Hoddesdon Cricket Club’s First XI return to Lowfield this Saturday looking to continue an excellent recent run when they welcome Hemel Hempstead Town in the Herts Premier Cricket League Championship Division. Rob Walters’ side have recorded impressive back-to-back victories over Preston and Luton Town & Indians and now have an opportunity to strengthen their position in the top half of the table as the competition moves into its 50-over phase.

The match begins at midday, with conditions expected to be fairly warm again following several weeks of increasingly demanding summer temperatures. Hoddesdon have coped particularly well with the heat during their recent victories, and another disciplined performance will be required against a Hemel side whose ninth-place position should certainly not disguise the individual quality within their squad.

Last Saturday provided another major boost for Hoddesdon as they travelled to Wardown Park and defeated third-placed Luton Town & Indians by seven wickets. The bowlers restricted the hosts to 211 before James Mitchell produced a superb unbeaten 106, continuing an extraordinary week in which he had also scored 288 runs for Middlesex Pathway XI. That followed a convincing seven-wicket success against Preston at Lowfield, when Himesh Ramanayake claimed seven wickets and Walters struck a century. Two victories against very different opponents have propelled Hoddesdon back up the Championship Division and created plenty of optimism heading into Saturday’s home fixture.

Rob Walters Will Captain The Side

“We’ve played some really good cricket over the last couple of weeks and the biggest thing has been that different people have stepped up at different times,” said Walters. “Against Preston it was Himesh with the ball and then Usmaan and myself with the bat, while last week the whole bowling unit worked exceptionally hard before Mitch played a fantastic innings. We want to keep that momentum going now.”

The latest Championship Division standings show just how valuable that recent sequence has been. Hoddesdon sit fifth with 236 points, only five behind fourth-placed Luton Town & Indians and eight points adrift of Shenley Village in third. North Mymms remain the runaway leaders on 352 points, with Sawbridgeworth second on 291, but the battle immediately behind the leading pair is extremely tight. Shenley have 244 points, Luton 241 and Hoddesdon 236, meaning another strong result could see Walters’ side continue to climb. Welwyn Garden City sit sixth on 221, while Dunstable Town have 207 and Redbourn 181. Hemel Hempstead occupy ninth position on 176 points, with Preston currently bottom on 128.

The Updated League Table After Saturday's Victory

Hemel’s league position will make Hoddesdon favourites on paper, but the visitors arrive at Lowfield following an important victory of their own. They defeated Dunstable by nine runs last weekend despite being dismissed for only 130, responding with an excellent bowling display to bowl Dunstable out for 121.

“That result tells you everything you need to know about Hemel,” Walters explained. “You cannot look at where they are in the table and think the game is going to take care of itself. They defended 130 last week, so clearly they have bowlers who can win matches, and we will have to earn everything we get.”

Oliver West stands out as Hemel’s leading run-scorer this season, having accumulated 585 runs from 17 innings at an average of 39.00. He has registered two centuries and two half-centuries, with a highest score of 128, while his strike rate of 96.22 demonstrates that he is capable of scoring quickly once established. West’s other significant scores include an unbeaten 108 against Welwyn Garden City and an unbeaten 87 against Leverstock Green. His ability to convert starts into substantial innings makes him one of the obvious wickets Hoddesdon will be targeting early.

Brett Penny has also enjoyed a productive campaign with 467 runs, highlighted by a brilliant 126 against Redbourn earlier this month. Penny has also made a half-century this season and, although his average sits below West’s at 25.94, his ability to produce a major innings makes him another important part of the Hemel batting order. Hemish Ilangaratne has contributed 433 runs at 28.87, with a highest score of 72, while captain Mark Brazier has been one of their most consistent performers. Brazier has scored 377 runs at an average of 31.42 and has passed 50 on four occasions, showing a level of reliability that Hoddesdon will need to respect.

Hemel Skipper Mark Brazier

Maxwell Clark provides further depth with 328 runs, while Freddie Lowe, Lucas Bertin and Edward Pike have also contributed across the season. Hemel therefore possess enough batting to punish loose bowling despite some inconsistent team totals, and Hoddesdon’s recent standards with the ball will again be important.

If Hemel’s victory over Dunstable proved anything, it was the danger contained within their bowling attack. Parth Mehta produced five for 31 in that match and now leads their wicket-taking charts with 22 wickets. Mehta has claimed two five-wicket hauls this season and owns an excellent economy rate of 3.45 from 141.2 overs. His average of 22.18 further illustrates his effectiveness, and Hoddesdon’s batters will need to show patience against a bowler capable of both controlling the scoring rate and making regular breakthroughs.

Darren James has arguably been just as threatening, taking 18 wickets at an average of 21.61. His best figures of six for 17 against Shenley Village remain Hemel’s leading individual bowling performance of the campaign, while an economy rate of 3.81 makes him another difficult bowler to attack. Edward Pike has taken 19 wickets with best figures of four for 32, while Lucas Bertin has 16 wickets and Brett Penny has added 14. Between them, those five bowlers give captain Brazier a variety of options and explain how Hemel were able to defend such a modest total last weekend.

Hemel Hempstead Town Cricket Club 1st XI

“Hemel have some very good bowlers and their figures show that,” Walters said. “Mehta has taken plenty of wickets, James has a six-for and there are three or four others with really strong numbers. We have been batting well, but Saturday will require concentration because they have shown they can defend totals.”

Hoddesdon’s own batting unit comes into the fixture with confidence high. Walters has now moved beyond 800 league runs for the season after another prolific campaign featuring four centuries, including 158 against Sawbridgeworth, 124 against Preston and 111 in the return fixture at Lowfield. Himesh has been equally influential, combining a huge volume of runs with his position as Hoddesdon’s leading wicket-taker. His batting average has remained exceptional throughout the summer, while his seven-wicket haul against Preston demonstrated the devastating impact he can have with the ball.

Mitchell is perhaps the player arriving with the greatest momentum of all. His unbeaten 106 against Luton followed his remarkable 288 for the Middlesex Pathway XI earlier in the week and earned him the Greene King Green Jacket, completing a memorable few days for one of Hoddesdon’s most exciting young players. Usmaan Shafi has also produced several important innings this season, including 75 in the victory over Preston and 113 against Shenley Village. James Curtis continues to offer value with both bat and ball, scoring 49 at Luton after taking two wickets earlier in the day.

James Mitchell Is Hoddesdon's Man In Form

The bowling figures from the Luton victory were especially encouraging. Walters took three for 46 from 17 overs, Om Thakeria claimed three for 34 from nine and Curtis returned two for 55 from a marathon 20-over spell, while Himesh conceded just 31 from 11 overs. The collective discipline was arguably as impressive as the wickets themselves, with Hoddesdon bowling the entire 60-over innings without conceding a single wide or no-ball. That level of accuracy has been one of the most encouraging features of the team’s recent improvement and will be important again against Hemel.

Will Steward continues behind the stumps after returning to the side at Luton, where Hoddesdon’s fielding contributed two run-outs during another sharp display. Steward has been the side’s principal wicketkeeper during the campaign and provides Walters with further experience in the middle order. There is one change in personnel from the Luton victory, with Todd Sturdy coming into the XI in place of the unavailable Andrew Lewis. Sturdy has already featured regularly during the season and adds further experience to a side containing a strong blend of established First XI players and emerging talent.

Hoddesdon will therefore line up with Rob Walters (captain), Usmaan Shafi, James Curtis, James Mitchell Jr, Himesh Ramanayake, Will Steward (wicketkeeper), Rob Jones, Todd Sturdy, Gagan Dissanayake, Johnny Munday and Om Thakeria.

Walters believes the challenge now is to maintain the standards that have produced consecutive victories. “We’re enjoying our cricket at the moment, but we know how quickly things can change if you drop your intensity,” he said. “Hemel will come here encouraged by their win last week and we need to make sure we start well, compete hard for 100 overs and keep doing the things that have worked for us recently.”

With Hoddesdon just eight points away from third place, Saturday represents another important opportunity at Lowfield. The hosts arrive with confidence, runs and wickets throughout the side, but Hemel’s dangerous bowling attack and recent victory over Dunstable ensure there will be no shortage of respect for the visitors when the first ball is delivered at midday.

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