Harpenden Dolphins C.C.

Scorecard

Harpenden Dolphins C.C. v Parkfield & Headstone II on Sat 23 May 2009 at 1.30pm
Harpenden Dolphins C.C. Won by 8 wickets

Match report Dolphins win in style.... again

Disclaimer: any resemblance to actual cricketers and what happened on the day is purely coincidental. Names & events may be changed etc etc

The weather has remained kind so far this season and it was a bright & breezy day that greeted the selected eleven at the Rothampsted Oval for the Dolphins 5th match of the season.

Tom won the toss and decided the conditions suited our strong bowling attack. This was a brave call considering at this point only 10 players had made it to the ground but he was confident no one would let him down. The offending player who need not be named arrived in the nick of time having taken to emergency two wheeled self powered transport from St Albans. As a show of his commitment he took to the field without a shirt to ensure he could remain there for the first over. Thankfully for all players and spectators alike he donned a shirt before the first ball was bowled.

It was Holdy who took charge opening the bowling from the “Orchard Ave End” to start a fine display of line a length from the first ball. Bowling into a solid south easterly wind the chances came immediately and the only runs to be had for the batsmen were lucky edges. Had Andy Gregory been playing and at 2nd slip he would have been treated to some straight forward chances.

Originally, so I'm told, the plan had been to open the bowling from the “Agricultural End” with a bit of variety (eg not Mr Consistent) but as the bowler of choice was still struggling with his attire and effects of the 5 mile bike ride another wise captains decision was made and Ron needed no excuse to work some Geovanni magic.

We were treated 12 overs of superb bowling from both openers, with numerous maidens both on the pitch and supporting from the sidelines. Suddenly P&H were 5 down and some of the Dolphins were already thinking about an early shower and the celebratory pints that would follow. However, as often happens, when the batting side is in trouble a draw can start to look like an attractive result and as they started not to play at deliveries Tom looked to make a decision to ensure the batting side could not get comfortable.

Lambert & Mathur came on just before drinks were taken and continued to hustle through the overs with a lethal combination of spin and bounce and both produce plenty of wicket chances. One chance cannot go unmentioned - Lambert putting his name to a C&B opportunity that probably everyone fielding inside the ring could have caught only to let himself down by dropping his first wicket opportunity of the season. He did get his own back on the lucky batsmen with some unpredictable bounce that had him calling for the helmet and being very glad he did when in the next over he took a glancing blow to the face grill. Probably wishing he had been caught he succumb to a perfectly flighted ball from Mathur and the game swung decidedly in the Dolphins favour.

P&H could only manage 44 of their allotted overs in the face of an awesome Dolphins fielding performance and with only 109 runs to chase the Dolphins just needed to keep cool, calm and collected to make it a dream start in the league.

A special mention must be included here for the fantastic tea and again the opposition perhaps enjoyed one to many of the lovely sandwiches & cakes but they weren’t to know one of the Dolphins batsmen had already hit peak form so early in the season.

One wicket fell early to what I am told was an excellent delivery and a fair cop. This brought Gully to the crease with Bonney and it wasn’t long before we were cheering a fantastic 50 from Paul. It was a treat to behold as he dispatched the P&H bowlers to the boundary with a fantastic display of how to bat on the Rothampsted wicket. Foot to the ball and smash it back past the bowler !!!

Gully played an excellent supporting knock but the 70 not out by Bonney was the nail in the coffin for the Headstone team and brought the Dolphins home early in only 27 overs and got us to the pub early too !

In summary, an excellent display of solid, accurate bowling from the team in the field put Dolphins in a strong position to take full points and a fantastic individual performance from Bonney delivered them for the team and its supporters.

Another fantastic match played in great spirit and a great win… well done team !


Parkfield & Headstone II Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 10 wickets
0
109 (0.0 overs)		     
French b  Holden 4
Koumar ct  James, Giovanni 1
Madanagopal b  Giovanni 14
Voialia ct  James, Giovanni 11
Shailk lbw  Holden 8
Bloomfield b  Mathur 15
Rivers ct  James, Giovanni 0
Thompson b  Roche 8
Warnapala Not Out  17
Kothari lbw  Roche 0
Shah b  Holden 3

Harpenden Dolphins C.C. 1st XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Ian Holden10.041936.331.90
Ron Giovanni12.071744.251.42
Amit Mathur7.0016116.002.29
Lee Lambert8.041100.001.38
Tom Roche6.03623.001.00
Thomas Jubb1.001300.0013.00

Harpenden Dolphins C.C. 1st XI Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
 
for 2 wickets
0
113		        
Roland James b  Madanagapal 5 3
Paul Bonney Not Out  70
Richard Gull b  Mahalingham 17
Amit Mathur Not Out  11
William Gull  
Ian Holden  
Tom Roche  
Lee Lambert  
Thomas Jubb  
Ron Giovanni  
Graham Downes  

Parkfield & Headstone II Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Dham'haran5.0119119.003.80
Rivers5.001500.003.00
Thompson3.002300.007.67
Kothari3.001700.005.67
Shah5.04600.001.20
Mahalingham6.0026126.004.33