Nathan Reardon, who has spent several summers with us, became the first batsman to score a Twenty20 century for Australian state side Queensland, when he smashed Indian Premier league side Kolkota Knight Riders all over Brisbane on Tuesday.
This is a short extract from the Queensland website about his amazing innings. To keep up with his progress in the state side, and to see how he and Jarrod Turner go for their club side (University of Queensland) in the grade cricket competition, go to http://www.qldcricket.com.au/

Nathan Reardon became the first Queenslander to score a century in Twenty20 cricket today, albeit in a practice game.

The bold left-hander smashed the Kolkata Knight Riders attack to all parts of Allan Border Field this afternoon to help the Bulls to their second comprehensive win in today’s double-header.

It gave the home side a 3-1 lead in the six-match series.

Reardon hammered his 132 off just 61 balls – a remarkable strike rate of 200.00 – and there were still five overs to ball when he departed the crease.

A free-scoring spirit across all forms of the game, he plundered nine sixes and 13 fours in a powerful display that also included some nimble running between the wickets.

England’s fast bowling prospect Steve Finn presented the awards at Knebworth Park Cricket Club’s Colts annual prizegiving.

The Middlesex player, who is a product of Herts youth cricket, is an England Under-19 player has been outstanding this season with rapid pace that has claimed nearly 40 Championship wickets.

He along with the Park’s coach Aussie Jarrod Turner presented the medals and trophies to well over 120 of the club’s youngsters, ranging from four year olds to 15.

Jayne Cowell, Chair of the Colts Section, thanked Steve for coming along to present the trophies. She congratulated all the boys and girls for their efforts during the season and those of the coaches and parents – and projected Steve as a role model of Herts youth cricket.

Steve said: “It was a real pleasure to make the presentations, to see the fantastic enthusiasm and passion for the sport, and to hear what talented players the club has.”

The outstanding team this season was the under-12s which won the county trophy with a team that included several of the county side. In the league, the club ran nine league teams including a girls team.

The club also hosted during the season the Under-15 and under 10 county finals, once again ran a coaching programme in the local schools as part of the Chance to Shine programme and during August ran a summer coaching clinic.

From the previous year’s under 15 side, Louis Champion and Charlie Randall, who both played for Herts Under-16s, became first team regulars for Knebworth Park, while another, Matt Hutchinson was outstanding in the second team, to reflect the impact the colts section has on the club.

The colts’ presentation included supporting activities – a barbecue, club merchandise shop, raffle and auction, to complete an outstanding evening.

One of Knebworth Park’s highest opening partnership of the season saw them romp to victory in their final match of the season in a friendly against Harrow Wayfarers, in the kind of sunny weather that’s been missing all summer.

Sanjay Chandarana with an unbeaten 113 not out and Chris Johnson with his second successive half-century with 59 added 149 for the first wicket as they rattled up 223 for 3 in 40 overs.

When stand-in wicketkeeper Michael Fisher snapped up the first wicket off Mark Taylor who took 2 for 33, the visitors were struggling in the run chase.

A brilliant catch by Ross Courtney of Rischi Chandarana 1 for 36 sanpped up the crucial wicket of Fernando, Joe Elliott took 2 for 20 – and it was then Mark Folwell ripped the guts out of the Harrow innings with 4 for 33 with a variation of spin and seam to bowl them out for 144 with almost ten overs to spare.

Knebworth Park narrowly failed to clinch promotion in a thrilling and dramatic climax to the season in the Saracens Herts League Division One.

It was a day that had all the hallmarks of a tense finish with leaders Letchworth playing third-placed St Albans who were only one point adrift of the Park - and with two promotion places up for grabs.

With St Albans beating Letchworth, where conditions had been drier, in a game that finished earlier than the one at Knebworth Park , it meant that nothing less than victory over visitors Totteridge Millhillians would clinch promotion ahead of Letchworth.

The drama of the day was such that as the Park took the eighth wicket with four overs remaining, the destiny of who would be promoted lay in the balance right up until the last two balls, only for the ninth wicket pair to hold out for a draw.

With the heavy rain of the previous days, conditions were soggy and it was down to the management of the umpires and the mopping up operations that the game started at all, albeit 90 minutes late. Coupled with a shower break it reduced the match to only 71 overs.

Park skipper Tony Skeggs lost a toss that was important in such a shortened game, and the Park had to bat first in the most difficult conditions.

Jarrod Turner and Tony Skeggs, each scoring 51, batted with unstinting commitment, knowing they had a maximum of 40 overs to post a sufficiently challenging total. Turner drove superbly before he fell to an improvised shot off his legs and was caught at short fine leg.

Skeggs stepped up the momentum with guts, the highlight being a brilliant shot through the covers as his back foot slipped away on the damp surface. He was assisted with strong-arm shots from Steve Gregory 19 before Skeggs declared on 150 for 5 after 35 overs leaving the visitors 36 overs to chase - in the gamble to have time to bowl them out.

Heavy rain clouds swirled around all afternoon and rain looked to be the likely winner when there was a heavy shower at tea. The rain relented and Millhillians set off at a rapid pace. Although Sam McCrow snatched a breakthrough, the task seemed forlorn until Skeggs resorted to the slower pace of himself and Shaun Robinson.

Robinson’s deceptive variation in pace and length brought him 2 for 19 in 9 overs in claiming the vital wickets of the two dangermen with well-taken catches, by Jarrod Turner who took three in all at short extra cover and another in the deep by Alex Richmond. Skeggs, 1 for 21, removed skipper Shaun O’Brien and then Turner 1 for 22 snatched a wicket to a neat slip catch by Gregory, to reduce the score from 86 for 2 to 115 for 5.

Paul Slade, 3 for 27, returned to the attack and when he whisked out three in rapid succession, the result and the promotion race hung in the balance at 133 for 8 – but the visitors chose sadly to play out for a draw to finish on 143 for 8, to consign the Park to third place for the second year running.

The Park could reflect back on what might have been. They knew there were games they had let slip, and should have not been in the position of leaving their destiny hanging on the last day of the season. Having said that they can also look back on a season that saw them overcome many challenges.

Before the campaign even started they suffered the tragic death of their young fast bowler Nick Simpson. Chris Brook came out of his threat to retire, to fill the void with some match-winning performances before his knee finally gave up on him. Skipper Tony Skeggs also spent several weeks out with an injury.

Under the expert direction of club coach Jarrod Turner, who had a superb season with bat and ball, a number of youngsters came to the fore. In particular, under-16s wicketkeeper/batsman Louis Champion and left-arm pace bowler Charlie Randall both established themselves as first team cricketers.

With all the other elevens maintaining their status in divisions that are across the board as good as any other club in the county – and with another hugely impressive colts season - it is a year that the club can look back on with satisfaction. Apart from the weather!

Knebworth Park Seconds secured their Division Two status for another year with a brilliant away victory at table-topping Chorleywood, thanks largely to a sensational spell of pace bowling by under-16 Matt Hutchinson who took 5 for 14.

Put into bat on a capricious wicket, the Park made steady progress to 65-0 after 25 overs, thanks to an excellent stand between Richard Leather (47) and Graham Valentine (17). Following the drinks break however, Chorleywood hit back with four wickets for 17 runs, to leave the Park in serious trouble. Despite a cameo from Ed Wright (13), the Park folded for a disappointing 123 all out. The architects of the collapse were the Chorleywood spinners Dunning (4-34) and Watson (5-49).

Staring defeat squarely in the eye, the Park began the Chorleywood reply in defiant fashion with the Leather brothers taking three wickets to leave the batting side 31-3. The game now appeared to rest on the shoulders of powerful No: 4 bat Vivian, who moved smoothly to an ominous 24 not out after just five overs at the crease. Fortunately for the Park, Vivian was bowled by Matt Hutchinson, who went on to tear the life out of the Chorleywood batting, in taking 5-14 off 6 overs, with all five dismissals being bowled. In tandem with Adam Ezekiel (2-13), Hutchinson ’s savage spell bowled Chorleywood out for a paltry 79, thus ensuring the Park will go into next week’s final league match with no more relegation worries.

The thirds went down by four wickets to Division Five champions Holtwhites Trinibis.

After the early loss of Mark Turner, bowled by a good ball from opening bowler Younis, Josh Roseberry batted very steadily with first Ian Pickering and then Hayden Bartlett-Tasker, to form a healthy base at 74 for 2 off 25 overs.

The loss of there quick wickets, two to questionable lbws, had the Park rocking at 78 for 5. The momentum was lost and with further wickets falling at regular intervals, it was only a well-paced ninth wicket stand of 43 between vets Graham Fisher and Sandy Reynolds that raised the total to respectability at 159 for 8 after 53 overs.

The same duo then began the Park’s bowling with the old ball in the hope of squeezing the run-rate, but with the lack of wickets and no apparent threat of taking one, skipper Steve Holmes took the new ball.

Initially the ploy worked with Usmann Chaudhury making the breakthrough, but this only brought to the crease Bacchus who looked a fine playing in an excellent 61, including a gigantic six. His partnership of 99 with the solid Evans (43) took them to the brink of victory before drama unfolded as Tom Eaton wreaked havoc with 4 for 9 as the home side ended on 160 for 6, giving the Park a satisfactory and well-earned 10 points.

After four straight wins the 4s lost to Holtwhies Trinibis 2s.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Park never got their innings going with a number of batsman getting starts but not being able to kick-on. Bret Painter (29) and Ian Woods (28) top scoring before being bowled out for 154 in 48 overs.

Park got off to a great start in the field when a mix up between the Holtwhites openers lead to a run out. Park were never able to get in to the game though, only taking two more wickets as Holtwhites cruised past the Knebworth total.

Ex-chairman Chris Johnson struck his best innings for many a year with 72 in a 158-run partnership for the second wicket with young tyro Russell Tompkin 76 in their draw with Sawbridgeworth 4ths.

Their stand silenced the cacophony of sledging to not even a whisper as they struck the visitors attack to all parts before both fell in quick succession. Thereafter the run-rate subsided with only 26 coming off the last eight overs in finishing on 214 for 6.

Playing on the Roe Hill ground at Hatfield where the wicket was excellent, it was always difficult taking wickets. Tom Elliot 1 for 16 made the early breakthrough, while Dave Murphy toiled away for 18 overs to take 3 for 44, boosted by a superb diving slip catch by Dave Mantle. Then Mantle picked up two wickets at the end for 36, as the visitors ended on 192 for 6, the Park removing the last of the front-line batsmen too late to wrap up a win.

Knebworth Park maintained their push for promotion with an exciting win over mid table Berkhamsted. Park captain Tony Skeggs won the toss and batted, with the confidence that Knebworth could take the 10 Berkhamsted wickets.
Jarrod Turner and Ryan Skeggs got off to a positive start, aided by some way-ward bowling from Simon Cusden spear heading the Berkhamsted attack. By the 10th over Cusden had bowled 6 no balls and 2 wides, but made amends when he managed to clean bowl Skeggs for 6 with the score on 35.
Turner was joined by skipper Tony Skeggs, and although apart from Cusden, who contributed 18 to the Knebworth score in wides and no balls, Berkhamsted managed to regain some control with Oliver Jannaway and Berkhamsted skipper Mark Herring restricting both Turner and Skeggs mainly to singles. However the singles do mount up and with the score on 133 for 1 in the 35th over, Park looked well placed for a very high target.
The Berkhamsted reply was swift and turned the game around with the introduction of Jack Kilgannon to the attack. Kilgannon had Turner (57) and then Skeggs (41), both caught by Ian Hammond at gully in consecutive balls, and with Steve Gregory giving Herring a caught and bowled, 133 for 4 looked a very different game.
Alex Richmond, debuting in the first team after his fine 100 of the previous week managed to steady the collapse along with Louis Champion, pushing the score past 160.
With Herring bowling a marathon spell from the pavilion end at Knebworth and Jannaway coming back for a second spell of bowling, the final 10 overs were again poised for a Knebworth onslaught, but for once this season the tail could not wag.
Richmond became one of Ian Hammonds 5 catches of the afternoon, with Herring bowling, and Jannaway clean bowling Champion for 25, Park 174 for 6.
The final over started with Park on 194 for 7, needing 6 runs for maximum batting points, but finished 195 all out, with Herring getting all the batters to offer catches, his 17.4 overs taking 5 for 44 runs.
The Berkhamsted reply started in real swash buckling form and threatened to destroy Parks promotion prospects. Cusden and Kilgannon opening, flayed the bat at bowling which was too short and bludgeoned 51 runs in the first 9 overs, but the introduction of spin from Jarrod Turner, twisted the momentum yet again, taking a fine catch off his own bowling, Cusden out for 15. Berkhamsted continued to try and smash their way to victory, but even some wayward bowling from Turner snapped up a wicket, Kilgannon on 42 from 36 deliveries belted such a wayward delivery for Sam McCrow to cling on to, 76 for 2.
James Steadman for Berkhamsted built a fine innings whilst watching Turner take the first 6 wickets, with only 121 on the board. When Tony Skeggs bowled Oliver Jannaway for 7, Berkhamsted were still over 50 runs short with 10 overs to go. Steadman did offer a couple of chances which Knebworth uncharacteristically, this season, put down, but the second spell of bowling from Paul Slade proved the match winner, taking the last 3 wickets, all bowled, for only 2 runs. Steadman finished 60 not out, Berkhamsted 172 all out. Slades 9.5 overs totalled 3 for 30, but it was Turner with 6 for 68 which meant the title and promotion chase, would go to the final week.

The high-riding Knebworth Park 3rds had the worst of a draw in their Division Five match against Old Elizabethans who on a good looking pitch chose to bat first. An electric start saw the visitors race to 60 without loss from the first 10 overs. 
 
Veterans Sandy Reynolds and Graham Fisher brought the breakthrough as both openers fell in quick succession. After such a quick start the Park worked hard to reduce the run rate and Reynolds and Fisher bowled 44 overs between them and in the end picked up four wickets each as Old Elizabethan's innings closed on 201 for 8.
 
The Park wanted a good start and Jeremy Goodacre was brutal on any poor deliveries as he raced to 40 before being bowled. Unfortunately the other top order batsman found fluent form hard to come by against some quality bowling.
 
Skipper Steve Holmes joined Michael Carter at the crease and the pair began trying to chase down the target. However the departure of Carter and then Wallis brought Chaudhary to the crease, and although he made a quickfire 17, 201 was always looking just out of reach, especially when the opening bowler returned. Chaudhary was unfortunately run out and when Holmes was bowled the Park's hopes of reaching the target ended and their innings finished on 161-8.
 
The 4s had another excellent victory against Chipperfield 2s, to coontinue their charge up the table after being in danger of relegation just over a monhth ago.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, openers Sanjay Chandarana and Chris Bonser putt on 55 before both were dismissed within a few balls of each other with Bonser making 28 and Chandarana 25. Kyle Dix (29) was the only other to take the attack to the accurate Chipperfield bowlers before they were bowled out for 144 in the 52nd over.

Dix gave the Park a flying start in the field by bowling the Chipperfield opener with the first ball of the innings, and then in his second over removed the other opener to leave Chipperfield at 2 for 3. At the other end Matt Woods also found success.
 
Durant and Oliver sparked a Chipperfield fight back before Woods picked up the wicket of Oliver with a good catch from Ross Courtney. Dix ended with figures of 2/22 and Woods 2/28 to leave the game finely balanced. Stuart Dempsey and Ross Courtney kept on the pressure and when Courtney dismised the dangerous Durrant, the Park never looked back and bowled the home side out for 78 in the 24th over, Courteney finishing with 3/15 and Dempsey 3/12.

 

Knebworth Park’s push for promotion stuttered on Saturday when they failed to beat an under strength Hitchin team only able to field five of the players who played in the earlier fixture this season, and that included Hitchin captain Craig Millwood playing with a broken finger.
The 11 points gained in this defeat meant the Park slipped to second place, just ahead of third-placed St Albans . They will have to improve in their final two matches, both at home, against Berkhamsted and Totteridge Millhillians if they are to realise their promotion ambitions, with leaders Letchworth and St Albans meeting in the final round of matches.
Park won the toss and batted on what looked like a very dry strip. Jarrod Turner and Ryan Skeggs started well enough until Skeggs (8) was dismissed by ‘keeper, Ollie Hammond  taking an excellent catch down the leg side, with brother Ashley Hammond bowling, and when the next delivery trapped Tony Skeggs LBW, Park found themselves 29 for 2.
A strong partnership was needed to settle the innings, but another sharply taken catch, this time by Danny Fair, sent Turner (32) back to the pavilion, off the bowling of Dave Moore, Park 43 for 3, which soon became 43 for 4 as Ashley Hammond claimed his third wicket, having Steve Gregory caught by Chris Maylin.
Louis Champion (10) followed, with the score on 60, when he offered a straight forward chance to Ollie Hammond, giving the keeper his second catch of the afternoon, and Moore ’s second wicket.
The Knebworth middle order all tried to knuckle down to recover the innings, and they all got a start, but the slow scoring rate prompted indifferent shots. Junior d'Abreu, after patiently getting to 19, swished at, and completely missed, a delivery from Geoff Edwards and was bowled with the score on only 78.
Adam Sergeant and Sam McCrow added the largest partnership of the day, 44, before more good work from Ollie Hammond, had Sergeant (25) stumped off Simon Bayston, 122 for 7. McCrow added one more run before he watched Hammond take two more catches in consecutive balls off Moore, Park 123 for 9.
In a vital last wicket stand, Shaun Robinson (7) helped take the score up to 150 in the 51st over, until he fell LBW to Bayston. McCrow finished with a valuable and resilient 43 not out, but the score looked woefully inadequate. Moore with 4 for 68 and Ashley Hammond with 3 for 27 were aided by the impressive keeping of Ollie Hammond, taking four catches and a stumping.
 The Hitchin batting reply looked grossly under strength, and when Danny Fair left alone a delivery from Paul Slade which clean bowled him with the score on only 3, Park may have felt they could get themselves out of trouble. Ollie Hammond batting at number 3 fuelled Knebworth hopes when he smashed a ball back, only to see it deflect off the hand of Tony Skeggs dismissing Mick Lee run out (11), 42 for 2.  Hammond and Scott Marshall rode their luck, both surviving numerous appeals, until Marshall (23) was also run out, with Charlie Randall gathering well and getting the ball to Knebworth ‘keeper, Champion.
Hammond continued to steer the innings past 100, but when he fell for 46 caught by McCrow with Turner bowling, the Hitchin tail was exposed, although only 4 down for 107, needing 44 still to win.
The makeshift Hitchin side all chipped in with a few runs, but wickets did continue to fall, 131 for 5 became 133 for 8 when Tony Skeggs claimed two LBW's and Sam McCrow added a third run out with a direct hit dismissing Chris Maylin for 15.
Craig Millwood batting with a broken finger took the score to 142 with David Moore, until Millwood (4) popped an easy chance for McCrow to catch, but Moore (13) and Geoff Edwards (5) saw Hitchin past the winning line, Hitchin 153 for 9 taking the maximum 30 points.
 

Alex Richmond rescued Knebworth Park second team’s season in scoring his first-ever century against Radlett seconds.

The Park were 15 for 3 after eight overs when he came to the crease with his team staring relegation down a gun barrel. His positive and forthright approach powered out of trouble, to continue his impressive form of recent weeks.

He struck 110 off 114 balls, which included 15 fours and 1 six. Along with No. 6 Colin Letford, the Park put on 186 for the fifth wicket, before Alex was finally dismissed in the 45th over. taking his team towards 252 for 6.

Richmond's knock was not enough to secure a victory for the Park, as Radlett chased down the 253 required with venom, losing just four wickets in the process. But with crucial bonus points at stake in the Park's fight against relegation, Alex Richmond's 110 proved very important, securing the maximum 10 batting points for the Park.

It was a massive milestone for the 30-year-old whose success with the bat is an illustration of the Park’s strength in developing players from within. After starting in the 5th team when he joined the club (and first took up cricket as a 21-year-old), he has progressed through the teams. His century was the product of dedication to training and work on his technique coupled with a positive and determined approach.

His promotion led to him stepping up to the first team for his league debut on Saturday against Berkhamsted, joining a team where every other member bar two are products of the club’s development policy, including two under-16s in ‘keeper/batsman Louis Champion and left arm pace bowler Charlie Randall.

Vanessa Skeggs, neice of our captain, Tony and first-team player Ryan, and grand-daughter of Jan, spent a week working on her cricketing skills at the Freddie Flintoff summer school in Watford recently, including a meeting with he great man himself on the eve of the final Test at the Oval.

Knebworth Park leapfrogged in to top place in Division One in a closely fought match against bottom side Hoddesdon.
They are now 11 points ahead of Letchworth, and with three matches remaining all of the top seven sides can harbour hopes of finishing in the top two promotion slots. In their run-in the Park face the teams lying fourth, sixth and seventh, with the last two at home.
After winning the toss, Park captain Tony Skeggs decided to bat on what was to turn out to be a slow, low scoring wicket.
Openers Jarrod Turner and Ryan Skeggs made a steady, but very slow start, putting on 65 in 23 overs, in just under an hour and a half. Turner (30) was the first wicket to fall, when he nicked the ball onto his stumps, off Hoddesdon captain Martin Brown.
This started a mini collapse, with Tony Skeggs (4) lbw in the same over. Ryan Skeggs was run out for 27 and Phil Simpson fell second ball, also lbw to Brown, as suddenly Park were 75 for 4.
Steve Gregory and Louis Champion dug in, to re-build the innings, but the slow scoring rate forced Champion to go for a single which just wasn't there, and was run out for 4. Gregory progressed to a valuable 26, before lofting a catch to Jamie Curtis at mid off, for Brown's fourth wicket, with Park 126 for 6, with nine overs left.
Aiden McElligott, bowling at the other end for Hoddesdon, conceded only 9 in his first 8 overs, and then started taking wickets, Adam Sergeant (10) and Shaun Robinson (1) were both bowled, as Park slid to 128 for 8.
Crucially the last two wickets as vital runs in in the final six overs, through Sam McCrow 14, before also being bowled by McElligott, Charlie Randall 18 not out, and Paul Slade, run out for 12 on the last ball of the innings, to push the total up to 172 all out.
Brown with 4 for 58, McElligott, 3 for 45, along with the three run outs, didn't really look enough, and just to make the prospect of a Knebworth win harder, opening bowler Paul Slade picked up an injury whilst batting, so would not be able to spearhead the reply, Steve Large becoming the second substitute fielder used by Knebworth this season.
With neither Slade nor Chris Brook (still injured) in operation for the first time this season, Sam McCrow and Charlie Randall did a fantastic job opening the bowling.
Rookie left-arm pace bowler Randall conceded only 8 from his six-over spell, but it was McCrow who gave Knebworth a glimmer of hope, by removing both openers Martin Brown (4), sharply caught at slip by Gregory, and Paul Plumbley (9) leg before, with the total on only 15.
McCrow's nine-over spell cost only 11, but the support bowling looked too weak to add to the successes; as the next 20 overs saw Rory Coutts and Craig Handy push the score on to 87 with still only two wickets down.
Park captain Tony Skeggs, brought himself onto bowl for the first time since sustaining an injury in mid June, and almost immediately started to change the game in Knebworth's favour, trapping Handy lbw for 30. In a 15-minute spell 87 for 2, became 91 for 6, with Coutts watching from the non-batting end, as his team mates fell all around him.
Rob Harcombe (27) for Hoddesdon, managed to stay with Coutts for over 20 minutes, until he was caught by Ryan Skeggs, to give brother Tony his fourth wicket, Hoddesdon 135 for 7.
Tony Skeggs and Jarrod Turner claimed the unlikely victory for Knebworth Park, when between them they took the final three wickets, Shaun Brown (0) lbw to Turner, Wes Hunt (0), run out by Turner, and finally Aiden McElligott (0) caught by Tony Skeggs off Turner. Coutts finished unbeaten on 55 in Hoddesdon's 146 all out, with Skeggs 4 for 31 and Turner 3 for 41.
In their battle against relegation the second collected 15 vital points with an encouraging performance away to Flitwick.
Undfer-17 all-rounder continued to impress with an opening innings of 24 and 2 for 39. The core of the Park innings was a stand of 50 between Junior d'Abreu 42 and Alex Richmond 39. 'keeper Jono Evetts 23 then chipped in with 23 as they finished on a more than competitive 182 for 9.
The collective accuracy of the Park bowling meant that a Park victory or a draw were the only possibilities. Along with Richard Leather's two wickets, Jack Thorn 2 for 22, Bob Crowe 1 for 21 and Adam Ezekiel 2 for 31madeb the home side struggle for runs with the last three wickets falling in the final eight balls. Colin Letford's bowled the final over - his first bowl of the season - and his long hops picked up two wickets as Flitwick ended on 153 for 9.
The thirds, promotion contenders in Division Five, face a mountain to climb in the last three matches to achieve their goal, after were left to rue the decision to bat first on a green wicket at Langleybury 2nds. They were skittled out for only 52 and the home side then took only seven overs to coast to a ten-wicket win.
An impressive fielding performance gave the fourths a comfortable win over Allenburys, to continue their recent fine vein of form that has seen them rise from the relegation zone to mid-table in Division Eight.

After electing to bat Allenburys quickly lost their first wicket when Sanjay Chandarana ran out the Allenburys opener. It was a while before the second wicket, but the slow scoring meant they were never able to get away. Wickets then fell regularly with Ross Courtney (3/50) and Brett Painter (2/20) the pick of the bowlers to restrict Allenburys to 144/8 in their 53 overs.

The run chase was never a problem with openers Mark Tuner (52 not out) and Andrew Martin (67not out) batting impressively in an unbroken stand of 146, to see the Park home to a convincing 10 wicket win.
The fifths crashed to defeat away to high-riding Great Gaddesden who romped to a six wicket win scoring 41 for 4 in reply to the Park's meagre 40 all out.

The first team's challenge for the Saracens Herts League first division title faltered slightly when they could manage only a draw against Dunstable on Saturday. The 14 points they gahered kept them in second place, but they are now 18 points behind Letchworth, who they visit on Saturday.
They are one point clear of St Margaretsbury in third, with St Albans a further eight points adrift. So with five games left, it promises to be a thrilling race for promotion.
Saturday's game had a delayed start due to a light shower, but it was a heavier one, 30 minutes later which took 6 overs out of the match.
 Dunstable had commenced their innings after winning the toss and the bowling of Paul Slade for Knebworth accounted for 2 Dunstable wickets with only 16 runs on the board, when the rain forced them all off, Geoff Baines lbw for 9 and Ian Moody (0), caught by Tony Skeggs.
 When the match continued, Slade continued bowling with good control, but a niggling injury forced the end of his bowling spell, only 7 overs in total, taking 2 for 15.
 Robbie Keogh batted solidly for Dunstable, looking to give his team a platform for a competitive score. With Sam Cherry (10), they took the total past 50, but the 100 plus partnership with Andy Boocock looked to be the foundation for a mighty total. However a magnificent catch by Ryan Skeggs, running around and back towards the longest boundary, dismissed Keogh for 71 with Jarrod Turner bowling. Turners next over dismissed Boocock (39) stumped by keeper Louis Champion. Dunstable 160 for 5 with 10 overs left.
 Shaun Robinson, playing his first league match for the ones of the season, bowled in tandem with Turner for the rest of the innings. Both players bowling their second spell of the innings, restricted the total to 198 and claimed the final wickets.
 Robinson ended with 3 for 46 in 15 overs, and Turner 4 for 51 in 13.4.
 The Knebworth reply was not troubled by the weather and all 44 overs were played in the sunshine. Turner and Steve Gregory started in familiar mode at a very good pace, before Gregory (11) edged to Robbie Keogh, now with the keeping gloves on, in the fourth over with the score on 26, with Chris Watt bowling.
 Turner was joined by skipper Tony Skeggs and the innings continued at a steady pace, but when Dunstable captain Steve Watts brought himself on in the 14th over the bowling regained a little control. Watts first 4 overs conceded only 3 runs and the introduction of Sam Cherry, ground the Knebworth innings to a halt, with Turner being trapped leg before for 56.
  Watts and Cherry bowled all the way through the rest of the match, and although Skeggs was joined by brother Ryan, they were never allowed to dominate or push the run rate passed the required 6 runs an over. When Ryan (26) edged to keeper Keogh in the 39th and Tony (70), bowled in the 41st, both by Cherry, Knebworth still needed 27 runs off the last 18 deliveries. The continued control from both bowlers and a couple of suicidal run outs gifted Dunstable a couple more league points and Park finished on 188 for 8, 11 runs short, match drawn. Watts , 16 overs, 1 for 62 and Cherry with 4 for 45 in 12 overs, denied Knebworth a much needed victory if they are to press for promotion, next weeks fixture against top of the table Letchworth could be crucial.

The fifth team came close to victory in a high-scoring draw against
Frogmore who coasted to 225 for 2 off 42 overs, taking advantage of
loose bowling and a total of 40 extras.

The only wicket-taker was Dave Mantell with 2 for 54 in 13 overs.

Andrew Martin 33 and Christian Gugolz 25 gave the reply a lively start
before they slipped to 125 for 5. Skipper John Inman's solo effort of 81
not out kept alive their hopes with a superb innings which left 15
needed off the final over but they could only manage two and finished
with a credible 213 for 7.

A much improved performance from the 4ths gave them a win against
Wheathampstead 2s.

After being asked to field Matt Woods got the park off to a good start
and was rewarded for his tight bowling by picking up the wicket of
Wheathampstead opener Dillan Yogendra to give him figures of 1 for 23.
Excellent fielding by Ed Emsley lead to the run out of the dangerous Tim
Kiek to leave Wheathampstead at 32-2. On a pitch that always favoured
spin it was the left arm spin twins of Michael Carter and Ross Courtney
that kept Park in the game, managing to peg back the Wheathampstead
batting when they looked like taking the game away and both were
rewarded with Courtney taking 4-50 of his 17 overs and Carter 4-33 off
seven to bowl Wheathampstead out for 198 in 50 overs.

Needing 199 in 50 overs the new opening partnership of Michael Carter
and Chris Bonser got park off to a great start, rotating the strike well
and putting on 113 for the first wicket before Bonser was dismissed
after making an excellent 57. Captain Bret Painter was dismissed soon
after to give Wheathampstead a sniff of hope, but Ian Woods and Carter
erased any doubts by putting on 72 before Woods was dismissed for 35
with Park just needing eight to win. Carter finished off the game in
style with an excellent knock of 82 not out, to give the Park only their
third win of the season.

The Park, County Cup finalists last year, were knocked out in the
quarter finals on Sunday by West Herts.
After losing the toss for a second day running Tony Skeggs' young side
battled hard in the sweltering heat. His young pacemen kept the run rate
under control, but the visitors were building the base for a big score,
and the big hitting Craig Sanders in the middle order launched a brutal
assault with a rapid 71 to lift the total to 286 for 5.
The wicket became more diffcult for batting particularly against the
spinners. Ryan and Tony Skeggs respectably added 57 for the
second wicket, but when they went in quick successive hopes were forlorn.
A resilient last wicket stand of 41 between Richard Leather and Charlie
Randall gave the total some deserved respectability, finishing with 171.

The best pics from the weekend games at the Park are now in the gallery section

Graham Rose, our ever-popular coach from Australia is heading home this week. There was a small presentation to the great man on Sunday night, and he has promised to return next year, when we hope also to see his wife Wendy, who is also a great friend of the club.

A fine innings of 122 from Jeremy Goodacre propelled Knebworth Park Thirds to a hard fought victory over Leverstock Green Seconds.

With the sun shining on a good looking wicket, it was a good toss to win for the Park, and despite losing Turner early on, they made smooth progress to 60-1 after 14 overs, thanks to opener Goodacre and No: 3 Bartlett-Taisker (22). Leverstock were able to break the 51-run stand and began to chip away with regular wickets. But they were unable to dismiss Goodacre, who began to dominate the bowling and quickly passed 50. The innings looked finely poised at 130-6 after 31 overs, but Goodacre found an ally in Jono Evetts, who played the anchor role whilst the opener smashed the bowling to all parts, sailing past 100 in the process. He was finally dismissed for 122 in the 42nd over, having hit 4 sixes and 14 fours. Evetts then took over to marshal the tail, sharing a last wicket stand of 47 with Sandy Reynolds. The Park declared in the 49th over, with Evetts unbeaten on 43. On a hard day for the bowlers, Leverstock’s opener Roberts plugged away to claim 2-44 off 11, whilst Wood took 3-10 off 4.

In reply, Leverstock got off to a dreadful start, losing 4 early wickets to the father/son opening bowling partnership of Graham and Michael Fisher. Reynolds then bowled No: 6 Merrett (18) to leave the batting side reeling at 48-5. An easy victory for the Park looked on the cards, but the experienced Wood (41), well supported by some excellent hitting from Littlejohn (41) put on 75 for the 6th wicket. Crowe was then introduced to the attack and took three quick wickets to leave the Park on the brink of victory. But with batting points at stake, the tail wagged to get the score up to 177, before victory was finally secured. Last man Walker was left unbeaten after a violent 23, featuring five boundaries, whilst the wickets were shared between Michael Fisher (3-42), Graham Fisher (2-37), Crowe (3-40) and Reynolds (2-30)

2nd team v Leverstock Green
Saracens Herts League Division 2
Leverstock Green 225
Knebworth Park 2nds 134
Leverstock Green win by 91 runs

A brave and fighting bowling and fielding performance from Shaun Robinson's young second team was not enough to avoid a heavy defeat by table-topping Leverstock Green on Saturday.

Leverstock Green wn the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on a dry wicket which looked likely to crumble later in the day. Their strong batting line-up played agressively from ball one, and though they lost opener Knlosterman for a duck to James Leather they still had 53 on the board after just 10 overs, and visions of a truly huge score started to loom. Leather and Matt Hutchinson, and then Adam Ezekiel and Robinson himself, stuck to their task throughout the onslaught, and kept taking wickets at vital times. Robinson ended with 5-50 , Leather 2-39 and Ezekiel 2-67, and the Park could be ustifiably proud of the way they pegged back such a free-scoring team.

That was the highlight of the day, however, as the Park's batting found life more and more difficult as the pitch started to crumble.Colin Letford fell leg before and his fellow opener, Graham Valentine was caught for 11. But then Josh Roseberry (23) and Ezekiel (29) started to pull the innings together, and the partnership was just blossoming when Ezekiel was adjudged stummped. Junior D'Abreu fell to a leg before decision, and Richard Leather was unluckily run out to stop the run chase in its tracks. Roseberry fell to a fine caught and bowled, and then Robinson was bowled to leave the Park tottering at 102-8. Alex Richmond showed that batting was possible, with a breezy 44, but it was a vain effort.

Top of the table Knebworth Park visited second placed St Albans on Saturday; St Albans won the toss and batted in perfect conditions, a dry hard wicket in glorious sunshine.
The opening pair of Phil Caley and Ed Hart got off to a reasonable start, with Caley looking to dominate from the start with very positive batting, when Hart (5) was caught by Knebworth captain Tony Skeggs, returning after a knee injury, off the bowling of Paul Slade, with the score on 24, it only brought to the crease Yasir Arafat, who approached the innings in the same positive mood.
With both batters scoring freely at nearly 6 runs an over, the partnership was only broken when Sam McCrow ran in and took a very good catch low to the ground, to dismiss Caley for 41, from only 43 deliveries, bowler Charlie Randall’s only success of the day, St Albans 92 for 2 in the 19th over.
Arafat continued throughout the innings in the same positive manner, reaching his 50 in 54 deliveries and his 100 in a slightly slower, 121. Arafat had support from Kyle Sharp (17) and from his Captain, Martin Jones (34) and from Andy Jones (19 not out) who with Arafat scored 46 off the final 6 overs to give St Albans a commanding 266 for 5, with Arafat finishing 134 not out.
Paul Slade for Knebworth, taking 2 wickets for 62, was also the most economical at 4.1 runs an over, showing what a competitive score this was.
The Knebworth opening pair of Jarrod Turner and Steve Gregory, started in a manner likely to win the match, with 13 runs coming in the first over from Jaffer Chaudhry and 9 from his second over, Arafat with the ball, was getting similar treatment bowling from the other end, 15 runs off his second over, and Knebworth were 37 for 0 in the fourth over, but the introduction of former Stevenage and current Surrey player, Murtaza Hussain, puts the brakes on the innings. Gregory (7), after being tied down by the control of Hussain, was caught by wicket keeper Ethan Foggarty trying to score off Arafat. Hussain also frustrated Turner into taking a step too far and gave Foggarty a stumping, despite a valiant dive to recover his ground. Turner out for 52 in only 54 deliveries and Knebworth 64 for 2 in the 16th over.
After that, the control of Hussain completely thwarted the Knebworth attack, so the middle order batted through to a draw, determined to deprive St Albans of valuable league points. Ryan Skeggs (19), Adam Sergeant (23) and 18 not out for Louis Champion, seeing Knebworth through the innings to 159 for 6. Hussain taking four of the wickets for only 24 runs in a 19 over spell.

There is a lot happening at the Park this weekend, and it would be lovely to see as many people as possible there.

Friday
There is a Chairman's XI against Becker Transport XI, starting at 6pm. Becker have been long-time friends and sponsors of the Park, and this should be a fun evening. There will be a full barbecue as well.

Saturday
Two games at home, the second XI in a crucial league match against high-flying Leverstock Green, and he fourth team against Wheathampstead 2nd XI. There will be the normal Saturday night barbecue as well.

Sunday
A huge day for the club. The first team are playing against West Herts (one of the strongest sides in the county) in the quarter-final of the County Cup on the top ground, starting at 1pm. We reached the final of this competition last year, and would love to do so again.

At the same time, he bottom ground is staging an all-day colts spectacular, with the semi-finals and final of a county competition.

There will be bacon rolls and tea and coffee during the morning, and a full barbecue and bar for the afternoon.

The boys on both grounds would like as much support as possible.

Knebworth Park leapfrogged into top place after their third straight win with victory over Reed in the Saracens Herts League Division One on Saturday.

Their charge was again led by Chris Brook in taking 8 for 53 in 19.3 as the visitors were bowled out for 132 in chasing the Park's total of 195 for 9 which was the result of a recovery from 124 for 6 by the lower order.

When Knebworth Park and Reed last met in May the match was abandoned after only 14 overs and the overnight and morning rain, coupled with the poor forecast, could have deprived us of a very entertaining day's cricket again.
Jarrod Turner kept his 100% record of winning the toss and decided to bat. Reed were soon ecstatic despite playing through the early showers when they trapped Turner leg before, for 10 in the 5th over, bowled by Andy Young, and when Phil Simpson (4) fell in the 6th, Reed felt they had Knebworth on the ropes already.
Steve Gregory and Ryan Skeggs built a minor partnership of 28, still playing through the showers, until Skeggs (14) and Gregory (17) fell either side of a 5 minute interlude for a shower too heavy for play to continue. Skeggs lbw and Gregory caught, both off the bowling of Young, Park 59 for 4 in the 21st over.
The rest of the afternoon saw much more sunshine and very little rain, which could be a metaphor for the rest of the Knebworth day. Adrian Holmes and Adam Sergeant pushed the total past 90 when Holmes (24 at the time) had to retire injured.
Sergeant was joined by Louis Champion, and they carried on past the 100 mark before Sergeant (26) was caught by Reed skipper James Heslam off Peter Tidey's bowling, and when Paul Slade became the sixth wicket with 124 on the board, again Reed felt very much on top.
Sam McCrow joined Champion, who continued to show his great promise with the bat, and they soon blasted a 50 partnership before Champion (38) lofted an easy catch to Andy Young off Will Dobson. Adrian Holmes returned with a runner and McCrow continued his form with the bat, hitting 42 in only 36 deliveries, before being magnificently caught on the boundary in the last over of the innings, by Lee Johnson with Joe Curke bowling. Curke also had Holmes (30) caught on the penultimate ball, and the innings finished with Park scoring a very competitive 195 for 9 in the full 53 overs. Curke with 2 for 14 and Andy Youngs' 3 early wickets for 41 being the pick of the bowling.
When Knebworth took to the field, Danny Hennessey substituted for the injured Holmes, but once again it was Chris Brook with the ball in his hand, to contest for the man of the match award.
The opening partnership for Reed of 29 by Michael Curtis and Captain James Heslam, turned out to be their largest. Brook forced Heslam (7) to fend a delivery which spooned up for Ryan Skeggs to catch, making good ground, running in from gully. Curtis (30) tried to dominate the bowling, hitting 5 fours before Brook had him swinging at a delivery which only managed to find the edge of the bat, to the grateful hands of 'keeper Champion.
Reed continued to try and take control of the match with Curke and Chris Jackson both getting a start, but neither having the answer to dominant Brook, Jackson (12) and Curke (25), were victims 3 and 4 for Brook. At 81 for 4 with Brook taking all 4 for 35, the watching home support must have wondered if Brook could improve on the nine wickets he took, just two weeks earlier. Twenty minutes later a magnificent catch at short leg by Sam McCrow, with Jarrod Turner bowling, dismissed Will Dobson (27), ending any chance of a ten wicket haul and a Reed victory.
Turner and McCrow enacted a replay dismissing Simon Jackson (4) in the same way, Reed now 123 for 7, (Brook trapping Will Clarke for 12 between Turners 2 wickets), and with 13 overs still to bowl, Knebworth very much favourites to win.
Brook's final 22 deliveries did not concede a run, but did claim the final 3 wickets, Peter Tidey being the last to fall, giving Ryan Skeggs his second catch of the day, Reed all out for 132 in 38.3 overs. Turner with 2 for 42 in 13 overs, being outshone by Brook with 8 for 53 in 19.3.
The thirds were held to a draw in a game that they dominated throughout against Northwood 2nds.
On a dry track Knebworth 3rd XI won the toss and chose to bat. A solid opening partnership saw the park make fair progress before two wickets fell in quick succession. This brought Chris Scott to the crease and he played a typically positive innings in a well made 22, but once again one wicket brought two as Tom Eaton was unluckily run out soon after. However Usman Chaudhary marched to the wicket at number six and played a tremendous cameo innings in partnership with Graeme Valentine. The pair batted together for the last 10 overs and put on 84, with Usman scoring 62 not out and Valentine ending a classy innings on 87 not out, and the Park with 210 for 4

The Northwood innings struggled to get going and Tom Eaton combined with Jono Evetts to bring about the first breakthough with a well worked run out. Then two strikes from Jack Thorn had the Park in the driving seat and with Usman bowling well from the other end there was no respite for the Northwood batsmen. Michael Fisher then produced his best spell for the team taking two wickets with good deliveries but the Northwood skipper dropped anchor and the match ended in a draw with Northwood 123 for 7.

The fourths disappointing season continued with defeat at the hands of league leaders Sawbridgeworth III's.
Winning the toss and fielding first Knebworth failed to contain the openers as they got off to a flyer but with some tight bowling from Dempsey and Jones the run rate was dramatically reduced. Again the old addage could be applied 'catches win matches' and with the fourths dropping numerous chances again Sawbridgeworth (213-6) were allowed to accelerate away towards the close of their innings even in spite of an excellent spell from spinner Ross Courtney.

The Park batting failed to fire on all cylinders and perform as a team and so were bowled out for a poor 105 on a wicket that had no real demons in it with Captain Bret Painter top scoring (38 no) running out of partners in the 39th over.

Knebworth U9 B 290-3 v WGC 2 185-10

What a finish to the season!
Winning the toss, Captain Ethan Murrill chose to bowl first. Tight bowling from Lewis Digweed, a wicket from Alex Sporton and two run outs (Jamie Clark and Gus Laws-Mather) meant that WGC began the evening on the back foot. Riley Cloran and Gus (with a maiden over) kept up the pressure, giving away just seven runs and taking a wicket apiece, with the help of a catch from Alex. James made a fight back for WGC with some superb batting, but a run out from Riley and a tremendous catch from Alex, from the bowling of Ethan and Jamie, still restricted the partnership to just seven runs. A wicket for Kieran McGowan and two for Henry Willgoss (with a catch from Kieran) finished a season best fielding performance, restricting WGC to 185-10.
Coming into bat Alex (1 four) and Lewis made a steady start losing just one wicket to Josh. Gus (4 fours) and Riley (6 fours) put on the best batting performance of the evening with a colossal 54 runs without loss. Ethan and James faced the best WGC attack, but sensible batting meant only one wicket fell to the superb James. Kieran (5 fours) and Henry (1 four) lost a wicket to Finlay, but still managed to take the score to a winning total of 290-3.
MOM Alex – A wicket and two catches in an awesome fielding display.
Undefeated in our last four games, beating Hitchin, Stevenage and WGC on the way, this bunch of lads have shown a massive improvement this season and should be extremely proud of themselves.
Ian Murrill.

There are no games at the Park this Su day, so instead our renowned party organiser Ryan Skeggs is laying on a family fun day and party. It runs from 1pm to 11pm, and with a good weather forecast (honestly it is) it should be a great occasion. There will be a bouncy castle, music and endless fun and games.
See you there

It's cricket week – so come along and join in the fun.
Tuesday: KPCC v Graham Rose XI 2pm
Wednesday: KPCC v Roving Reporters 2pm
Thursday: KPCC v Wraysbury 11.30
Friday: Six-a-side day
Saturday: KPCC 1st XI v Reed (Saracens Herts League Div 1)

Fun, games, food and drink every night

Pictures fromthe first team's comprehensive win are in the gallery section

Saracens Herts League Division 1
St Margaretsbury 140-5
Knebworth Park 144-5
Knebworth Park win by 5wkts

Knebworth Park's youth policy paid handsome dividends with a wonderful victory over Saracens Herts League first division leaders St Margaretsbury on Saturday.

Fielding their youngest-ever first team, including four Under-18 players, the Park first restricted a St Magaretsbury bating line-up who have been in formidable form this season, to a meagre 140-5 in a rain affected 50 overs, and then survived a mini collapse in the middle order before securing a vital win with a spectacular six. The win, the team's second in sucession, puts the Park up into second place in what is turning into a very exciting promotion race.

The game started late because of rain, and St Margaretsbury intially found runs hard to get against the opening attack of Chris Brook (13.3 overs 1-25) and Sam McCrow (9.3 overs 0-28). The two of the Park's young brigade stepped up to carry on the good work. Charlie Randall, 16, continued the excellent impression he has made since coming into the side earlier this summer, and he was joined in the attack by 17-year-old James Leather (pictured), who was making his first-team debut. Leather, a right-arm medium-pacer, bowled two beautifully controlled spells to finish with the excellent figures of 3-31 from 11 overs, while Randall was economy personified, 0-12 off six overs as St Margaretsbury struggled to 140-5 i their 50 overs.
Club coach and captain Jarrod Turner and Steve Gregory continued their excellent run of opening partnerships, putting on 45 before Gregory was dismissed. Turner was then joined by 18-year-old Phil Simpson, who made 19 as the pair took the score up to a comfortable 94-1. But Simpson's demise started a slide to 106-5 and set the nerves jangling in the dressing room. However, Louis Champion, the Parks's 16-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman, joined McCrow to steady the innings. McCrow, who had pulled a hamstring in the field, batted with a runner, but decided to deal mainly in boundaries, hitting five fours and that winning six in his unbeaten 27 to secure the precious 30 points. Champion made a calm and composed 12 not out.

County Cup
Chorleywood 76
Knebworth Park 78-4
Knebworth Park win by 6wkts

The Park took their good form into Sunday's County Cup tie against a Chorleywood side who were severely weakened as the rearranged date clashed with their annual tour.

Opening bowlers Paul Slade (3-22) and Charlie Randall (1-15) put the skids under Chorleywood early on, James Leather (3-10) again showed his great potential, and his twin brother Richard joined in the fun with 2-20 as Chorleywood struggled to set any sort of target, needing a late flurry to reach 78 all out off 28 overs.

Jarrod Turner's breezy 44 ensured the Park eased home with the minimum of fuss, passing the target for the loss of four wickets in the 15th over.

Saracens Herts League Division 2
Knebworth Park 2nd XI 183-7
Luton Town and Indians 1st XI 184-7
Knebworth Park lose by 3wkts
 
Knebworth Park's youth theme continued with a superb fighting effort against high-flying Luton Town and Indians.
The Park won the toss on a extremely wet wicket, with more rain expected during the day. Captain Shaun Robinson elected to bat first, needing to claim as many bonus points as possible from the game to bolster a shaky league position.
Knebworth got off to wobbly start with 2 wickets falling within the first 3 overs. Then opener Josh Roseberry (31) and Adam Ezekiel (43) came to the crease and the runs started to flow, the total reaching 75-2 after 15 overs before Ezekiel fell. Junior D’abreu (40) then compiled an innings which combined sensible batting and explosive hitting. With rain stopping play several times, Knebworth were restricted to 46 overs, finishing off with 183-7, with Robinson (25) guiding the side in the final overs.
The day eventually cleared up and by half way through Luton Town Indians innings the sun was shining. Young seam bowlers Matt Hutchinson (15) and Richard Leather (17) kept it tight at the beginning resulting in a run out, and then 2 wickets for Ezekiel left Luton in trouble at 76-4. A partnership of 97 threatened to take the game away from Knebworth, but Hutchinson and Leather returned to bowl tight and taking a further wicket each to keep Knebworth in the game.
The Park's young side refused to buckle in the field, keeping energy levels and work-rate high, and a thrilling match came down to the last over, with Luton requiring 6 for victoryand getting them off the second last ball.
Knebworth's excellent display of teamwork in the field prompted the injured 1st team captain Tony Skeggs, who was watching, to say: “It was the best fielding performance he has seen by a 2nd XI side in a long, long time.”

Saracens Herts League, division 5
Knebworth Park 3rds 116
Luton Town and Indians 102
Knebworth Park win by 14 runs

Knebworth Park Thirds returning to winning ways by snatching a dramatic 14-run victory away at Luton Town & Indians Seconds.
After all the heavy rain it was no surprise that the home side elected to field first, forcing the Park to bat on a very wet wicket. Opening bowler
Rose (2-33) took two early wickets, but further inroads from Luton were prevented by a gritty stand of 51 from Graham Valentine (34) and Chris Scott (30).
With the innings recovering at 73-2 off 29 overs, Scott holed out in the deep and Valentine was caught behind shortly afterward off Ahmed. Their
dismissals sparked a collapse which saw 6 wickets fall for just 35 runs. The architect of the collapse was Luton's Katecha, who took 4-12 in 7.1 overs.
Rain delayed the start of the Luton innings, and their overs were reduced to 37 as a result. The Indians got off to a dreadful start when opener Patel and No: 3 Katecha were removed by Crowe, leaving them 17-2. But No: 2 Ahmed was determined to carry the fight to the bowlers and, with support from No:4 Dalvi, Luton appeared well set at 51-2 with 19 overs remained. Veteran seamer Sandy Reynolds galvanised the fielding side, and took four wickets, including Ahmed (22), to leave the match finely poised at 83-6.
The tail now needed to dig in and support Dalvi, who was playing a key innings. But sadly for Luton,the tail were dismissed in a rash of wild strokes, which saw returning
seamer Crowe pick up a further three wickets, and Reynolds his fifth. Dalvi was left high and dry on 48 not out, as Luton were bowled out for a disappointing 102. Left-armers Crowe (5-22) and Reynolds (5-33) shared the wickets between them.

Chris Brook, Knebworth Park's evergreen opening bowler, notched up career-best figures and his first-ever hat-trick, to demolish high-riding Totteridge Millhillians in their Saracens Herts League Division One match at Totteridge on Saturday.

Brook, who has now been opening the Park bowling for almost 30 years ever since beginning as a colt, hit his pinnacle with remarkable figures of 9 for 28 in 8.2 overs, to bowl out the home side for 67 in only 17 overs. This was in reply to the Park's 229 for 8, in a match watched by Nigel Wray, owner of Saracens and a Millihillians member.

The win lifts the Park back up the table to third.

Captain and club coach Jarrod Turner won the toss again and decided to bat, hoping to continue with what is becoming a very solid opening partnership with Steve Gregory. The previous two matches saw stands of 63 and 80, and despite the best efforts of the home team trying to take advantage of the very prominent slope, neither batter looked to be troubled.

Each scored at a consistent rate, setting a new season high by the 17th over, and going onto 116 before Gregory (41) mistimed a shot to be caught on the midwicket boundary.
Turner went onto 90 before being trapped leg before with the score on 165 for 3, and with 20 overs still to go a substantial target looked certain.
A mixture of improved bowling and eagerness to keep up the run rate saw a collapse of the middle order. Ryan Skeggs (23) tried to hold things together, but when he, Adam Sergeant and Tom Hemingway all fell in consecutive overs, 205 for 7 looked way short of a necessary target. Paul Slade (18 not out), chipped in with useful runs towards the end and with the score on 229 for 8 Turner declared the innings two overs short feeling he may need the extra deliveries to claim the maximum 30 points.
The first delivery of the Totteridge reply saw Brook hit for a straight four, and a five-minute hunt to recover the ball. The fourth delivery of the innings met with the same fate, but then the rest of the match became the Brook show.
Delivery number five brought the first, 8 for 1. Paul Slade, running up the hill at the other end, watched as his partner started to take wickets in each over, when Brook's fourth over proved wicketless he made up for it in his fifth, with two wickets to leave Totteridge were 31 for 5, with Brook having taken 5-18 in five overs.
In his seventh over Brook took his first-ever hat-trick. Phil Simpson made excellent ground to catch Doug Pyrke (10) taking the ball very low in front of him, Pablo Martin and Rizwan Siddiqui offered no resistance to Brook's control, and 55 for 8, with all eight to Brook, had the Knebworth team hoping for a cricketing milestone, all 10 wickets in an innings.
Immediately after the hat-trick over, Slade was given a rest from running up the hill, and Cambridge Blue Tom Hemingway was introduced into the attack, Hemingway’s second delivery put a damper on the party when he had Andy Blincoe (8) caught by Ryan Skeggs, but that was the only wicket Brook let get away, as last man Paul Mason lasted three deliveries before being clean bowled to wrap up the innings, with Totteridge Millhillians all out for 67 in less than 17 overs. Hemingway’s 1 for 7 complemented a memorable performance.
Knebworth Park Second Team frustrated Hatfield as they held on for a draw nine wickets down.
Hatfield batted first and after a cautious start took advantage of the lighting outfield at the Park as they pilled on 253 for 6 in 52 overs. Captain Shaun Robinson and Maz Iqbal were the only bowlers to take wickets with 3 each, but Matt Hutchinson bounced back from last week's slaughtering to bowl double the overs for only half the runs.
A regular fall of wickets hampered Knebworth in their chase as ever consistent opener Colin Letford was the only member of the top order to take advantage of a good batting track scoring 40. A controlled and classy innings from Ed Wright of 38 and a patient 33 not out from Harry McCue helped Knebworth who needed to bat out 6 overs 9 wickets down to hold on for a draw.
Knebworth Park Thirds suffered another nail-biting defeat at the hands of Berkhamsted seconds. Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Park struggled to get going against some fine tight bowling from the visitors.

Four batsmen: Pickering (28), Eaton (24), Valentine (23) and Chaudhary (22) all made starts but were all dismissed just when the batting side were looking to kick on. Berkhamsted’s attack was led superbly by James, who bowled 26 overs unchanged to finish with 7-54.

In reply, Berkhamsted got off to a flyer, some wild bowling coupled with fine hitting from Tougher (28) and Crispian (18) leaving the batting side 50 without loss after just 6 overs. The Park fought back however, and two wickets apiece for Chaudhary, Crowe and Valentine left Berkhamsted in trouble at 91-6 with 24 overs bowled. Berkhamsted’s lower order battled to recover the situation, but the Park struck twice more, leaving the match finely poised at 133 for 8.

Berkhamsted’s tail responded, batting aggressively, with opening bowler James bludgeoning 26 before being caught off Fisher by Holmes with the score on 156. The final pair survived a very close run-out appeal before four leg byes saw them home, No: 10 Simms finishing on 14 not out. The pick of the Park’s bowlers were Valentine (3-31) and Crowe, who took 2-15 in 8 overs.

The fourths never capitalised on a strong start in their Division Eight match against Waltham Cross Rosedale 2nds.

Jono Evetts 31, new player Colin Brown 20 and Ian Woods 30 laid the foundation for what should have been a testing total, but thereafter only skipper Bret Painter 47 got to grips with the home team's bowling and they finished on 164 all out.

Waltham coasted home by seven wickets with only Graham Rose 2 for 33 making any incisive inroads, although opener Jack Thorn 1 for 27 in ten overs and legger Ed Emsley 0 for 40 in 14 overs did their best to apply pressure, as they skated home to 166 for 3.

Christian Gugolz smashed a rip-roaring 45 in only eight overs to take the fifths towards back-to-back victories in beating Hertingfordbury 2nds.

Hitting nine fours with thundering, beautifully played shots, Christian and opener Russell Tomkins 26 catapulted the score to 76 in a stand of 67 in double quick time before both fell quick as they stuttered to 83 for 4.

Skipper John Inman 61 not out and Richard Evans 18 not out calmly steered them home in a superb, disciplined stand of 91 to win with 174 for 4.

They were chasing the visitors 173 for 8. Dave Murphy 1 for 31 gave the Park a steady start but for the most part their bowling and fielding was below-par until legger Connor Alderman 2 for 28 and Richard Evans 3 for 30 triggered a collapse from 105 for 2 to 138 for 8 before a lively ninth-wicket stand lifted the total.

Knebworth Park's first eleven had to settle for a draw with the last pair at the wicket after making a bold run chase away to Berkhamsted in their Saracens Herts League Division One fixture.

With captain Tony Skeggs absent through injury, it was up to coach Jarrod Turner to direct events. After winning the toss and asking Berkhamsted to bat, Chris Brook for Knebworth was soon among the wickets. In his second over, he produced the chance for wicket keeper and first team debutant Louis Champion, to settle any nerves and Champion took a straight forward catch, sending Nick Seagrave back for a duck.

Brook's 12 over spell, had Berkhamsted 54 for 3 by the 20th over, including what is becoming a regular occurrence watching Knebworth, an outstanding catch; it was Brook again this week, snapping up David Sherjan (10) off his own bowling.

Gareth Parker-Jones and Mark Herring for Berkhamsted had different, but equally effective approaches to steady and build an innings for the home team. Left handed Herring blasting his way to 50 off only 39 deliveries, including 2 sixes and 8 fours, before attempting another big hit and being caught close to the boundary by Phil Simpson off the bowling of Charlie Randall.

Parker-Jones in contrast batted steadily for his 50, taking 77 deliveries, but still falling to Randall for 64.

With the score on 157 for 5, Doug Foster for Berkhamsted guided the final 15 overs. Although all the lower order chipped in, it was the 37 not out by Foster, which pushed the score way past the 200 mark. The innings finished on a very competitive 235 for 8. Brook, 3 for 37 was the pick of the bowling, with great support from Randall, 2 for 33.

The opening partnership of stand-in skipper Turner, and Steve Gregory set another season best with a stand of 80. Turner with positive batting, passing his 50 from only 36 deliveries, but it was Gregory (25) who was the first to fall, bowled by Doug Foster.

Foster continued his good day, when he had Turner (66) caught on the boundary, and then Ryan Skeggs trapped LBW with consecutive balls, Knebworth Park 95 for 3. The Knebworth middle order tried to push along for the victory, but none of them really getting going, Phil Simpson (20) and Sam McCrow (19), working around Adrian Holmes, anchoring the innings with his first 50 of the season.

When Holmes (50) and then Randall fell to consecutive balls from Darren Gerrard, in the 45th over, it gave Berkhamsted a sight of the 30 points. Then when Chris Brook found himself on the receiving end of a spectacular catch by Dave Smith off Darren James bowling, Park 203 for 9, Berkhamsted all gathered around the bat for the final over and hopefully, victory.

However, Louis Champion showing he is a great find not only with the gloves, but with the bat as well, never looked in trouble, to see Knebworth through to a draw. Knebworth 203 for 9. Gerrard 4 for 71 and Foster with 3 for 45 did the bulk of the damage for Berkhamsted.

Knebworth Park 2nd XI lost by only two wickets in a thrilling last over finish where either side could have won against Welwyn Garden City who secured a victory off the final ball of the match with a four hit to wide long-on.

The top five of the Park’s batsmen made starts including Josh Roseberry (24 ) and Junior D’Abreu (20 ) but none were able to capitalise, meaning that a regular fall of wickets ensured slow progress.

Alex Richmond (43 ) offered the first signs of a really competitive total being made before he was bowled and when Harry McCue followed soon after the Park were struggling at 138 for 7 with 13 overs remaining.

Enter under-16 Matt Hutchinson, recently promoted from the 3rd team who combined sensible batting with powerful hitting to reach 50 not out in the last over and with support from the more experienced and mature head of Ed Wright (26 not out) a total of 215-7 was posted.

An explosive start from Welwyn Garden City saw them hit 67 off the first 8 overs, but progress soon slowed as Shaun Robinson (4-57), Sandy Reynolds (2-48) and Graham Fisher (1-52) pegged the away team back until they needed 7 off the last over, leaving Knebworth with 18 points from the loss.

Knebworth Park Thirds were beaten in a gripping final-over contest by table topping Baldock. Having been put into bat, the Park made 170-9 in their 53 overs, thanks to a powerful 50 from Steve Holmes, with good support from Mark Turner (22) and debutant Graham Valentine (25). Progress on a slow wicket was always difficult thanks to consistently tight bowling from the likes Ayre (3-66) and Dean (4-66)

In reply, Baldock lost an early wicket to the bowling of Fisher, and should have been further reduced, but poor catching saw four early chances go down off the bowling of Crowe and Fisher. Baldock's Peacock brothers then put on 47 for the 2nd wicket, before the introduction of Usman Chaudhary and three quick wickets left Baldock strugglng at 73-4.

Some aggressive hitting from Ayre (36) and Rayat (20), with a stubborn 23 from No: 7 French, rescued Baldock and left them 154-6 with six overs remaining. But the Park rallied, and wickets from Fisher and Crowe set up a thrilling final-over showdown with Baldock still one run short- and the Park needing two wickets.

The returning Chaudhary removed No: 10 Newman, but Baldock edged home on the penultimate ball thanks to a boundary from last man Dean. Chaudhary finished with a magnificent 6-54 off 13.5 overs, and he was well supported by Fisher who finished with 2-39 off 10.

The 4ths picked up their second win of the season against Elstree.

After being put in to bat the Park got off to a bad start with the top order blown away by poor shot selection, leaving them struggling at 76 for 6. A lower order recovery was started off by wicket keeper Steve Large (20) followed up by Jack Thorn (69) and ably supported by Graham Rose (12) before Thorn was out to give Park a total of 178 off of 42 overs.

Elstree got off to a good start with their run chase with 47 being put on before Stuart Dempsey got the first of his eight wickets. After the first wicket though the Elstree innings collapsed with Dempsey finishing with figures of 8 for 14 off 9.2 overs to dismiss Elstree innings for just 79 - all ten wickets falling for only 32 runs.

Dave Murphy took amazing figures of 9 for in 15 overs to win a close-fought match in Division 11 against near neighbours Codicote on Saturday.

After openers Luke Richards 40 and Jon Gillard 16 had a runaway start off 54, Murphy's accurate medium pace bowling stemmed the flow and wickets soon began to fall. Backed up by excellent catching wickets kept falling and an unlikely victory seemed likely. At one stage Codicote were 77 for 2 and had victory within their sights, but after the openers only youngster McQueen 18 managed double figures.

With Murphy having taken all nine wickets to fall it was under-15 Tom Elliott who snatched the last wicket, with a diving catch by 'keeper Richard Jones.

The pattern of Codicote's innings followed that Knebworth's. A good opening stand from Russell Tomkin who hit some superb attacking shots in his 40 and a resilient 28 from Chris Johnson added 68 for the first wicket, but thereaftter only Joe Elliott 16 and Tristan Tomkin 18 were the only others to reach double figures as all ten wickets fell for 65 runs as they were bowled out for 133.

Codicote bowled accurately throughout with Carl Richards wheeling away unchanged posing problems for the batsmen and Josh Lucy was also accurate with his nagging away swing.

CRICKET WEEK
Sunday 13 July-Friday 18 July


The annual cricket week is just around the corner, and this year it looks like being bigger and better than ever.
It is a great opportunity for the whole club to come together and celebrate what we are best at - lots of people playing cricket and having fun!

There are fixtures for all ages and abilities, and we would like as many people as possible to come and get involved.

The matches are detailed below. Please contact the various match managers AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to let them know when you want to play.

There will also be lots of off-field events throughout the week.

Please support the week in any way you can. It really is the more, the merrier!

Sunday 13 July
Club sixes
Open to any and all players of all age and ability.
Match manager: Michael Fisher (mjmouse89@hotmail.com, 07793 282916)

Monday 14 July
Inter-village 15/15 tournament
This day should be particularly suitable for fourth and fifth team players, but is open to all.
Match manager: Alan Hubbard (alanhubbard@dsigroup.com, 07970 089620)

Tuesday 15 July
Knebworth Park v Graham Rose XI
A highlight day against Rosey's all stars, who will no doubt have a strong Aussie accent! Mainly, but not exclusively, 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI players.
Match manager: Harry McCue
(harrymccue@yahoo.com)

Wednesday 16 July
Knebworth Park v Roving Reporters.
RRs have been great friends of the Park over the years and this will be a great evening in the bar as well as fun on the field, so we will be looking to field a side who perform as well off the field as on it!
Match manager: Mark Klimek
(mk.hcs@ukonline.co.uk, 07887 943614)

Thursday 17 July
Knebworth Park v Wraysbury
Another side who have been regular, and highly sociable, visitors to our cricket week. We will be fielding a senior team from right across the club spectrum.
Match manager: Shaun Robinson
(Shaun_Robbo2001@hotmail.com, 07834 716327)

Friday 18 July
Corporate Sixes day
A great day out for any organisation or group of players.
Match managers:
Steve Jenkins
(sjenkins@ratman.co.uk, 07860 840058)
Chris Johnson
(chris.johnson@sepura.com, 07867 580492

Shaun Robinson's second team snatched victory in dramatic fashion after all had seemed lost in their Division Two game against Northchurch on Saturday.

After winning the toss, Knebworth chose to bat and started poorly by losing an early wicket. Colin Letford soldiered on along with Junior D’Abreu but couldn’t push on after getting good starts of 23 and 24 respectively. The rest of the Knebworth scores were filled with scores between 0 and 15 as nobody could get settled against the good bowling and were eventually bowled out for 116 from 48 overs.

Northchurch started off well and lady luck seemed to be in their corner as edges flew through gaps off openers Michael Fisher and Shaun Robinson. Robinson started to find his true rhythm and picked up the first four wickets of the innings where Northchurch fell from a comfortable 64 for 2 to be four down at the same score.

It seemed as though Northchurch had found their way back on track though as they scored quickly, until the arrival of Maz Iqbal, with Northchurch 4 down with only 31 runs needed for victory.

Pressure bowling from Robinson and Iqbal squeezed the life out of Northchurch’s middle order and they kindly enough threw their wickets away. Thanks to best league figures of 7-29 from Robinson and tight figures of 3-17 from Iqbal, Knebworth managed to get the remaining six wickets for 19 runs in 12 overs as they claimed an amazing two run victory to gain 30 valuable points.

The thirds kept up their run of good form with another victory, but they contrived to turn what should have been a comfortable win into a dramatic finish where it was left to their No 11 bat to win the game against high-riding visitors, Old Owens. Their win takes them into the top half of the table in Division 5 for the first time this season.

With the covers on overnight a good looking pitch prompted Old Owens to bat having won the toss. The Park made early breakthroughs with a wicket each for Usman Chaudhary and Matt Hutchinson although runs were coming at a reasonable rate.

As a result skipper Steve Holmes changed to the slower bowlers and both Sandy Reynolds and Tom Eaton picked up two wickets each. One of Tom's wickets came with the help of a spectacular one handed leg side catch from the returning club chairman and wicketkeeper Mark Klimek, who also held on to two more good catches. At this point Old Owens counter attacked and the score board moved towards a challenging total. However, Holmes (3 for 11) finally brought himself on and picked up three wickets in 4 overs and Matt Hutchinson came back to clean bowl the number 11 and end the Old Owens innings on 188 from 44.1 overs.

Mark Turner continued his recent good form in partnership with Hayden Bartlett-Tasker and the Park had a solid start. Mark moved to his second 50 of the season, scoring 53 and Hayden made 23 as the Old Owens score began to look below par. Chris Scott made a brisk 31 and the Park were well placed at 150 for 3 with plenty of overs in hand. However there was plenty of drama to come!

Tom Eaton 28 fell and then Steve Holmes, and when Ed Wright was out for a duck the nerves began to set in with 27 runs still needed. Mark Klimek joined Matt Hutchinson and they steadily chipped away at the target and the match looked to swing back in the home side’s favour. But with the scores level the Park wobbled again, losing Klimek (19), Courtney and then Hutchinson. So, with nine wickets down, last man Usman strode out to score the one run required for victory, calmly hitting his first ball for four to secure the 30 points.

Another fine bowling display by left-arm pace bowler Robert Crowe with 6 for 56 in 18.5 overs was not enough to clinch victory away to Enfield 2nds who won with a ball to spare by two wickets.

The Park batted well in the main. Jeremy Goodacre was untypically restrained in his 26 and with Ian Woods they added 48 for the firdst wicket before collapsing to 66 for 4. They came back with strong performances from Chris Bonser 39, skipper Bret Painter 53 and Phil Stevens 24 to take the total up to 194 for 8, declaring an over early.

In spite of tight bowling by Crowe asnd fellow opening bowler Stuart Dempsey they struggled to break the back of the home batting and they nudged home for victory.

Leg spinner Connor Alderman hauled the fifths back in to their match against Hertford 4ths in taking 4 for 61 in 17 overs, but in the end they lost out to stronger opponents.

Matt Woods also bowled well in taking 2 for 41 in 17 overs as Hertford declared an over early on 175 for 7.

Chris Johnson 26 sought to hold the Park batting together against a useful Hertford bowling. Briefly there was hope while Tristran Tompkins alunched a whirlwind assault on the bowling hitting a rapid 36 as they were bowled out for 121.

Sachin Tendulkar, the great Indian batsman, is visiting friends at Hitchin Cricket Club this weekend, and is doing a special Audience With Sachin at Hitchin Town Hall next Sunday afternoon (29 June). Tickets for what is a really rare opportunity are £20.
Contact David Moore, of Hitchin Cricket Club on 07733 116564

Knebworth A 295-3 20pts v Knebworth B 215-8 1pt

Knebworth A won the toss and decided to bowl first. A good decision, as Alex Salter took a wicket with the first ball of the innings! A run out in the second and third overs had Knebworth B on the back foot and struggling at 189-3 at the end of Lewis and Jack's (1 four) partnership.
Thomas Livesey's straight bat and Riley’s 3 fours steadied the ship before Henry (3 fours) and Thomas Rendell (1 four) took the score to 225-4, with Henry glancing an edge from Ollie's bowling to Alex Portas behind the stumps, on the last ball of the partnership. Despite hitting a six each, Kieran and Gus fell victim to two run outs and two wickets from Praveen to finish the B team's innings on 215-8.
Needing to keep things tight, Lewis started with a tidy over for the B Team, before Cairan (3 fours) and Alex Salter (1 four) started to attack, hitting 31 without loss. A wicket maiden from Riley (with awesome bowling figures of 2-1-1-1) pegged the A team back to 215-1, despite 3 fours from Archie, before Max (1 four) and Ollie (3 fours) regained the momentum with a partnership of 28, despite a caught and bowled from the impressive Henry. A super catch from B team MOM Riley, from the much improved bowling of Kieran, could not prevent Praveen (1 four) and Alex (2 fours) scoring 26 and taking Knebworth A to a winning score of 295-3.

Knebworth U13 126 -3 10 pts -V- Old Owen 128 - 9 20 pts


Knebworth lost the toss and were put in to bat. Keeping up a run rate of better then six an over Knebworth got stuck into the opposition bowling. James Albery struck a lightning 30 before retiring and his partner Alex Axon rgeistered 29 before being well caught. Harry Jerome (29) supported by Tom Colverd (15) kept the rate up allowing the home side to set a daunting score. All bowlers were equally dispatched by the highly competent batters.
Old Owens innings got off to the worst of starts with a wicket falling to only the third ball. However Marsh kept his head batting well to score 30 before retiring. At the other end, wickets fell regulatly to some accurate bowling from Lewis Hutchinson and Max Taylor, 3 wickets each. Batting support came from Millard (19) and Mayer (11). With Old Owen running out of wickets needing 28 from 3 overs things were getting very tense. Bowling and fielding errors crept in allowing Old Owen to home in on their target. The last wicket fell and Marsh (35 no)returned to hit the winning runs with three balls to spare.
Both managers agreed this had been an excellent game with all players showing skill, determination and a competitivness to rival much older players. In the end the result was irrelevant in the context of the game that was played. A great way to end the league season.

The first team maintained their push towards the top of the Saracens Herts League First Division after Saturday's draw with Hitchin, but were left frustrated after coming desperately close to victory.
The game got off to a late start due to the morning's constant drizzle, the 30 minute delay took eight overs out of the game. Park captain Tony Skeggs won the toss and had no hesitation in deciding to bat, with a new-look batting order. Club coach Jarrod Turner and Steve Gregory soon posted a season's high opening partnership of 63, with Turner dominating the strike, facing 64 of the first 90 deliveries, before falling LBW to former Letchworth player Ian Bowyer, for 51.
Gregory was joined by skipper Skeggs, adding another 40 before they both fell with the score on 103, Skeggs (15), again to Bowyer and the very next over Gregory (26), edging to wicket keeper Ollie Hammond off the bowling of Atul Ranade.
The rest of the Park batters all got a start, but the bowling of Hitchin'sformer Wiltshire and Hertfordshire seamer David Moore dominated the remainder of the innings. He did not take a wicket in his first spell of 10 overs, in which he conceded 40 runs, however his second spell started with a successful LBW appeal against Adrian Holmes (22), followed by two further LBWs, and two deliveries which the batters failed to get anything in front of, with Sam McCrow (18) and Harry McCue (7) both being clean bowled. Park were all out for 221 in the last of the allotted 49 overs. Moore finished with figures of 5 for 73 in 16.4 overs.
The Park's new look did not extend to the bowling attack however; Chris Brook and Paul Slade continued shared the new ball, as they have done for every league fixture this season. Brook made the first breakthrough, forcing Atul Ranade (13) to edge to Gregory at slip with the score on 31. Brook was also involved in the next wicket to fall, this time adding to the list of spectacular catches taken by the Park this season, when he grasped a well hit drive by Simon Mayes (17) off Charlie Randall’s bowling.
Craig Millwood, the captain, tried to guide Hitchin's innings towards a win, but when he fell for 50 with the score on 106 for 4, it prompted Hitchin to dig in for the draw. The bowling of Turner and Skeggs gave Knebworth a smell of victory, each taking 3 wickets, but 18 year old Aaron Mullings stood fast for over 40 minutes, for 4 runs, and along with Gavin Bidgood, 11 runs in nearly 30 minutes, held on for the draw, Hitchin finished on 135 for 8 in 43 overs, Skeggs with an impressive 3 for 7 in 7 overs and Turner, 3 for 31 in 15, being the prominent wicket takers.

A promising batting display by the Park seconds was completely overshadowed by a dazzling, unbroken partnership of nearly 200 by their opponents Old Finchleians.

Winning the toss and batting first on an excellent, firm track, Park set about building an innings in sensible style. Colin Letford (24) and Phil Simpson (51) set the foundations at a steady if unspectacular pace, though Letford eventually fell to a diving catch behind the stumps.

Adam Ezekiel fell somewhat unfortunately next ball, but Simpson and skipper Shaun Robinson stayed calm and they built a valuable partnership of 74.

At 98 for 3 after 30 overs Park were going well, however only a further 25 runs were added in the next 10 overs. This poor spell culminated with the loss of Simpson as he went for an injudicious slog with the score on 122. However with Robinson (60) keeping the strike rotating; Alex Richmond (20) and then Louis Champion (17) helped accelerate the scoring.

Robinson and Champion fell within a few balls of each other and Park were 185 for 7. Some swipes from Maz Iqbal (10) helped see Park to a finish on 200 for 9 off 53 overs.

The target proved far too little however, as the Park was given a lesson in putting bad balls away, of which the Park bowlers supplied the opposition batsmen with far too many.

Michael Fisher grabbed an early wicket thanks to a fine diving catch by Robinson, but his opening partner Jack Thorn pulled up with a side strain after bowling only three overs. The Old Finchleians pairing of Wynne-Jones and Derala then set about the bowling attack with relish. They showed just how good the track was with some sumptuous shots on the rise, putting pressure on the bowlers, who were unable to keep the ball in good areas for long enough.

Skipper Robinson uncharacteristically tried seven different bowlers in search of a break though, but found the opposition content to wait for bad balls and then put them away with great assurance. No matter who was bowling, it seemed the bad balls were coming regularly enough.

Derala made a highly deserved maiden century to finish on 105 not out, and Wynne-Jones finished on 87 not out, as Old Finchleians beat Knebworth Park by 9 wickets with 9 overs to spare.

The thirds continued their impressive recent form with a convincing win over weak opposition awsay to Northchurch 2nds.

After winning the toss, skipper Steve Holmes elected to bat first on what looked a slightly greener than usual Northchurch wicket. A promising start soon came to a halt as three wickets went in quick succession leaving the Park reeling on 25 for 3, with two of the top four out attempting to pull the short ball. That brought Steve Holmes to the wicket to join Ian Pickering and the rebuilding began against some good bowling. The pair slowly but steadily moved the score forward until the partnership of 87 was finally broken when Holmes was out. Ian Pickering went on to make a very good 58 and, with a little cameo of 33 from the returning Chris Scott, the Park ended up with a competitive score of 196 all out.

In reply the Park made the early breakthroughs they wanted. Matt Hutchinson clean bowled one opener and then Robert Crowe combined with 'keeper Andy Holmes, taking a cracking one handed catch to remove the other, and Northchurch were 0 for 2. Crowe went on to pick up one further wicket in a promising opening spell. It was Tom Eaton though who turned out to be the destroyer in chief picking up his first 5 wicket hall by bowling full and straight and with enough movement to trouble all the batsmen, taking 5 for 19. The fielding was of a good standard all afternoon, Chris Scott taking a sharp catch at slip off Sandy Reynolds, and Tom Eaton gave Sandy his second when holding on at deep mid wicket to wrap up the Northchurch innings for 99.

Hayden Bartlett-Tasker's impressive 67 without any support was the highlight of the fourths disappointing defeat against Totteridge Milhillians.
After being 30 for 3, skipper Bret Painter (14) and Hayden Bartlett-Tasker (67) led a recovery to 93-3 laid the foundations for what should have been a competitive score, only for the last seven wickets to fall for a further 34 runs as they were bowled out for 127.

Even so on the difficult batting surface, any result was still possible, but in spite of though an excellent spell from Painter (2-12) and two wickets for Ed Emsley weren't enough to prevent a win for the visitors with 128 for 5.

The fifths also faced London opposition and were convincingly beaten after a determined batting display.

Andrew Martin 35, under-15 Joe Elliott 21, Chris Bonser 28 and John Inman 45 took the score on to 182 all out, but they were then hammered with ease to all corners by an Old Camdenians side who all had played first-class cricket in Pakistan .

On Saturday Knebworth Park travelled to Hoddesdon for their Saracens League, division one fixture hoping to bounce back from the defeat the previous week against Letchworth.
But after losing the toss again and being asked to bat, Knebworth were soon in trouble and facing the prospect of a heavy defeat. By the 5th over Park had lost 3 wickets all caught behind, with only 9 runs on the board. Captain Tony Skeggs joined Jarrod Turner and between them, they steadied the innings and provided a solid base. Their partnership of 56 was broken when Skeggs (20) was caught trying to smash the ball over.
The next partnership between Turner and Adam Sergeant also produced 56 runs, before Turner finally fell for 69, (Knebworth 121 for 5) edging yet another, to give the keeper his fourth catch.
Contributions from all the lower order, Sergeant (23), Sam McCrow (19), Charlie Randall (14 not out) and a quickfire 41 from Paul Slade, including three sixes which prompted the Hoddesdon scorer to show great concern for her car, helped the Park to post to a very competitive 208 for 8 from all 53 overs.
Hoddesdon's reply started in the same fashion as the Park innings, Paul Slade dismissing both opening batters with only 10 runs on the board. But again the innings mirrored each other with Rory Coutts and captain Martin Brown laying a base with a 40 partnership, before Brown was caught acrobatically by McCrow off Turner for 28. Coutts and Jamie Curtis added another 68 before the bowling of Tony Skeggs sent Coutts (46) back to the pavilion, LBW. When Skeggs also dismissed Craig Handy in the same over, caught by Park keeper Harry McCue, Hoddesdon were 120 for 5 and wobbling a bit. Curtis went on to make 51 and there was another quickfire innings for the day from Matt Byrne, 44 not out in 45 deliveries. At the start of the final over had Hoddesdon on 200 with 2 wickets in hand, needing 8 runs for the victory. Under 16 Charlie Randall restricted the pair of Byrne and Wes Hunt to just 2 singles, and the match was match drawn with Hoddesdon on 202 for 8. Paul Slade with 3 for 51 and Skeggs with 2 for 33 were the pick of the Knebworth attack.

Friday 18 July

An opportunity to entertain in perfect cricket surroundings
Enjoy the exquisite grounds and facilities of Knebworth Park Cricket Club for a whole day of cricket action and hospitality. This is a
glorious opportunity to take part in cricket that will be fun, with a touch of competitiveness. It is the perfect way to entertain clients or members of staff in a relaxed environment, which is the epitome of country England.
Starting at 10.30am, teams will take part in two leagues of four or five, leading up to a grand final. Each side will play at least three matches.
After morning coffee, there will be a high quality barbecue lunch and
afternoon tea. There is also a fully licensed bar in our well-appointed and comfortable pavilion.
There will be awards for the winning teams and the best
achievements. Every competitor will receive a souvenir picture of themselves and their team. Companies or competing teams are
welcome to invite additional guests to enjoy the cricket, the
hospitality and the picturesque surroundings.
Cost per team of up to eight players is £350, with a charge of £30 per head for additional guests.
You can also choose to have your own dedicated marquee.
To take part in this gold riband day, phone
Steve Jenkins on 07860 840058
or Chris Johnson on 07867 580492.

The Park's first team suffered a blip on the upward curve of their season with a disappointing defeat by high-flying Letchworth on Saturday.

After winning their last two games, the team were in confident mood and expected to post a competitive total when Letchworth put them into bat, even though the conditions looked as if they would help the bowlers.

But Knebworth hit early trouble when under 19 player Richard Barclay bowled Ryan Skeggs for 3 in the 3rd over. The rest of the Knebworth top order all tried to build an innings, each managing to spend time in the middle, all getting into the twenties, but the slow pitch, damp conditions and steady accurate bowling of the Letchworth attack, meant that Adrian Holmes' 29 was the top score.

When Dominic Marsh, an Australian from Lismore, home of our own former coach Roger Boyd and Graham Rose came into the attack, Knebworth were 96 for 3, and looking to up the scoring rate. But Marsh's off-spin tempted the batters to hit in the air, and he took 4 for 34 in 10 overs, all caught.

With Park at 143 for 8, it only left veteran seamer Andy Newland to finish his marathon 20 over spell and dismiss the final pair giving us a final score of 156.

Paul Slade and Chris Brook tried to contain the Letchworth reply, and when Slade took two wickets in two balls, which were quickly followed by a run out, Letchworth were 37-3 and the game was in the balance. But Letchworth's highly-rated South African batsman, Sebastian Franke-Matthecka,showed real class in controlling the rest of the innings with hardly a scare. Knebworth did mange to take two further wickets, but Franke-Matthecka, with 75 not out, saw Letchworth through to a well deserved victory at 160 for 5. Slade, with 2 for 31 in 9 overs, was the pick of the Knebworth bowlers.

Chris Brook took a familiar five-wicket haul to set Knebworth Park on their way to their second successive win by eight wickets.

At a ground that in the past has not been a happy hunting ground for Knebworth, they looked set to dominate from the moment that Tony Skeggs won the toss and asked Dunstable to bat.

Even though Paul Slade’s first over went for 8 runs, each shot from Naeem Khan was lofted with little control, just out of reach of the Knebworth fielders, it was only a matter of time before the chances would be taken.

Park didn’t have to wait long, Khan (9) edging again, in the fourth over to Jarrod Turner at slip, giving Brook his first scalp.

Sam Cherry for Dunstable tried to ride his luck offering at least three chances, all put down, during his one hour at the crease, before Brook cut out relying on his team mates and clean bowled Cherry for 5, at this point in the 20th over Dunstable were 31 for 5.

The 6th wicket partnership for Dunstable was their most productive, adding 21 runs, through Andy Boocock and captain Steve Watts, before Brook made them victims 4 and 5 for the afternoon, Boocock (10) caught sharply by keeper McCue and Watts (21) spectacularly caught at gully by Adrian Holmes.

The Dunstable tail was cleaned up by the other Park bowlers with Slade, 2 for 33, Turner 1 for 4 and rookie Charlie Randall, again impressing with 2 for 15, but it was the evergreen Brook with 5 for 32 in 18 overs, who was man of the match.

In contrast the Knebworth reply was controlled and steady, before the dismissal of Steve Gregory (31) provided Dunstable with their first point with the score on 55, caught by wicket keeper Rob Simpkins during a tidy spell of bowling from Khan, which produced figures of 1 for 9 in 8 overs.

With Park needing only two more to win, opening bat Ryan Skeggs (38) gave Dunstable their only other point for the match falling LBW to Sam Cherry, this allowed Adrian Holmes to come in and finish the match with one hit for 4, Knebworth Park 88 for 2 in 30.3 overs.

The Jekyll and Hyde displays of the Knebworth 2nd team continued. After their glorious win of the previous week, they crashed to their second defeat of the season against lowly Northwood Town .

Park won the toss and elected to bowl, hoping to make the most of favourable bowling conditions. Young pace bowler Michael Fisher was unlucky not to take an early wicket as an edge was fumbled and eventually dropped in the slip cordon. Fellow opener Jack Thorn struggled with the conditions and gave Northwood little trouble.

Skipper Robinson and old hand Graham Fisher each bowled a marathon spell, and restricted Northwood to 33 off the first 22 overs. A few missed chances turned the game in favour of the away team, who surged on to make a very competitive 174 off their 53 overs.

The Park started their run chase positively with Richmond taking the attack to the opening bowlers, however he fell bowled in the 5th over, triggering a collapse of top and middle order. Colin Letford provided the only real resistance as he struggled to 24. The lower order stuck around in the hope of the draw, but some poor shot selection eventually cost both Jones and Thorn, leaving the Park with 3 wickets in hand and over 20 overs to bat out. The task proved too great and the Park were eventually bowled out for a paltry 65.

Superb efforts from the Leather brothers Richard 71 and James 25 gave the thirds a fighting chance of victory before ending with a draw in their match away to St Albans West Indians.

Richard hit 75 and his James 25 was also going well when he was run-out in a mix-up between them. Tom Eaton 17 gave support in a total of 159 for 7. Earlier both the Leathers brothers opened the bowling impressively without luck, and that was also the case for Sandy Reynolds and Ross Courtney who bowled tightly through the middle of the innings before skipper Steve Holmes snatched 3 for 13 in a total of 195 for 7.

Skipper Bret Painter 17 was the only Park batsman to reach double figures as his side slumped to a disappointing 60 al out to go down by eight wickets to Cheshunt .

Dave Mantle was the match winner in an epic thriller for the fifths at home to Radlett 5ths.

His slow medium in-swing bowling took 7 for 35 as Radlett succumbed to 61 all out with no 4 bat Peck (25) holding up proceedings with the highest score of the match. Mantle was backed up by Richard Evans’s 2 for 6.

Russell Tompkins 19 gave the Park’s reply a useful start but wickets were continuing to fall rapidly. Under-15 Gareth Jones pitched in with a priceless 10. In a nerve-jangling climax Mantle (3 not out) and fellow bowler Evans (6 not out) saw the Park over the finish line by one wicket to end on 64 for 9.

The Park fielded a sixth team for the first time this season and Eddie Large’s side romped home to a 143-run win.

Openers Graham Rose 74 and Ian Murrill 29 added 114 for the first wicket and Stuart Dempsey 36 not out marked his comeback with a useful knock to take the score on to 183 for 8 dec.

Dempsey took 3 for 5 and Matt Briars 4 for 10 in cleaning up hosts Hockerill 4ths for only 40.

The first team jumped up to fourth place in the Saracens Herts League first division with an excellent and comprehensive seven-wicket win against St Albans at the Park on Saturday.

St Albans won the toss and chse to bat, but soon found themselves in trouble against the new ball attack of Paul Slade and Chris Brook. The first three scoring shots
all went in the air just beyond the fielders' reach, but
scoring attempts four and five did not escape. Captain Tony Skeggs took a fine one-handed to dismiss the dangerous and experienced Phil Caley and when in the next over Slade found the edge of Ian McKinlays’ bat,
giving Jarrod Turner a straightforward catch at slip,
Saints were 8 for 2 in the fifth over.
Yasir Arafat and Kyle Sharp tried to
steady the innings but Sharp (4) became Slade's second
wicket giving Adrian Holmes a simple catch with the total only on 23. This
prompted Arafat to try and hit his way out of
trouble, but after blasting the score to 64, he
nicked his first delivery from Charlie Randall to
grateful wicket keeper Harry McCue. The wickets fell
steadily throughout the afternoon, all caught, the
most spectacular being the dismissal of Phil Dorsett
(14) with an acrobatic dive by Adam Sergeant off the
bowling of Skeggs.
At 129 for 9 Saints looked as though they would fail
to gain even a bonus batting point, but the last 13
overs of their innings saw 16-year-old Dan Lovett (5)
and Richard O’Toole (51) bat through to a competitive
score of 177. Skeggs returning the best bowling
figures of 4 for 47 from 14 overs.
The innings of Knebworth started by giving Saints a
glimmer of hope, with both opening batters, Ryan Skeggs
and Steve Gregory, dismissed LBW to James Goodwin by
the 13th over, with the score only on 37. However, a
partnership of 84, from Jarrod Turner and Adrian
Holmes saw Park take control of the match, Holmes (31)
becoming the only other wicket to fall in the day,
with the score on 121. Turner
hit a wonderful century, full of elegant boundaries, to guide the Park to their win in real style.
He ended the day with 113 not out, and the winning shot
hit by Adam Sergeant, 24 not out, saw Park take all 30
points at 181 for 3 with five overs to spare.

The seconds picked up their second win of the season, with victory over Abbots Langley on Saturday.

Abbots chose to bat first and opener Jack Thorn claimed two early wickets. But the Park failed to capitalise and let the game slip so that at drinks Abbots Langley had reached 100 for 2. Skipper Robinson and veteran Graham Fisher were introduced to the attack to take the pace off the ball. Three wickets from Robinson and one from Fisher put Park back on top, with Abbots eventually making 184-7 off their 53 overs.

The Park's reply had an early set-back with the loss of opener Louis Champion for 0 in the third over. This brought Adam Ezekiel to the crease and he and Colin Letford built a decent partnership before Letford fell for 28.

Ezekiel batted brilliantly and quickly to reach his 50 and proved to be the deciding factor in the game as the Park middle order offered little support. With 40 needed off the last 12 overs, Ezekiel moved up a gear and dispatched the Abbots Langley bowling to all corners off the ground in his innings of 125 not out, with Sam Jones 12 not out eventually hitting the winning runs with his trademark whip shot over midwicket with five overs to spare.

After an exquisite innings of 74 from Josh Roseberry (74), Knebworth Park thirds innings fell away disastrously as they lost at home to Datchworth.

Roseberry was run out chasing a tight single by a sharp piece of fielding. As the pace was taken off the ball the runs dried up with only Chris Dance (24) contributing a score of any significance, the innings closed at 151-8.

In reply the thirds took to the field looking for an early breakthrough and a glimmer of hope, which unfortunately was never to come in spite of some probing bowling. Leg-spinner Ed Emsley picked up two late wickets to put some gloss on the day.

An impressive spell of bowling by under-15 Mohan Harihar taking 3-19 in ten overs was the highlight of the fourth eleven's defeat away to Botany Bay seconds.

After electing to field first, the Park made good inroads into the Bay top order to leave them 91-6. Unfortunately Park were unable to find the last few wickets and a late rally meant Bay finished on 209-9.

It was always going to be an uphill struggle for Park who had seven players making their debuts at this level and this proved the case as they were bowled out for a lowly 49 to lose the game by 160 runs.

Skipper John Inman 60 not out and Danny Hennessey 22 led a brave fight-back by the fifths to draw a match that seemed lost away to Southgate Compton 2nds.

Chasing 177 for 6, the Park's reply looked sad at 50 for 6 before Hennessey's clean hitting and Inman's belligerence gave them a glimmer of victory until Hennesey fell to a running one-handed catch on the boundary. They finally ended on 143 for 8.

More pictures in the gallery section