Batting collapse sees Saints fall short

SHL Division One

Langleybury 171

St Albans 110

Langleybury won by 61 runs

ST ALBANS played Langleybury this weekend, winning the toss and choosing to bowl first.

St Albans started well and the good work was continued by a 21 over spell by James Rosson that saw him finish with figures of 4-54. In an admirable overall effort, St Albans managed to restrict the visitors to 171. In a disappointing effort with the bat, St Albans only managed 110 due to a long line of bad strokes.

The IIs faired differently in a winning draw against Dunstable CC. St Albans won the toss and skipper Toby Furnivall chose to have a bat. St Albans’ openers made a strong start with Ian McKinlay and Steve Ferguson making 45 and 30 respectively.

The innings was accelerated by a quick-fire 43 by Michael Goodfellow and a composed 62* by Ben Ramsey. With Dunstable having to chase 230 off 52 overs, Adam Hounslow and Afroz Khan both took two wickets as the opposition never looked like making a serious challenge of the total and Dunstable fell 12 runs short with four wickets remaining.

The IIIs had a resounding win against Hemel Hempstead with Andrew Walker taking a five wicket haul with support from Daniel Rosson. They were chasing a mere 103 at the SLCG, James Ashton starting with a solid 33 and the further improving Charlie Bowskill made a knock of 31. The extras mounted up in the chase accounting for 40 of Saints’ total, and the win was completed with six wickets in hand.

The IVs restricted a strong Preston team to 199-5 with Johno Burt taking 2-47. In a disappointing chase, St Albans could only manage 86 and poor shot selection was the most prominent reason for the downfall of the team. Kevin Milton’s unbeaten 21 in the second innings was the most credible display in an under-par performance.

On a very difficult debatable pitch at Bourne End CC the Sunday II managed to secure a battling win. Bourne End batted first and managed 123 all out. Bowling highlights being an economical spell from 12-year-old Mark Telkman, taking 3-12 and Andrew Melling picking up 3-27. Notable performances with the bat include Manny Nisar, adding 22 more runs to his season totals and John Webber steering the side home with 16* with two wickets in hand.