London Colney II 126/6 (40) (P Duke 2-19, R Lee 1-20, D Malleson 1-22)
North Enfield II 127/3 (30.1) (S Halley 62*, P Duke 17*, K Jones 17)
Result: Won by 7 wickets (30 pts)
A 5th win from 7 home games saw the 2s leapfrog their opponents in the table and avenge their drubbing from the first fixture. The captain won a first toss since Jun 10th and, with a strong side in both departments, elected to bowl and let the opposition figure out the pitch. R Lee, making a rare home appearance, opened up with O Munt - both giving little away and finding considerable swing. Lee bowled an opener, and the number 3 bat upped the tempo whilst the remaining opener anchored the innings - 71/1 at drinks looked an even contest.
Sometimes a double-bowling change works so well that there's little need to mix things up further - and today was one of those days. P Duke came on at the Pavillion End and dovetailed beautifully with A Jones at the Gandy End, bowling a combined 16 overs for just 38 runs. Duke had the number 3 caught from a sliced drive and bowled the next bat, with an S Halley run out finally undoing the opener. A death overs catch from S Halley at long on gave D Malleson a wicket, and a final ball comedy run out ended the innings with the score 126/6. The fielding and team attitude throughout were top-notch, with R Lee in particular catching the eye with several sliding stops on the Spinney boundary.
The chase began with the realisation that the opposition only had 9 players (despite naming 11 on the teamsheet) - which gave K Jones and D Vanniasingham the luxury of gaps to hit and patience to display. The former played several eyecatching drives before surprisingly snicking behind, whilst the latter opted to prevent any chance of an early batting collapse by seeing off the unchanged opening bowlers to the tune of 2 runs from 50 balls faced. S Halley's welcome return showed no such fear, confidently hitting the gaps when having the luxury of the strike. When the first change bowlers arrived, the captain's strike rate shot up to double figures before he swept beautifully to mid-wicket (who later clarified that taking the catch caused three separate bruises). The further wicket of G Orton gave a slightly nervy 65/3 scoreline at drinks, but P Duke provied a perfect foil for an untroubled Halley to take the side to victory without further wobbles.
As per the first match, both sides enjoyed a debrief on the match and their season so far afterwards, and it will be nice to face each other again next season if the proposed divisional regionalisation/amended structure aligns us again.
Catch of the Match: S Halley's textbook technique to claim an airborne drive to long on
Champagne Moment: Several contenders this week with a hat-tip to R Lee's boundary fielding in particular, but S Halley's second consecutive 50 made the result safe
Laugh of the Day: Joint-winners this week. Firstly, the oppo opener creaming the ball to point only for the tree to almost return the ball back to him (3 runs saved), and secondly A Pearson taking an eternity to complete a formality of a run out off the last ball after a few fumbles (and with both batters virtually walking off the pitch already)
North Enfield II 127/3 (30.1) (S Halley 62*, P Duke 17*, K Jones 17)
Result: Won by 7 wickets (30 pts)
A 5th win from 7 home games saw the 2s leapfrog their opponents in the table and avenge their drubbing from the first fixture. The captain won a first toss since Jun 10th and, with a strong side in both departments, elected to bowl and let the opposition figure out the pitch. R Lee, making a rare home appearance, opened up with O Munt - both giving little away and finding considerable swing. Lee bowled an opener, and the number 3 bat upped the tempo whilst the remaining opener anchored the innings - 71/1 at drinks looked an even contest.
Sometimes a double-bowling change works so well that there's little need to mix things up further - and today was one of those days. P Duke came on at the Pavillion End and dovetailed beautifully with A Jones at the Gandy End, bowling a combined 16 overs for just 38 runs. Duke had the number 3 caught from a sliced drive and bowled the next bat, with an S Halley run out finally undoing the opener. A death overs catch from S Halley at long on gave D Malleson a wicket, and a final ball comedy run out ended the innings with the score 126/6. The fielding and team attitude throughout were top-notch, with R Lee in particular catching the eye with several sliding stops on the Spinney boundary.
The chase began with the realisation that the opposition only had 9 players (despite naming 11 on the teamsheet) - which gave K Jones and D Vanniasingham the luxury of gaps to hit and patience to display. The former played several eyecatching drives before surprisingly snicking behind, whilst the latter opted to prevent any chance of an early batting collapse by seeing off the unchanged opening bowlers to the tune of 2 runs from 50 balls faced. S Halley's welcome return showed no such fear, confidently hitting the gaps when having the luxury of the strike. When the first change bowlers arrived, the captain's strike rate shot up to double figures before he swept beautifully to mid-wicket (who later clarified that taking the catch caused three separate bruises). The further wicket of G Orton gave a slightly nervy 65/3 scoreline at drinks, but P Duke provied a perfect foil for an untroubled Halley to take the side to victory without further wobbles.
As per the first match, both sides enjoyed a debrief on the match and their season so far afterwards, and it will be nice to face each other again next season if the proposed divisional regionalisation/amended structure aligns us again.
Catch of the Match: S Halley's textbook technique to claim an airborne drive to long on
Champagne Moment: Several contenders this week with a hat-tip to R Lee's boundary fielding in particular, but S Halley's second consecutive 50 made the result safe
Laugh of the Day: Joint-winners this week. Firstly, the oppo opener creaming the ball to point only for the tree to almost return the ball back to him (3 runs saved), and secondly A Pearson taking an eternity to complete a formality of a run out off the last ball after a few fumbles (and with both batters virtually walking off the pitch already)