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Smart work sees Northchurch 2s return to winning ways

Smart work sees Northchurch 2s return to winning ways

Matt Dawson12 Jun 2018 - 15:27
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Ryan Smart performed either side of the stumps to ensure an early finish for Northchurch 2s at The Meadow

by Adam Forshaw

Northchurch 2s got back to winning ways at home to Lutonian II, in a match where the contrast between the sides’ respective batting performances was stark.

On the back of a humbling defeat at the hands of Offley & Stopsley 1st XI last week, Northchurch 2s were presented with a greener-than-usual wicket at the typically batsmen-friendly ground. Having won the toss, skipper Harry Chapman elected to put the visitors in, backing his team to chase down the target in the afternoon sun.

The new ball was shared – as it often is – by the seam partnership of Jack Randall and Ben Pyne. Both were able to restrict the opening batsmen early on, with Randall striking first to remove Abdul for just one, caught at the second attempt by Ryan Smart behind the stumps.

Pyne (1 for 22 off 5 overs) was rewarded for his probing start soon after, claiming the wicket of Sirab for just 10 – again finding the gloves of Smart, this time at the first time of asking.

With Chapman favouring short, sharp spells for his bowlers, Randall and Pyne were replaced ten overs in by Harry Bennie and Adam Forshaw. The opening spells had kept Lutonian II restricted and under some pressure to increase the run rate. Kashif (19) briefly led the resistance, finding the rope on a couple of occasions before he fell on the wrong side of a tight lbw call at the hands of Forshaw.

That brought A. Khan to the middle for Lutonian II and, while Bennie’s disciplined lines frustrated the batsmen, A. Khan attacked the bowling of Forshaw at the other end and scored 12 off the 18th over alone. Forshaw responded well to the attack though, claiming Sabeel as his second victim thanks to a very sharp catch by Mike James in the slip cordon.

Northchurch 2s were to strike again before drinks due to some more excellent work with the gloves by Smart. A slightly wayward ball from Chapman fizzed down the leg side, with Smart able to get over to not only save the extra runs but to whip the bails off to leave the overbalancing Nawaz out of his ground and back in the clubhouse for a duck.

That brought Huzain to the crease alongside the set Khan. Attack appeared to be the order of the day following drinks, with Huzain in particular targeting the spin of Chapman and clearing the rope on one occasion.

His innings (12) was to be short lived though, with the batsman missing a full straight delivery when Forshaw (3 for 33 off 7) came back into the attack for his second spell.

The sixth wicket marked the start of an unexperienced tail, which led to a number of unconventional decisions from A. Khan as he looked to dominate the strike and protect the younger batsmen.

With the pressure entirely on A. Khan to lift Lutonian II towards a respectable score, he handled it well and refused to bat recklessly in the face of dwindling support. Batting with authority, he passed his half century, providing Northchurch with very few opportunities to claim his wicket along the way.

With A. Khan assured at one end, it became apparent that the best way to restrict the total further and bring the innings to a close would be to remove his support. Chapman led the way on this, taking the wickets of S. Khan (0) and Abdullah (6) in quick succession – the former an unlikely caught and bowled, followed by Bennie catching Abdullah at mid-off.

As Chapman (3 for 41 off 9) finished his spell at the pavilion end, Randall (2 for 24 off 10) joined him for his third spell at the other. Picking up where he left off earlier, the opening bowler restricted the batsmen and built further pressure on the tail. He took his second wicket in his final over, clean bowling Faheem (1) with a delivery that barely disturbed the stumps as it clipped the bails.

Harry Bennie was brought back into the attack for his second spell. Throughout both spells the left-arm seam bowler frustrated the batsmen and continued to threaten. In a spell that ultimately deserved more, he had to settle for the final wicket of Mubeen (lbw for 0), going for just 15 for his eight overs.

That left A. Khan as the last man standing, with his 65* the standout entry on a scorecard that left a lot to be desired by the travelling team. Indeed, the third most profitable ‘scorer’ for Lutonian II was Extras (17), slightly muting the congratulations across Northchurch’s bowling attack.

Ultimately though, the team took to tea with confidence, believing 138 to be a very manageable total on a wicket that didn’t appear to hold too many demons.

A slightly rearranged top order for Northchurch 2s saw Joel James accompanied to the middle by Ryan Smart. The change immediately looked to fit, with both batsmen making assured starts as they began the chase.

Despite controlled bowling from the Lutonian II attack, J James and Smart put on 98 for the opening partnership and the two openers had very few scares in their respective innings.

As the modest total allowed them to keep ahead of the required rate at all stages, they both batted with patience, keeping the score ticking along between putting loose balls to the boundary. Regular changes to the bowling attack kept them on their toes, with Huzain in particular preventing the batsmen being able to have too much fun in the chase.

Shortly before drinks, Smart passed his first half century of the year, having accumulated steadily through accurate stroke play and measured running with J James. As J James looked to achieve the same milestone, and when looking well set to do so, he (38) fell to an accurate yorker from Kashif.

With the total in sight and the half century banked, Smart looked to accelerate the run rate to bring proceedings to a swift close. In doing so he only succeeded in finding the fielder at point, who took a fine catch off Abdul with the ball coming down from a height.

Smart was understandably frustrated not to see out the chase, but his almost-run-a-ball 60 ensured most of the job was done for his teammates, and complimented his earlier performance with the gloves in the first innings.

Having lost both openers with the majority of the chase behind them, Northchurch 2s turned to the reliable pairing of Mike James and Jack Randall to see them over the line. Both batted with the concentration necessary to complete the chase and finished with 6* each.

Completing the chase for just two down within 31 overs – having bowled the opposition out in 39 – made for an early finish for Northchurch 2s and ensured they go into next week’s fixture with confidence levels up across the team.

After an inconsistent start to the summer, they will now be hoping to put a string of solid performances together as the midpoint of the season approaches.

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