Langlebury III 149/5 (33.1) (D Gandy 3-21, K Jones 1-26)
North Enfield II 0/0 (0)
Result: Match Abandoned (10 pts)
The final home games for the 2s was potentially the last match for the club's esteemed long-serving scorer, Bob White. It would feature two unusual "firsts" for Bob, the second of which would cause the most unusual abandonment of a game in North Enfield's recent (if not all-time) history.
Langleybury were happy to bat first despite the threat of intermittent showers later in the day. An opening stand of 92 frustrated the home side, with anything loose duly punished by both openers. It took the spin of K Jones to break the partnership, getting one through the defences of M Bowen as he fell just short of 50. Before the storm clouds gathered, D Gandy bowled a game-changing spell, starting with the wicket of captain P Crawley for 48 - caught by O Munt falling forwards at cover point. Gandy's second wicket would see K Jones well-positioned at midwicket to catch the dangerous J Singh, before the first unusual incident of the match - the young no. 4 bat defending a ball into the ground, seeing it head backwards & potentially on to his stumps, instinctively catching it. Once a mixture of surprise, discussion and law-quoting had concluded, the youngster was (correctly) adjudged to be out for obstructing the field - most probably for the first and last time of his career. Not long after, the skies darkened to the point of bad light genuinely being a consideration. There was just enough time for Gandy's third wicket (again caught at mid-wicket, this time by K Carroll) before the heavens opened and the covers were rushed into place.
An early tea was sensibly taken, and the ground took a soaking which would require a full-team effort to mop up - pitchforks aplenty to aid drainage of the heavy puddles, a hand-rolled sopper sponge pushed in pairs (some more competent than others...) to help dry the top end. With the sun trying to pierce through, the captains agreed a target of 149 off 33 overs for NECC to chase (for a win by virtue of "runs per over") - both sides hoping for no further rainfall and the conclusion of a good-natured game. Sadly, whilst drizzle returned with Langleybury preparing to field, and the captain (padded-up) failing to find a tub of sawdust inside the containers, an almighty crack and crash was heard - thunder (again)? No, to the surprise of everyone, the long branch of our famous Oak tree nearest the road had fallen onto the outfield, hedge and road - thankfully with nobody near it at the time.
The strangest and saddest end to a game in memory leaves the 2s needing a win from their final match to guarantee 9B survival. To our knowledge, Reed's ground won't contain a tree, so here's hoping for an overdue rain-free match to end the season.
Catch of the Match: Not a lot between the candidates this week, but O Munt's slightly misjudged effort gets the nod
Babycham Moment: Partly-fallen tree ends play & potentially renders the existing club logo obsolete
Dismissal of the Day: Batters can't catch the ball - and what used to be termed "Handling the ball" now comes under "Obstructing the field"
North Enfield II 0/0 (0)
Result: Match Abandoned (10 pts)
The final home games for the 2s was potentially the last match for the club's esteemed long-serving scorer, Bob White. It would feature two unusual "firsts" for Bob, the second of which would cause the most unusual abandonment of a game in North Enfield's recent (if not all-time) history.
Langleybury were happy to bat first despite the threat of intermittent showers later in the day. An opening stand of 92 frustrated the home side, with anything loose duly punished by both openers. It took the spin of K Jones to break the partnership, getting one through the defences of M Bowen as he fell just short of 50. Before the storm clouds gathered, D Gandy bowled a game-changing spell, starting with the wicket of captain P Crawley for 48 - caught by O Munt falling forwards at cover point. Gandy's second wicket would see K Jones well-positioned at midwicket to catch the dangerous J Singh, before the first unusual incident of the match - the young no. 4 bat defending a ball into the ground, seeing it head backwards & potentially on to his stumps, instinctively catching it. Once a mixture of surprise, discussion and law-quoting had concluded, the youngster was (correctly) adjudged to be out for obstructing the field - most probably for the first and last time of his career. Not long after, the skies darkened to the point of bad light genuinely being a consideration. There was just enough time for Gandy's third wicket (again caught at mid-wicket, this time by K Carroll) before the heavens opened and the covers were rushed into place.
An early tea was sensibly taken, and the ground took a soaking which would require a full-team effort to mop up - pitchforks aplenty to aid drainage of the heavy puddles, a hand-rolled sopper sponge pushed in pairs (some more competent than others...) to help dry the top end. With the sun trying to pierce through, the captains agreed a target of 149 off 33 overs for NECC to chase (for a win by virtue of "runs per over") - both sides hoping for no further rainfall and the conclusion of a good-natured game. Sadly, whilst drizzle returned with Langleybury preparing to field, and the captain (padded-up) failing to find a tub of sawdust inside the containers, an almighty crack and crash was heard - thunder (again)? No, to the surprise of everyone, the long branch of our famous Oak tree nearest the road had fallen onto the outfield, hedge and road - thankfully with nobody near it at the time.
The strangest and saddest end to a game in memory leaves the 2s needing a win from their final match to guarantee 9B survival. To our knowledge, Reed's ground won't contain a tree, so here's hoping for an overdue rain-free match to end the season.
Catch of the Match: Not a lot between the candidates this week, but O Munt's slightly misjudged effort gets the nod
Babycham Moment: Partly-fallen tree ends play & potentially renders the existing club logo obsolete
Dismissal of the Day: Batters can't catch the ball - and what used to be termed "Handling the ball" now comes under "Obstructing the field"