Garden City fall short

Thursday, June 28, 2012
11:22 AM

Letchworth earn a draw against Sawbridgeworth

Letchworth GC 273-8 (60 overs)

Sawbridgeworth 197-4 (52 overs)

HCPL Division 2E

Letchworth’s game with Sawbridgeworth petered out into a draw despite an improved batting performance culminating in a sensational innings by wicket-keeper Taylor Browne.

The visitors invited Letchworth to bat first on a good wicket, but they were soon in big trouble at 15-3. Firstly Rob Wight edged a gentle outswinger to slip for 5 then Tom Simmons smashed a long hop from Ifzal Nawaz to Rob Sanders at square leg for 3. Five runs later Nawaz got a ball to bounce steeply to Will Aitkenhead who gloved it behind for 4.

Will Bates and Richard Walsh began a recovery, but this was cut short when Walsh was trapped lbw by James for 11 with the score on 38. This brought the out of form Dave Albon to the wicket, but he looked much more his old self as he hit a quickfire 45 in a stand of 59 with Bates before being caught and bowled by Rizwan Queshie just before lunch.

Sam Booth helped Bates take the score to 122 before he was lbw for 12, but then Bates was joined by Browne and the pair began to dominate the visitors in a stand which was worth 111 – a record seventh-wicket Letchworth GC stand in the Premier Division – when Bates was bowled by Queshie for 88, having held the innings together for 165 balls and hitting 14 fours.

Meanwhile Browne had been putting the visitors’ attack to the sword with some massive hitting and he continued to do so in partnership with skipper Richard Barclay. Barclay was stumped off Queshi for 5 with the score on 249, but Browne went on to the end of the 60 overs, finishing the innings with 16 runs off the last three balls. He finished 93no off 56 balls having hit seven 6s and six 4s with the last 15 overs yielding 140 runs as Letchworth closed on 273-8.

Sawbridgeworth made a bad start in reply with Barclay bowling Charlie Rudkin for 0 with the score on 3, but then Wilson and Rob Sanders added a century partnership to put them well on target.

After tea Barclay had Wilson caught behind by Browne for 41 and Joe Rudkin lbw for 0 in the same over to leave the visitors 108-3 and they never seemed to recover from this. Queshie joined Sanders in a stand of 71 before he was caught and bowled by Aitkenhead and the innings meandered to a close after 52 overs with Sanders left on 95no and Barclay finishing with 3-45.

Letchworth were due to start the defence of the Reader County Cup on Sunday at Stevenage, but the game was postponed due to a waterlogged ground and will now be played next Sunday.

The IIs were thwarted by the weather at Broxbourne with the home side making 226-6 with Gavin Booth taking 3-62 and Gurjeet Singh 2-78. Letchworth looked on target for victory until they lost six overs to rain and finished on 190-5, with all the batsmen contributing. Navin Seneviratne made 46, Matt Bridge 37 and skipper Duncan Elder 33.

The IIIs entertained St Margaretsbury IIs but did not put enough runs on the board, being bowled out for 113 with Yusuf Mayat making 34. The visitors reached their target for the loss of five wickets.

The IVs visited Waltham Cross Rosedale IIs and made 165-7 with Andy Bishton making 49, but the home side won by six wickets. The Vs lost by seven wickets to Holtwhites Trinibis IIIs.