Matt's bat too hot for Hitchin

With our sights set firmly on qualifying for the knockout stage of the Herts league, a win at Hitchin was of vital importance for the A side, against a team that beat us convincingly at their ground last season.

Despite having a number of boys missing because of exam commitments, skipper Alec Chappell won the toss and elected to field on a decent track. The prospect of a run chase with a weakened batting order against Hitchin's accurate attack was obviously more appealing than fielding in the dark, and events justified the captain's hunch.

Joe Hoult, making his first team debut, impressed immediately, getting late swing to dismiss Hitchin opener Smith and number three Dudley. However, despite this early boost we bowled far too many wides, and a lethargic fielding display allowed Hitchin to get into a decent position at 50-2. Fortunately, some strangely passive batting allowed us to get off quite lightly in the middle overs, and Charlie Peace, with 1-11 from his three overs, played his part in keeping the hosts' batsmen quiet.

Alex Portas returned to bowl the inning's final over, and picked up two wickets with quick yorkers, to leave Hitchin on 90-5, a total that felt at least 20 runs short to me. Hoult, with 2-14 from his 4 overs, was the pick of the bowlers.

Yet with Hitchin having proved before their ability with the ball, the result was far from a foregone conclusion. At least until we started batting...

Openers Matt Pike and Joe Stanborough began with intent; Pike timing the ball beautifully as ever and Joe playing some fine shots through the off side. Both players took an immediate liking to Sloan, who was despatched for 17 from his two overs, while leg spinner Lanyon was not allowed to settle and was also removed from the fray after an expensive spell. With the field spread, the pair began to run well, and despite Matt giving the Hitchin fielders regular catching practice (they needed it, as they kept dropping him), the runs continued to flow.

With the score at 80, the first mix up between the two saw Joe run out for 27, an excellent innings that was easily his best for the club. Matt went on to an unbeaten 50 that featured shots all round the ground, his lofted boundaries from Lanyon being particularly classy. It was left to Alex and Alec to knock off the last few runs, and the game was done and dusted in the 14th over.

While we will definitely need to bowl better in our next matches, as well as field with much more energy and intent, it's hard to fault our batting display. We would have scored 170+ in our 20 overs, and with a number of players waiting to return, competition for places is hotting up.