1s see off Luton to stay top

A critical clash between 1st and 3rd place in the league went to the wire, NCC chasing down 175 with one wicket and two balls to spare. Darren had done the damage with five wickets to restrict the visitors to a sub-par total but the regular fall of wickets in ‘Church’s innings meant that pressure was on. From 87 for seven, Hobley batted brilliantly to knock off the 90 needed, with support from the last three wickets. Match report.

2s combine to harvest 30 from Wheathamstead

A real team effort saw the second XI to a comfortable victory at Wheathamstead. Wickets were shared between BJ (4), Dawson (3) and Chapman (3), with Javelin Dave unplayable and without luck. T Growler (29) and Louis Prideaux (48) combined to knock off the majority of the 115 needed, with Dawson and Chapman cameos finishing the job. The result keeps Bear Randall’s men in 3rd spot, and well in the hunt, with matches against both leading teams coming up.

Northchurch regain Putman Cup convincingly

Berkhamsted’s first innings 188 never felt like enough, with a strong Northchurch batting side queuing up to have a go on a flat pitch. Nine Northchurch bowlers were used and wickets were shared around. Darren was fairly unplayable on a pitch he knows well, his six overs going for just eight runs. After losing three early wickets in the reply, Joel (71*) and Gaz (86*) got themselves in and accelerated to a comfortable win with five overs to spare, their combined 168 a joy to watch. Match report.

Sunday XI falls agonisingly short

It is testament to the strength of the junior section and Jamie Moughton’s leadership, that Northchurch were able to field two sides on a Sunday, something we have done regularly this year. With eight players under the age of 15 in our team, it was probably right that Ruislip Victoria had a bat first. However, Noah and Ellis cause early concern, as they restricted the visitors to just 28 from the first ten overs with some brilliant bowling. Late hitting got them to 221, a total that seemed gettable on a flat pitch.

An opening partnership of 46 gave Northchurch hope, with Lloyd going on to make an excellent half century. Brilliant support came from the Skipper (25) Jude (42) and Ellis (32 from 19 balls) to get Northchurch into a position to win the game, but the 10 an over needed in the last three proved too much and the innings closed on 206 for six. A big well done to all involved.

Academy wide of the mark

Some wayward bowling let the Academy down in defending 115 against Bushey on Wednesday. James Kelley provided the backbone of the Northchurch innings with 27* on a difficult surface, Fallon and Sweeten putting the finishing touches to reach almost a run-a-ball total. Wides and no balls gifted Bushey over 40 runs but Northchurch dug deep to take the game to the 19th over. Johnny was the pick of the bowlers with two for nine.

Results

Wednesday: Academy XI Home v Bushey U15 – LOST by 4 wickets

Sat: 1st XI Home v Luton Town and Indians 2nd XI – WON by 1 wicket
2nd XI Away v Wheathampstead 2nd XI – WON by 4 wickets

Sun: 1st XI Away V Berkhamsted Putman Cup – WON by 7 wickets
Sunday XI Home v Ruislip Victoria – LOST by 15 runs

Fixtures This Week

Wednesday: Senior training

Sat: 2nd XI Home v St Albans 3rd XI
1st XI Away v Letchworth 2nd XI

Sun: Sunday XI Home v Outlaws