance.
1st
August 2009
Abandoned rain NMCC (home) 167 - 9 (55 overs) Stevenage 122 - 7 (36 overs) - 4th in division
Stevenage arrived at North Mymms on Saturday morning 1 point ahead of Mymms
in the HCPL Div 2 East league but left 3 points behind the home team. Not a
match victory, but a points victory for Mymms.
After a 35 minute delay for rain before the start, stand-in captain, Andy Lewis,
won the toss and elected to bat in the reduced over game. Field and weather
conditions were not conducive to a fast or high scoring game. Openers, Rob
Clements and George Thurstance got off to a steady, but slow scoring start in
the difficult conditions. Thurstance (11) was the first to go with the score on
42, quickly followed by Clements (27) without adding to the score. When stand in
skipper Lewis (4) was caught at deep square leg with the score on 50, Mymms
seemed to be in trouble.
Neil Bamford and Matthew Hicks steadied the ship with a partnership of 72 before
Bamford fell for 31, with the score on 122. Hicks went on to score a well
deserved 42 before being caught off the bowling of Syed Ali Kamzi. Ali Kamzi
went on to take 4 of Mymms wickets. Ed Clements (18) and Andrew Hicks (11) added
valuable runs at the end to leave Mymms on 167 for 9 after 55 overs.
With Gary and Laurie Brown opening the batting for Stevenage, Mymms responded
with Matthew and Andrew Hicks opening the bowling . Matthew got an early
breakthrough bowling Gary for 6. Stevenage wickets fell at regular intervals and
were soon at 66 for 5. Naseer Ahmed stabilised the innings, scoring 61 (not out)
off 63 balls. Mymms took wickets at regular intervals until the rain intervened
with Stevenage on 122 for 7 wickets. Matthew Hicks starred in the bowling
department getting 5 wickets from 11 overs, 4 maidens and only conceding 22
runs. Rain then intervened.
Despite the efforts of the umpires to get a completed game, the grey water
bearing clouds above did not cooperate. Result - match drawn. Mymms have now
moved to 4th in the HCPL Div 2 East league with 5 matches to go.
Sean Cunningham
18th
July 2009
Won - NMCC (home) 204 St Albans 121 - 7th in HCPL Division 2 East
After a lot of overnight rain and some wet patches on the wicket, this was
definitely a toss both captains wanted to win.
St. Albans won the toss, elected to bowl and take advantage of conditions. Some
irregular bounce assisted the bowlers and batsmen found it hard to score.
With the score on 25, county pair Lewis and Clements, along with Thurstance were
all out. Saxby and Carter put on a further 26 runs before Carter was caught off
the bowling of captain Martin Jones, with the score on 51. Bamford & Bagshaw
came and went and with only a further 25 runs added, Mymms found themselves 76
for 7, with Saxby (34) adjudged lbw off the bowling of Surrey player Murtaza
Hussain.
Mymms did not lie down and overseas player Ben Langford and Matthew Hicks went
about rebuilding the Mymms innings. With some controlled batting and strong
hitting the pair put on an excellent 101 run partnership, when Langford (50) was
run out. Hicks had the 200 total in mind and some hard hitting from the 19 year
old, gave Mymms some momentum with the score on 204-9, Hicks finishing with a
potentially match winning 61 not out.
With the wicket still offering a lot to the bowlers Mymms looked to bowl out the
St. Albans line up. Brothers Matthew Hicks and Andrew Hicks opened the bowling.
The brothers put the pressure on Matthew Hicks got his just rewards when he
removed opener Douglas Muzawazi.
Captain Neil Black, did not hold the in form Saxby back and he came onto bowl
with a spring in his step. Saxby removed Chaudry excellently caught in the deep
by Matthew Hicks. Mymms had there tails up and sensed another home
win. After Ben Langford brilliantly bowled the prize wicket of Hussain.
It was left to the spinning duo of Rob Clements and Mark Saxby to run through
the St. Albans line up. The pair finished with 4 wickets each and Mymms
completed their fight back to win by 83 runs.
11th
July 2009
Drew - NMCC (away) 273 - 7 (60 overs)
Harpenden 218 - 6 (50 overs)
Mymms won the toss and elected to bat, to try and replicate
what Hertford did to the league leaders the previous week.
Mymms got off to a shaky start with Thurstance, Clements,
Azam and Saxby all back in the pavilion with score only on 52. This brought
Bagshaw and Carter together, who set about rebuilding the Mymms innings.
After a difficult start the pair got into their stride
after lunch, going from strength to strength. The pair put on an excellent 92,
taking the score to 144-5 after Bagshaw was out for 52.
This brought overseas player Ben Langford to the crease who
continued the momentum. Langford and Carter pushed the scoring up a further
gear and took the game to Harpenden. Langford was removed for a quick fire 52,
after putting on 116 runs with Carter.
Carter pushed on to try and complete his deserved century,
but was unfortunately run out on the penultimate ball, trying to get down to the
striker's end. The competitive total of 273-7 was greatly due to a mature and
controlled innings of 98 from the up and coming Rhys Carter.
Harpenden overseas player Bradley Moses came out the blocks
and looked for a good start. Nick Lamb had his off stump removed by brother of
Andrew, Matthew Hicks, with score on 35. The introduction of man of moment
Saxby removed Moses for 54. Saxby followed by removing ex Langleybury captain
Greg Cooper.
With the score on 120-3, the game was nicely poised with
Ben Frazer now at the crease. Frazer threatened before being bowled by Rob
Clements for 49. The score was now 187-4 and Harpenden looked good for the
chase.
A quick fire 18 from David Keenleyside and some hard
hitting from Chris Bennett-Baggs threatened the Mymms total. Saxby took care of
Keenleyside with an excellent flighted delivery. This wicket was quickly
followed by Adam Winchester, who was caught behind off the bowling of Rob
Clements.
With these two quick wickets and the score on 208-6,
Harpenden decided the 273 target was a stretch too far.
The game fizzled out to a draw with the home side finishing
on 218-6, with Mymms getting the share of the points.
4th
July 2009
Lost - NMCC (away) 171 (58.3 overs) Hemel Hempstead 172 - 9 (50.2 overs).
North Mymms arrived at Heath Park on a sunny Saturday full of confidence and
ready to take on Hemel Hempstead. North Mymms won the toss and skipper Neil
Black had no hesitation in electing to bat. This looked like a great decision,
with openers Rob Clements (34) and Jib Azam (42) putting on a quickfire 72 runs
for the first wicket. Then followed a disastrous middle order collapse. Mymms
lost the next 5 batsmen for the addition of only 22 runs. Ben Langford (22) and
Andy Hicks (30) steadied the ship and moved the score along at a rather
pedestrian pace. Skipper Black (16) helped North Mymms to a respectable 171 all
out after 58.3 overs. Hemel skipper Nick Hodgins was Hemel's destroyer-in-chief,
taking 4 for 54.
Hemel then took to the crease, and their innings was remarkably similar to that
of Mymms. Openers Penny (38) and Ilangaratne (31) set about the Mymms bowling
attack. It appeared their intention was to finish the match before tea. Enter
"The Great Saxby", following on from his record breaking performance from last
week, Mark led the middle order collapse Hemel, taking 5 for 30. He was ably
supported by Rob Clements, who took 3 for 60. These two reduced Hemel to 142 for
8, and a nail-biting finish was on the cards. At 166 for 9, and 7 minutes left
on the clock, Hemel keeper Fowler hammered the winning 6, giving Hemel victory
by 1 wicket after 50.2 overs. A classic and great game of cricket.
27th
June 2009
Won - NMCC (home) 197 Bishop's Stortford 141 - 3rd in HCPL Div 2 East
Saxby blows Stortford away!
North Mymms legend Mark Saxby produced the best ever bowling figures in the Home
Counties Division 2 East.
A confident Bishop Stortford were the visitors to Home Farm, having won their
last 4 league games in a row.
Ed Clements joined brother and county player Rob opening the batting on
Saturday. Stortford went on the attack early in the match, with Ed
Clements (0) caught at slip from excellent delivery by overseas player Darren
Whittingham. Andy Lewis replaced Ed at the crease and they put on a tight 50
partnership before Rob Clements feel for 25.
Andy Lewis pushed and attacked hard on difficult spinning wicket, with score on
83-2, Bishop Stortford got their just rewards with two quick wickets removing in
form players Saxby and Lewis (46). Mymms were under pressure with the wicket
proving hard to score on. Spinner Steve Coleman had good rhythm on wicket
that offered a lot to the spinners. Coleman got his just rewards removing
Bamford as he advanced down the wicket to find himself stumped.
Azam came and went and Stortford looked to push for a quick bowl out with the
score at 112-6 at lunch.
Stortford continued well removing Carter with the score still on 112. Andrew
Hicks came to the crease to join overseas player Ben Langford, they set about
rebuilding the innings in style putting on an excellent 50 partnership,
Hicks (17) and Oram came in and also supported Langford well. This allowed
Langford (51*) to post a potentially match winning 198 all out. Coleman
finished with figures of 5-53.
Mymms now had momentum going into the field. Stortford captain David Hughes
came out the blocks and looked to play aggressively. He hit the ball hard and
was taking the game away from Mymms when Legend Saxby came onto bowl. Saxby
removed opening pair Chapman and Hughes (63). With the spinners bowling in
partnership, they knew they could get back on top.
Saxby blew away the middle order taking the visitors from 62-0 to 105-6. After
tea Saxby continued his excellent spell as Mymms set about bowling the visitors
before heavens opened. Stortford tried to hang around for the rain but Saxby
had other ideas, taking the final Stortford wicket, minutes before Home Farm was
flooded.
A great win for Mymms, Saxby continues to set records producing a match winning
spell of 9-31 off 19.4 overs - best figures ever recorded in this competition.
Mymms travel to in form Hemel next week in search for their 3rd win in a row.
20th
June 2009
Won - NMCC (home) 217 - 4 Hertford 214 - 8 (bottom of HCPL Div 2 East)
With North Mymms missing key players versus bottom of the
league Hertford they knew it would be a tight game.
Captain Neil Black had no hesitation in asking Hertford to
bat. Mymms got off to a good start with Ben Langford removing Chris Wade for
2, excellent caught in the slips by Bamford.
This brought veteran Cliff Cavener to the crease. Cavener
and opener Rey starting to build a partnership. The pair put on 109 for the 2
wicket before Cavener was caught behind for a well played 59, beautifully bowled
by Cavener’s ex county team mate Mark Saxby.
Mymms continued to contain the visitors, however some
telling blows in the final over saw the visitors post a respectable 214-8.
Saxby was the pick of the bowlers ending with figures of 1 for 33 off 15 overs.
In reply Mymms got off to slow start with in form Rob
Clements and Jon Mather struggling to get up to the require 4 an over. Clements
was removed with the score on 46 off 16 overs.
Bamford came to join Mather with an increase in the run
rate required. Mather (30) was removed by Fairhurst which brought Saxby into
bat with Bamford. The pair set about task ahead in attacking fashion.
The pair put on a quick fire 60 runs before Bamford was
excellently bowled by King for a much needed 59. Saxby soon followed with Mymms
stumbling at 150-4 off 37 overs.
Rhys Carter continued his recent form continuing where
Bamford and Saxby left off. Carter and Ed Clements finished the game off well
with Carter finishing on 60* and Ed Clements 12*.
Mymms invite in form Bishop Stortford to the Home Farm next
week in search for another 25 points.
13th
June 2009
Drew NMCC (away) 267 Letchworth 224 - 7
North Mymms visited newly promoted Letchworth this Saturday. With Letchworth
sitting 2nd in the league and looking for another win, visiting captain
Neil Black decided to allow Letchworth the opportunity to chase.
Mymms lost Rhys Carter brilliantly caught behind by wicket keeper Ricky Fuller.
Rhys Wynne started well at the other end and was joined by Herts skipper Andy
Lewis. In form Lewis seemed in an attacking mood and hit six fours before
giving it away for a quick fire 25.
With Mymms at 48 for 2, Saxby and Wynne started to stamp their authority on the
game. Letchworth struggled to contain the pair who put on 132 for the 3rd
wicket, when Saxby was removed for 72 off 80 balls. Mymms laid a good bas but
lost regular wickets when trying to accelerate to position to declare. Mymms
finally closed on 267 all out of 58.5 overs, with Wynne top scoring with 86.
Letchworth started slowly with some tight bowling from Andrew Hicks, who after a
change of ends removed opener Hilliard for 20. Crantston went from strength to
strength at the other end with dropped chases Mymms lacked the clinical edge to
push for win. Hicks continued to bowl well with little reward. Overseas player
Langford was brought into the attacked and bowled well with Hicks.
Letchworth tried to up the run rate which brought about quick wickets with Hicks
and Langford removing ripping through the middle order. With Letchworth on
164-6, the batsmen decided to bat the overs for a draw. A mature innings from
Chatifield made the match safe with Letchworth closing on 224-7 off 52 overs.
30th
May 2009
Drew - NMCC (away) 243 - 4 Stevenage 301 - 2
Mymms chase fizzles out.
On a hot day at Stevenage with the wicket looking suited to batting, North Mymms
captain Neil Black elected to field to give him the best chance of winning. The
wicket did not look suited to bowling a side out.
Mymms started well with Andrew Hicks removing Laurie Brown's off stump in the
first over. Opening batsmen Andrew Joslin played shots from the start and
rode hit luck early on but played some nice shots getting his side off to a good
start. Joslin was removed by in form Rob Clements making the score 72-2. The
game was nicely poised at lunch with score at 115-2 off 34 overs, with Syed Ali
Kazmi and Naseer Ahmed well set.
Kazmi gave a chance soon after lunch which Mymms put down. Black reverted back
to Hicks with a view to consolidating the Stevenage pair. Ahmed was going from
strength to strength, with excellent placement and superb timing Ahmed was
looking a real danger.
The Stevenage pair continued their form with some strong hitting in the final
overs, both completing excellent centuries on a belter of wicket. Stevenage set
the above par but reachable target of 301 (Kazmi 129* & Ahmed 121*). Andrew
Hicks bowled 26 overs for just 91 runs which was a superb effort on a wicket
that offered nothing to the bowlers.
In form Rob Clements and Rhys Wynne started off the innings for Mymms. Some
tight bowling restricted the pair early on and the pressure told when Wynne was
bowled Dattani for 7. This brought Clements and Bamford together. Bamford
looked in the mood whilst Clements ticked things over. Bamford looked in good
form before giving it for a quick fire 35. Saxby joined Clements at the crease,
the Stevenage bowled tightly at Saxby restricting the runs and building the
pressure.
Mymms tried to push on after tea and the 302 was still in sight. Dattani
continued to bowl well for Stevenage restricting Saxby. Saxby was finally
removed for 37 with the score on 178-3, with Clements looking strong at the
other end. Carter joined Clements and played attacking, with inform Clements
playing an array of shots at the other end. Clements continued his
form , completing an excellent century in good time.
Clements was finally out for 114 caught on the boundary trying to chase the
mammoth target with the score 214. debutant George Thurstance came to the
crease and with only 4 overs left the target was to far away for Mymms.
Thurstance and Carter played with good energy and Mymms feel shot of the 250
batting point by 3 runs. This may have been different had the game not finished
at 18:56. The match ended up a draw with Mymms having 6 wickets left. West
Herts visit home farm next week with Neal Parlane in now in their ranks, come
down and support Mymms at the beautiful home farm.
Neil Black
23rd
May 2009
1st XI - Won - NMCC (home)
214-1 Sawbridgeworth
210-7
A well
prepared wicket and hot summers day was the perfect conditions to finally get
the Home Farm's team league season up and running.
Sawbridgeworth won the toss and elected to bat, North Mymms young opening
seamers of Andrew Hicks and Jonathan Miles supported by Matthew Hicks bowled
well with little reward. Whilst Miles and M Hicks tested the opening
partnership, captain Wilson was up to the challenge. It was a moment of
brilliance from Ben Langford which got the break through with a superb direct
hit run out.
Langford also
run out Rob Sanders for Mymms second wicket. At Lunch the game was in the
balance with Wilson still at the crease, the surface was showing promise for the
batters, with little margin for the bowlers.
After lunch
spin duo of Rob Clements and Scott Ruskin started to put the pressure on the
Sawbridgeworth batsmen. Ruskin quickly removed Wilson for 67 caught superbly by
father Rob and Ed, Simon Clements. This was the key wicket and Mymms never
looked backed, Rob Clements got into his rhythm and was the pick of of the
bowlers restricting Sawbridgeworth to 210-7 with Clements taking 4 wkts for 38
runs off his 21 overs.
Captain Neil
Black decided to start the chase with the spinning duo of Ruskin and Clements
R. They did not fail to get Mymms off to a top start with boundaries of plenty
in the opening overs. Ruskin (38) was out after a good start with the score on
81 and the base set. Herts captain Andrew Lewis came to the crease and was in
the mood to end the game quickly. With a rampant 80* off just 64 balls and man
of the match Rob Clements with a "coming of age" 92* Mymms got their first
league win of the season in clinical style, with a 9 wicket victory with 8 overs
to spare.
Mymms travel
to Stevenage next week searching for some momentum to contiue their season.
They also take on Langleybury in Regional Semi-Final of Village Cup, come down
to the home farm to watch what is bound to be great contest.
9th
May 2009
1st XI - Lost - NMCC (home) 100 (36.1 overs) Harpenden
101-4 (35.4 overs) Scoresheet
North Mymms got
off to disappointing to start to their league season.
Mymms won the toss and elected to have first use of a wicket that looked as
if it would be difficult to score on and then possibly deteriorate.
A well prepared Harpenden side, with a strong pre-season behind them, started
the game on top, restricting the Mymms openers Ruskin & Simon Clements. The
Mymms openers showed some good resistance before Ruskin played on in the 14th
over with the score on 29.
Clements quickly followed due to a sharp catch from Nick Lamb. The visitor's
spinning partnership of captain Ben Frazer and youngster Will Bates took control
and worked through the rusty Mymms line-up with Bamford (26) & Hicks M (16) the
only players really troubling the scorers. Mymms were all out in the 37th over
for 100 runs.
Whilst this was a disappointing total, Mymms still sensed that they had a
chance. After Frazer's figures of 4-22 he came out to bat in confident
fashion. He charged down the wicket second ball edging to Rob Clements who
unfortunately couldn't hang on and with a further drop the over later it soon
became a day to forget for the home side.
Frazer went on to score a quick fire and important 41. Mymms worked hard to put
the squeeze on the visitors and clearly managed to get Harpenden thinking hard
about the low total. Mymms took a further 2 quick wickets leaving Harpenden
on 54-3 in the 15th over. However Cooper and Bates steadied the ship and
steered Harpenden to victory but not before Cooper was brilliantly bowled in
what was the penultimate over. Harpenden winning by 6 wickets.
Mymms travel to St. Albans next week looking for an early season win to boost
morale.
Neil Black.
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