3rd XI SHCL
Matches
Sat 23 May 2015  ·  Regional Division A East
Hoddesdon Cricket Club
3rd XI SHCL
147/4
146
Mill Hill Village CC - 3rd XI
Hoddesdon 3rd XI secure first win of the 2015 season.

Hoddesdon 3rd XI secure first win of the 2015 season.

Rhys Jones25 May 2015 - 17:26
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HCC on top against Tunbridge

Hoddesdon’s 3rd XI secured their first victory of their 2015 campaign, after recording a comprehensive 6-wicket victory over Mill Hill Village 3rd XI at Tunbridge, on Saturday May 23rd. Hoddesdon captain Aidan McElligott won the toss and opted to field; a decision that proved extremely effective.

Mill Hill got off to a solid start, despite some good bowling from Max Murray and Riley Hagger, but Hagger claimed the opening wicket, after Piers Jenkins picked out Josh Gorton at mid-off. Just one over later, Jeswin Samuel claimed his first ever wicket for Hoddesdon, clean bowling George Downes for 9, leaving the visitors 37-2 after 11 overs.

Rangan Krishnaswamy and Joe Sheridan then came to the crease; their aggressive intentions were abundantly clear from the outset as they began to accelerate the run-rate. Tom Grover claimed the crucial wicket of the dangerous Sheridan, thanks to a sharp catch in the slips from Neil Conner. This triggered a mini-collapse from the visitors, as Mill Hill Skipper Joe Thompson was dismissed for 1. Grover’s probing line caught the edge and Peter Draisey claimed a smart catch.

Suddenly, Mill Hill were 83-5 after 25 overs; the strong foundation initially established by the opening pair was gradually receding. Farzan Dulkernain was dismissed for a duck; he misjudged a good length ball by Grover and was subsequently bowled.
Krishnaswamy produced a tenacious innings as his partners departed with regularity, however he was adjudged out LBW after some consistent bowling from Joe Duke; leaving the visitors languishing at 88-6.

Lawrence Bird and Dan Penny began the rebuilding process and in spite of some excellent Hoddesdon bowling; the pair remained resolute and took their side over the 100 mark. However, their battling partnership was broken by McElligott, as Penny edged to Draisey for 7. Bird was flying; however he was gradually running out of partners. Priyan Perera edged to Conner at slip to hand Grover his fourth wicket, whilst McElligott cleaned up the tail emphatically, removing Raja Duraismay and George Leggett within successive balls.

The visitors posted a competitive total of 146 all out, with Bird 37 N.O. The hosts’ would have taken that outcome at the outset, although spirited resistance from Bird had given his side a fighting chance. The outstanding bowlers for Hoddesdon were undoubtedly Grover and McElligott; Grover finished with figures of 9 overs 4-19, whilst McElligott claimed 3-21 from his 7.4 overs. However, it was a team effort; everybody contributed to ensure that Hoddy were chasing a feasible target.

Luke Murray opened alongside Grover, who was aiming to replicate his bowling heroics; they got off to an excellent start, despite some particularly consistent bowling from Dan Penny. Grover patiently saw off Penny; who bowled nine overs in succession, conceding only 12 runs. Nevertheless, Luke Murray was scoring at a more prolific rate in the early stages, particularly off the bowling of Krishnaswamy. Hoddesdon were extremely well placed at 51-0 after 18 overs, when Murray was bowled, but his innings of 28 had established a very solid platform to build on.

Riley Hagger was next in and departed shortly after for 2, bringing Jeswin Samuel to the crease; Jeswin posted a quick fire 16 and provided an invaluable foil for Grover, who was growing in confidence and playing some fine shots. Unfortunately his stay at the crease was ended after some fantastic fielding from Legget. Grover struck the ball powerfully to mid-on and set off for the single; but the Mill Hill youngster collected the ball cleanly and a direct hit sealed Grover’s fate. However, his innings of 29 left Hoddesdon 91-3 off 25 overs; well placed to secure victory. Jeswin departed almost immediately afterwards, as Penny produced a sharp reflex catch to give Thompson his first wicket of the afternoon.

Neil Conner and Max Murray then arrived at the crease at 92-4, with 55 required from 19 overs. Both men began in measured fashion, with Murray rotating the strike at regular intervals and Conner adjusting to the pace of the wicket. Conner continued his fantastic form from last week, hitting 32 N.O, an innings which solely included five 4s and two 6s. Conner’s power hitting was well complemented by Murray’s patience and placement and the pair put on a terrific stand of 55, to see Hoddesdon home by 6 wickets, with 6.4 overs remaining.

Following on from two encouraging performances, it was fantastic for the 3s to secure a well-deserved victory. All of the top 6 contributed with the bat and Hoddesdon coped extremely well on a difficult wicket with sporadic movement.

Grover took the plaudits with a fine all-round display, but Conner produced another fine knock, whilst both Luke and Max Murray performed very well to push Hoddy to victory. Next week, the 3s travel to table-toppers Stevenage, hoping to build on Saturday’s impressive victory. It will be a tough test; however this victory must give them major encouragement.

Josh Gorton

Match details

Match date

Sat 23 May 2015

Kickoff

13:00

Competition

Regional Division A East
Team overview
Further reading