Old Albanians at Home

After an incredibly disappointing weekend at Broxbourne, the pressure was on for the 1st XI to string some results together. Old Albanians therefore presented a good opportunity to play some solid cricket and build some confidence for the season ahead. Despite some recent sunny weather, the May monsoon was still evident with a damp pitch at Burtonhole Lane. Despite this, the skipper wasn't too disappointed to lose the toss as he hadn't made up his mind as to what he would have chosen to do. Old Albanians took one look at our batting collapse from the previous week and decided to insert MHV and try to apply some pressure.

With certain members of the team yet to arrive (Naz, Felix where are you???), Mr Village (James Thompson) was promoted up the order in a bid to add some stability to the batting line up. Unfortunately, this decision back-fired as he chipped a leading edge up to mid-on and was sent packing. The skipper joined his brother in the middle and was looking comfortable until a hotly debated LBW decision disappointed the watching fans keen to see some classy stroke-play. Andy Potter was undeterred and continued to build towards a respectable score. While wickets were lost at regular intervals, some important contributions from Naz Asif, Felix Charles and James O'Sullivan supported Andy and led MHV to a more than competitive score of 151. With the outfield providing little value to good shots any runs would be hard to come by.

Last week the MHV bowlers were unable to find their lines and lengths and never managed to apply any real pressure to the opposition. A step up in performance would be required to defend this week's modest total. Alam Khan and Shash Seem opened the bowling and quickly found their rhythm - the first ball finding the edge and being put down in the slips by the usually reliable Majid Asif. However, the Old Albanian batting line up could not deal with their penetrative line and lengths, in particular those from Shash who was regularly extracting uneven bounce out of the track. Felix Charles rolled back the years at silly mid-off and the wickets began to tumble. A series of unorthodox 'hitters' came in and threatened to make the match competitive but despite some poor catching, the chances kept coming, and Old Albanians were dismissed comfortably short of the Village total. With 30 points in the bag, the sun out at Burtonhole Lane, and the 3rd XI embroiled in a nail-biter on the back pitch, it was a great reminder of why this Club is so special!

Next week, a trip to unbeaten Redbourn will prove a massive test. However, a win there could spark a Village run and lay a marker down to the rest of the league. Bring it on!