Hoddesdon Cricket Club’s Fourth XI bring the curtain down on a demanding but hugely valuable 2026 campaign this Saturday when Sawbridgeworth Fourth XI visit Thundridge Cricket Club for the final Herts and Essex Border League Division Four fixture of the season.

Captain Nirosh Perera will once again lead a side containing a familiar blend of experience and youth, with the Green and Whites determined to finish the summer with the same spirit, togetherness and willingness to learn that has characterised the team throughout the year. Whatever happens on Saturday, Hoddesdon will finish ninth in the table, but the final league position tells only a fraction of the story of this Fourth XI season. The side has been used to introduce a new generation to senior cricket, with youngsters regularly asked to bat meaningful overs, bowl against experienced adult players and learn the demands of league cricket in an environment where results have sometimes been unforgiving.

The current Division Four table sees Bishop’s Stortford 1825s leading with 255 points from 15 matches, 15 clear of Harlow Town Third XI on 240. North Weald sit third with 222 points, while Saturday’s visitors Sawbridgeworth occupy fourth on 192, ahead of St Margaretsbury on 180, Dunmow on 165, Stansted on 160 and Harlow Fifth XI on 135. Hoddesdon remain ninth with 92 points from 15 fixtures, having recorded three victories during the campaign. There have been plenty of difficult afternoons along the way, but there have also been Green Jacket performances, career-best scores, youngsters taking their first senior wickets and several players establishing themselves as genuine options for the club in future seasons.

Captain Perera is determined that the final afternoon should be approached positively rather than treated as an exercise in simply completing the fixture.

“We know it has been a tough season from a results point of view, but I think everyone involved with this side can be incredibly proud of what we have achieved in terms of development,” said Nirosh. “So many players have had their first real exposure to senior cricket and have kept coming back, kept learning and kept improving, and Saturday is another opportunity for us to show how far we have come.”

Nirosh Will Lead His Young Side Out At Thundridge For The Final Time This Season

A STRONG SAWBRIDGEWORTH TEST

Sawbridgeworth will arrive at Thundridge in good form and with one of the strongest statistical records in the division. They have won eight of their 15 matches and sit fourth, and their recent results underline the size of the challenge awaiting Hoddesdon. Last weekend they defeated Harlow Fifth XI by eight wickets, restricting their opponents to 159 for nine before racing to 160 for two in just 23.3 overs. Craig Chisnall was again at the heart of the performance, finishing unbeaten on 87 and continuing an exceptional individual season. Before that, Sawbridgeworth suffered a narrow 13-run defeat against North Weald after making 213 in pursuit of 227, while their previous outing brought another impressive victory against Harlow Town Third XI. Harlow made 176 all out, only for Sawbridgeworth to chase the target comfortably at 177 for four in 27 overs.

The Visitor's Recent Results

Their form guide therefore reads three wins from their last four completed matches, and Hoddesdon will need to produce one of their most disciplined performances of the season if they are to trouble a side that has shown genuine strength with both bat and ball.

The most obvious danger is Chisnall, whose numbers are extraordinary. He has scored 461 runs from seven innings this season, with three not-outs, an average of 115.25 and a strike rate above 120. His highest score of 173 came against Dunmow, while he has also struck an unbeaten 108 against Stansted and 87 not out against Harlow Fifth XI last weekend. Two centuries and a fifty from seven innings make him the standout batter in the Sawbridgeworth line-up and unquestionably the wicket Hoddesdon will most want to see walking back to the pavilion. Gary Barnett has also enjoyed a productive season with 229 runs at 32.71, while Sammy Mirams has scored 170 and Louis Shemwell 148. Thomas McDonald has contributed 133, giving Sawbridgeworth plenty of depth beyond their leading run-scorer.

Their bowling figures are equally impressive. Isaac Chisnall leads the way with 17 wickets at an average of 13.76, Harrison Weller has 16 at 22.13 and McDonald has taken 14 at 14.50. Ewan Jennings has 13 wickets and has already caused Hoddesdon considerable problems once this summer. His remarkable four for two came in the previous meeting between the clubs, while Shemwell and Noah Tucker have each reached double figures for wickets across the campaign.

Sawbridgeworth CC 4th XI

REVENGE ON THE AGENDA

The first meeting between the sides on June 27 is one Hoddesdon will remember as a particularly difficult afternoon. Batting first away from home, the Fourth XI could manage only 76 for eight from their 30 overs before Sawbridgeworth knocked off the target for the loss of one wicket in just 10.5 overs.

Sawbridgeworth finished on 78 for one to complete a nine-wicket victory and collect the maximum 20 points, while Hoddesdon came away with a solitary league point. Jennings’ four for two was the outstanding individual bowling performance and ensured the visitors were never able to build the sort of total required to put their opponents under pressure. Perera would love his side to demonstrate how much they have developed since that June meeting, particularly after a much more competitive performance away to second-placed Harlow Town last Saturday.

The 4th XI Suffered heavy Defeat In The Reverse Fixture

“The first Sawbridgeworth game was one of those days where we never really got going, and they deservedly beat us very comfortably,” Perera said. “We have played a lot of cricket since then and I genuinely think many of our players are better cricketers now than they were two months ago, so I want us to go out, compete hard and give them a much tougher afternoon.”

CONFIDENCE FROM HARLOW

Although Hoddesdon were beaten by eight wickets at Harlow last weekend, there were significant positives in the batting display. Perera himself scored 57 from 96 balls, while George “Boris” Elsom recorded a career-best 31 from 84 deliveries as the pair added 86 for the second wicket. That partnership helped Hoddesdon bat through their full allocation and post 138 for seven against one of the strongest bowling attacks in the division. Sampathreddy Palepu also contributed 19, while the Fourths collected three batting bonus points and a bowling point despite Harlow ultimately completing the chase in 17.2 overs.

Elsom retains his place for Saturday and will again be an important component of Perera’s plans. Jack Bailey also features and remains one of the captain’s principal bowling weapons, with both players capable of producing the breakthrough deliveries that will be essential against a powerful Sawbridgeworth batting order.

George Elsom Once Again Features

Palepu remains one of Hoddesdon’s greatest threats with the bat. His extraordinary unbeaten 144 earlier this season remains one of the defining individual performances of the Fourth XI campaign and demonstrated exactly what he can do once established at the crease.
Ross Maughan adds considerable experience after captaining the Third XI to victory over Hatfield and Crusaders last weekend. His presence should be invaluable to a young group, both through his own contribution and through the calm advice he can offer those around him.

Ross Maughan Adds Valuable Experience To The Side

Young Freddie Lee returns to the Fourth XI and gives Perera an important spin option. Freddie has already shown this season that he is capable of taking senior wickets, and every spell he bowls at this level adds another layer to a cricketing education that could prove hugely valuable in the years ahead.

Freddie Lee

THE NEXT GENERATION

There are several youngsters in Saturday’s side who deserve particular recognition for the perseverance they have shown throughout the campaign. Connor Taylor, Barney Webb, Seb Mccuallgh and Freddie Lee are among those who have embraced opportunities in adult cricket rather than being intimidated by them.

Barnaby will take the wicketkeeping gloves this weekend and receives another chance to develop one of cricket’s most demanding specialist skills in a competitive senior environment. Connor Taylor has also featured regularly and has continued to learn through both batting and fielding responsibilities, while Seb Mccuallgh adds another youthful presence to a team built around giving players the chance to grow.

Barney Webb Will Take The Gloves For The Final Game Of The Season

Aoylid Hossain and Amer Khokhar also feature, giving Hoddesdon further options with bat and ball. Alongside Bailey, Elsom, Maughan, Perera and Palepu, the side again contains exactly the sort of mixture of experience and emerging talent that the Fourth XI has sought to provide throughout 2026. Perera believes that commitment from the younger players has been one of the most important achievements of the entire season.

“I could name so many players who have impressed me simply through their attitude,” he said. “Freddie, Connor, Barney, Seb and plenty of others have been willing to step into senior cricket, sometimes against players with years and years of experience, and they have kept coming back for more. That courage and perseverance will make them much better players in the future.”

A CAPTAIN WHO HAS LED WITH DISTINCTION

Saturday also provides an appropriate moment to recognise the enormous contribution made by Perera himself.

Captaining a Fourth XI is arguably the most difficult job anywhere within a cricket club, requiring constant management of availability, late withdrawals, inexperienced players, changing teams and the responsibility of ensuring that everyone continues to enjoy their cricket. Nirosh has handled that challenge with distinction. His encouragement, patience and enthusiasm have helped create an environment in which younger players have been able to make mistakes, learn from them and return the following week still wanting to contribute.

He has also led by example on the field, winning two Greene King Level Head Green Jackets this season and producing several important performances with both bat and ball. Perhaps even more importantly, he has remained positive through the difficult Saturdays and ensured that the Fourth XI has never lost sight of its broader purpose within the club. The 2026 campaign may end with Hoddesdon at the bottom of Division Four, but there is a generation of players leaving the season with far more senior cricket behind them than they possessed in April. That experience cannot be measured in league points, and its real value may only become apparent over the next few years.

It Has Been An Extraordinary Season For Captain Perera

Saturday is therefore both an ending and another beginning. Hoddesdon will want to finish with a victory, but whatever the scorebook says at the end of the afternoon, this Fourth XI can look back proudly on a season in which players were developed, opportunities were created and the foundations for the future were strengthened.

HODDESDON FOURTH XI

Jack Bailey, George Elsom, Aoylid Hossain, Amer Khokhar, Freddie Lee, Seb Mccuallgh, Nirosh Perera (captain), Barnaby “Barney” Webb (wicketkeeper), Connor Taylor, Ross Maughan, Sampathreddy Palepu.

The final game begins at 1pm at Thundridge Cricket Club, and Perera’s side will be determined to give the 2026 season one last wholehearted performance. After everything this young group has experienced together, there could be no more fitting way to sign off than by competing hard, enjoying the afternoon and showing once again why the future of Hoddesdon Cricket Club remains extremely bright.

#GreenMachine