FRIENDLY SPECIAL

New Bradwell (235-2) beat Lilley (231 all out, McLaughlin 95) by 8 wickets

 

Lilley were soundly thrashed by New Bradwell to round off a fairly forgettable season, despite a classy 95 from Dan McLaughlin.

 

Lilley, ironically, fielded probably their strongest XI of the season, with Ahmad Malik, Karl Berry, Rich Kendall and Khurrum Khan returning to the fold with Dave Carman, Tim and Steve Perry out from the side which trounced Putnoe.

 

Lilley won the toss and batted and what looked a decent track.  Dan McLaughlin was joined by Dan Mills at the top of the order as Lilley continued the friendly policy of shuffling the deck somewhat.  The two Dan’s produced a fine opening partnership, with Mills once again showing the glimpses of quality which we know he has.  He proved an able foil for the classy McLaughlin, who played within his very effective limitations.

 

Mills was eventually dismissed, brilliantly caught and bowled for a 48 ball 15.  The partnership however was worth 70 and in good time.

 

Karl Berry tried to force himself onto the front foot, proudly boasting before the knock that he had never been dismissed leg before.  Naturally then in this silliest of sports he was duly trapped in front for 6!  Brett Hanson and McLaughlin then rebuilt the Lilley cause, as they did last week.  More proof of the one or two bats Lilley need to stiffen up the middle order.

 

The pair had added 62 when Hanson elected to press the accelerator, probably ten overs too early!  He spooned the simplest of catches and was gone for 24 from 16 balls.

 

McLaughlin’s entertaining knock was cut short just 5 runs from the century, but his 75 ball 95 had set Lilley on the road to a good target.

 

Gareth Tompkins passed the eleven runs he needed, just, to retain the batting gong for a fifth season, but was out soon after for 14, caught.  Brother Brad went for nought when he was trapped leg before.

 

Ashby was once again hiding down the order, but it meant that he was able once again to swing from the hip in the latter stages.  He hit 2 sixes and 4 fours in a breezy 38, which ended when he was caught in the final over.

 

Kendall (2), Lennon (2) and Ahmad (4) all died for the cause, Lilley ending up 231 all out from their 40 overs.

 

Early wickets were the order of the day, but they got anything but.  A few chances were shelled, notably two by Hanson, which allowed the Bradwell openers to pile on an unbelievable 217 runs for the first wicket.  Every bowler was tried but Lilley were sorely lacking their three spinners Perry, Shah and Carman.  Brad ‘Van Pan’ Tompkins did wheel through six pretty useful overs, but Lilley were toothless.

 

Only when Ashby resorted to the pies he calls off spin did Lilley strike, Overton (104) eventually miscuing one down Ahmad Malik’s throat at long on, but it was far too little too late.

 

Rich Kendall went for ten runs an over, but managed to take his pound of flesh when he castled Cook (91) with a fine Yorker, however New Bradwell eased home to their target with 8 wickets in hand.

 

Ah well, onwards and upwards – roll on 2010 season!

 

 

Lilley (235-7, 40 overs, Ashby 62*) beat Putnoe (142 all out, 29.2 overs, G Tompkins 4-13) by 93 runs

 

Lilley’s first ever trip to Bromham Cricket Ground to play Putnoe CC ended in victory for the visitors last weekend.

 

With Lilley starting with ten men and the Perrys suffering the effects of alcohol consumption and yet to arrive at the ground, an engineered toss saw Lilley batting first on a lively looking track.  Grice found a good length early on and beat Brad Tompkins bat on several occasions before he finally trapped him leg before for 1.

 

Dan Mills’ short stay at the crease was ended when he ran himself out for zero, frustratingly his bat waving in the air as he passed the popping crease.  Dan McLaughlin was joined at the crease by Lilley debutante Brett Hanson, drafted in from Wollaston CC.  The pair added 77 for the third wicket, although not without a huge slice of luck.  Hanson was in the early stages of his innings when he clipped a ball to mid wicket, where the hapless Tony Allbones was patrolling.  He bungled the effort in embarrassing fashion and the pair continued on their merry way.

 

McLaughlin (38 off 55 balls) and Hanson (39 of 45 balls) both departed in quick time and Dave Carman (1) and Sean Lennon’s (0) stays were all too brief.  Fortunately Lilley had Gareth Tompkins, James Ashby and Tim Perry – their three biggest run scorers of the season – hidden down the order!  Tompkins hit a breezy 24 before getting one which rolled along the ground, but Ashby and Perry set about the remainder of the overs with a savage lack of respect.  Perry finished unbeaten of 28, passing 500 runs in the season in the process and Ashby hit an unbeaten 62 in double quick time, including seven fours and two sixes, as Lilley finished on a healthy 235 for 7 from their 40 overs.

 

Dave Carman’s tea interval departure left Lilley with nine men and an uphill struggle.  It was a task they were more than up to however.

 

Dan Mclaughlin bagged the first wicket, McDougal well caught by the tumbling Steve Perry at mid wicket and Macca made it 34-2 when he castled Harper-Smith for 13 soon after.

 

Gareth Tompkins was introduced into the attack and was instantly in the wickets, bowling Cardwell for 12, yorking Street first ball and bowling Neil Kirkup with an absolute grubber for 2.  GT was withdrawn from the attack to give others a go with the ball.

 

At the other end, Tim Perry’s off spin was deployed and he bowled Boxhall for 9 and had Grice caught by Brad Tompkins for 10 in the covers.  He would have bagged a third, but for a bungling drop by his main contender in the Bowler Of The Year battle – Gareth Tompkins.  GT had also earlier erroneously signalled leg byes when Perry paddled three off the bat.  They are also vying for Batsman Of The Year together.  Not that I am suggesting anything.

 

With Steve Perry having bowled five luckless overs, Sean Lennon’s medium pace having been smacked all over Bromham and the BBQ on and burgers cooked, Lilley brought Ashby and Tompkins back into the attack to wrap things up, which they duly did.  Ashby bowled Allbones as he attempted to replicate a stroke he must have seen in the nets when stalking pro’s and Tompkins castled Goodwin.  Tompkins finished with 4 for 13 as Putnoe were all out for 142.

 

And then it was time for burgers and beers.

 

 

FRIENDLY SPECIAL

Lilley (219 all out, Perry 70*) drew with Bovingdon (146-8, Perry 4-44)

 

Tim Perry stole the show with his highest innings of the year as well as another four wicket haul as Lilley had to settle for a draw despite outclassing Bovingdon in all departments.

 

A still heavily inebriated Lilley Captain, James Ashby, opted to bat when heads came up trumps in the middle, and chose to use the friendly to shake up the batting order a little.  Karl Berry, a man who has struggled for runs in the manner of someone with an unhealthy addiction for Imodium this year, was promoted to the top of the order to partner regular opener Brad Tompkins.

 

Any hopes Berry had of replicating his innings here two years ago, his only club fifty to date, were shattered by a back foot waft to a ball which kept low from Shand, duly bowling the left hander for 1.

 

Brad Tompkins had looked in fine fettle, playing beautifully straight and scoring at a healthy rate.  He had moved to 23 when he got a leading edge trying to work the ball leg side, again, which the bowler Arnold gratefully received.

 

Lilley’s pair at the crease by now were Dan Mills and Stew Collinson, the burly Yorkshireman still rebuilding his career after that nasty injury at Caddington.  Mills’ first scoring stroke was a mighty six over wide long on, which perhaps surprised the batsman himself as much as everyone watching!  He proceeded to bat in a far more circumspect fashion for the remainder of his innings, whilst Collinson went, frankly, ballistic.

 

Three singles to get him warmed up were followed by some murderous clean hitting.  He registered three fours and a six before he was bowled for 21, a thoroughly entertaining cameo and proof that the big man has still got it.  The only shame was this was his last game of the season!  Lilley were 76-3.

 

Mills was joined by Tim Perry and the pair continued the good work.  Mills began looking comfortable, playing a selection of attractive strokes before giving his wicket away, stumped, for 27.  He looks the part, he now just needs to kick on from good starts.

 

Ahmad Malik (1) and Ben Almond (0) were removed by Cable, before Perry found an able ally in Gareth Tompkins at 8.  The pair hurried the score along, putting on 75 in double quick time for the seventh wicket before Tompkins was caught for 28.  Perry continued his fine form, passing fifty in the process in his second consecutive unbeaten half century at this ground.

 

Ashby (1), Khan (0) and Dave Carman (0) all went in the final over attempting to rush late runs, but Lilley had registered 219 all out with Perry finishing unbeaten on a season’s best of 70, including ten fours.

 

Bovingdon have got form for not necessarily chasing a total convincingly in these time games, so Lilley knew it would be tough to prize out ten wickets.  Malik and Khan toiled with the new ball but without success.  The first flash point came when Arnold, the Bovingdon opening batsman, was run out by a brilliant bit of work by Gareth Tompkins off his own bowling.  The batsman started to walk, having been a clear foot short of his ground, but astonishingly the umpire turned the appeal down.  It led to some heated exchanges and was, frankly, the worst decision I have ever seen.

 

Nonetheless, Lilley deployed their spin options Carman and Perry soon after in an attempt to bag the first wicket.  Perry duly obliged, bowling Hazleton for 26 and when Dan Mills – ‘keeping – held onto a fine edge off Gareth Tompkins bowling, Lilley smelt blood.  Bovingdon’s only true class batsman, Blackburn, was caught attempting a ludicrous stroke first ball off Perry and when the off spinner added Bryson (1) and Shand (0), both bowled, Lilley thought they may close the game out.

 

Tompkins bowled Haydall for 7 but then frustratingly couldn’t find the full straight ball to clean up the tail.  Ashby brought himself on and Bryson Junior and Allen duly patted tame catches to the covers.  Unfortunately for Lilley, the overs just ran out and they could not find a way past Arnold (subject of the earlier run out) and Garnet (the umpire who had turned the decision down).  Bovingdon finished on 146 for 8, having unusually faced more overs in the second innings than Lilley did in the first 2 and ¾ hours.

 

A winning draw for Lilley then, with the batting of Perry, Collinson, Mills and the Tompkins boys and the keeping of Mills’ real positives.

 

 

NHL DIVISION 1

Lilley (219-7, G Tompkins 41, 40 overs) beat Crawley Green Nomads (191-9, Khurrum 3-24, 40 overs) by 28 runs

 

 

Lilley made sure that their final league game of the season was one to remember with a convincing win over Crawley Green Nomads at the Geoff Banks-Smith Memorial Cricket Ground this weekend.

 

Lilley made a couple of changes to the side which narrowly lost to Houghton Town last week, with skipper James Ashby restored to the side and a return for former Lilley seam bowler Dan Buxton.

 

Nomads skipper Brickell won the toss and fell into the regular trap of not fancying the look of the Lilley track, opting to insert the home side into bat.  Lilley started steadily in the face of some good swing bowling from Garri Reed and youngster Bacchus.  Ashby had just begun to cut loose when he checked a straight drive tamely to long on where Dell held a comfortable catch to leave Lilley 19 for 1.  The Tompkins brothers took the Lilley score past fifty before older brother Brad was castled, bowled off his pads by Jethwa, to make it 71 for 2.

 

Vice Captain Tim Perry joined GT at the crease and the pair continued building a solid platform, with the South African looking fluent and Perry crunching a couple of crisp boundaries.  Tompkins (41) failed to reach what would have been a deserved half century however when he miscued Dell to Jethwa, who took an easy catch to make it 93-3.

 

Rich Kendall made his way into bat, earning another crack at the top six after his determination at Houghton last week and was subject of an astonishing level of bird from the opposition fielders as he scratched around early on.  Lilley were ambling along at this stage and needed to press the accelerator to register a challenging first innings score.  Perry looked in good order, but one had to wonder whether Kendall had another gear to shift into from obdurate defence.

 

That question was answered as Crawley Green introduced Iain Laidler into the attack, the man who once dismissed Allan Lamb in a charity match.  Perry couldn’t get to grips with Laidler’s mixture of medium pace and very, very slow, but not so Kendall.  He near killed umpire Ashby with a flat batted banjo for four with the first ball of Laidler’s second over before picking up a streaky edge to the boundary off the second ball.  Nothing streaky about the next delivery however as Kendall heaved a mighty six over deep mid wicket, only to top the lot with a murderous spank over long on off the fourth delivery.  The only sad thing was the ensuing ball search took a bit of momentum out of the over and Laidler regained his composure to finish the over well.

 

Kendall departed soon after for a timely and well made 31 and his partner in crime Perry followed suit for 39.  Surely this was an end to the fireworks?

 

Surely not.  If the previous offerings were a solitary roman candle, then we were about to be treated to the Sydney Harbour Bridge New Years Eve pyrotechnics!  

 

Mik Carman, who almost dropped out at the last minute, punched his first ball for four and never really looked back.  He hit three more fours and three towering sixes in a blistering cameo of 39 not out which took Lilley’s score over 200 and into the realms of comfortable.  Stew Collinson joined the party with a lovely straight drive to the boundary and Lilley were done at 219-7 from their 40 overs.  This sort of acceleration – they belted 96 from the last ten overs – is exactly what Lilley have been looking for all year.  Could we start again please??

 

After a fine tea…and it really was a fine tea…Lilley resumed with the ball, looking for only their second league victory of the season, but their third in two games.  Ashby and Ahmed Malik took the ‘new’ ball and found swing straight away.  Too much swing for the umpires, as arms began extending at regular intervals, not a surprising outcome after some bitter exchanges during the Lilley innings following umpire Carman’s interpretation of wide.  Ironically, he gave nothing down the leg side, a benchmark that wasn’t exactly followed by the Crawley Green officials.

 

None-the-less, Lilley picked up the early breakthrough when Ashby smashed through Brickell’s defences and soon after Luke Munt’s short stay at the crease was ended when he top edged the same bowler to Ahmad Malik, who took a good catch at fine leg.

 

Malik bowled a tidy if luckless spell from the Cabbage Patch End, but his replacement Khurrum Khan enhanced his already promising reputation with arguably the match winning spell.  He accounted for A Jethwa, strangled down the leg side, before removing Graham Hull and Yash Jethwa (51), both bowled, to rock Crawley Green.  Khan finished with 3-24 from 8 lively overs.

 

Dan Buxton was introduced for his first spell of bowling for over ten years and remarkably bowled with pretty good control.  He snared a wicket for himself when Danny Reed attempted to loft him out of the ground, only for Rich Kendall to take a sparkling catch at long on.

 

Tim Perry was introduced, unusually as the sixth bowler, but he underlined just why he has been Lilley’s most successful bowler this year with a tremendous spell of spin bowling.  He took the pivotal wicket of dangerman Garri Reed, bowled, before having Bhatt caught at long off by Mik Carman.

 

Bacchus almost became the third victim when he spooned Perry into the offside, the ball dropping between Malik and Ashby, but as the pair set off for a single, the Captain swooped on the ball, collected with one hand and threw down the one stump he had to aim at to run Dell out by a distance.  I’m not sure who was more surprised.

 

Lilley couldn’t quite prize out the final wicket, despite having their chances – Brad Tompkins casual stumping effort off Laidler probably the worst culprit.  But Nomads could only reach 191 for 9 from 40 overs, handing Lilley 4 points and a deserved victory.

 

 

NHL DIVISION 1

Lilley 161-8 (G. Tompkins 55) lost to Houghton Town 162-7 (T. Perry 3-44)

Lilley rolled up at top of the table Houghton Town and was greeted with a freezing gale force wind whipping across the council ground. The words “tails never fail”.............you know the rest, Lilley were batting first on a hard but good looking track. With Lilley batting first with only 10 men and a few part time cricketers the batting order was looking fragile.

GT and Brad re-kindled their opening partnership and fought well early on against some good quick bowling from Adnan. As Houghton became frustrated their appeals became more and more desperate, resulting in some insults directed at the umpires Perry and Berry. Lilley responded by laughing and the words “not out”. GT was however lucky to survive a caught behind chance, the wind making it impossible for Berry to hear the edge.

Brad was not so lucky however and fell to Adnan caught behind (15). Next in was Kendall, ordered to prove he was worthy of wearing the number 3 on his back. Both he and GT applied themselves well, batting for 20 overs and adding 70 to the total, GT getting to 50 on the way. It was he who was to fall first (55) to the returning Adnan, bowled. Amhad was the next in at 4 and received a volley of abuse from his fellow countrymen. Desperate to prove himself he attacked the ball and was bowled for a duck by Morris.

Collinson was next in and was also bowled by a good ball from Morris for 2. Perry joined Kendall at the crease but their partnership was short lived as “Geoff” Kendall was soon LBW to Adnan for a well fought 21, Lilley at this point 111 for 5 off 31 overs. Perry and Berry pushed the score along quickly, putting the pressure on the Houghton field with quick singles and two’s. Houghton crumbled under the pressure and the run rate increased quickly. Berry (13) and Perry (20) were both out driving however but Kurram (8*) and S.Perry (1*) saw Lilley home to deny Houghton the bonus point and leave Lilley with a respectable 161 runs.

A lively Lilley took the field and were soon fired up by some great bowling by Amhad, clearly keen to exact some revenge. It was no surprise therefore when he was the first to take a wicket, that of the gobby wicketkeeper Naveed for 5 very shaky runs after being sledged mercilessly by the Lilley fielders. GT was soon in on the act bowling Shah for 7 and Lilley were pumped up. Houghton Towns 2 best bats were in now and started to take advantage of anything wide.

With the field set deep and some truly awful running between the wickets Lilley were able to keep a lid on things to an extent. A vital breakthrough came when Khurram bowled the very classy Akhtar for 19. With one end now open Lilley attacked the new batsmen while defending against the aggressive Bob. The plan worked to an extent. Khurram got the new bat out caught for only 17 and Bob was starting to slow up at the other end. Perry rolled the dice by brining himself on in an attempt to tempt the Houghton batsmen into some big shots.

Again it worked to an extent, Hurshid (5), Jawad (9) and Nasir (1) all falling to the spinner. Bob however was having none of it and started to play some powerful shots and bought Houghton Town closer and closer to victory. With Khurram bowled out, veteran spinner Carman was put into the attack and bowled 3 very good overs for only 11 runs. Unfortunately for Lilley it was not enough and Houghton Town made it with 3 wickets and 9 overs to spare, Bob finishing on 84*.

Overall it was a fantastic performance from the 10 men of Lilley. We applied ourselves with the bat and put in a fantastic performance in the field. We looked competitive the whole match against the team who will probably go on to lift the division 1 trophy, you can’t ask for more than that!

 

 

NHL DIVISION 1

Lilley (169-6, 40 overs, T Perry 31) beat Offley & Stopsley (51 all out, 20.5 overs, A Malik 4-36) by 118 runs

 

Lilley produced a champagne performance to see off neighbours Offley in the North Herts League yesterday, prompting a heavy drinking session in the Lilley Arms!

 

Offley won the toss and elected to field first, perhaps fancying a short afternoon by running through Lilley’s notoriously brittle batting line up.  Lilley opened up with James Ashby and Brad Tompkins for the first time since early June in the reverse fixture between these two sides and it should have been a short lived partnership.  Tubby funster Matt Freeman moved with the speed and grace of heavily sedated killer whale when Ashby miscued Vanhoof early on and it looked as though the Lilley skipper would make Offley pay for the miss.  His luck ran out on 24 though when the same bowler got a wide one to lift and Ashby could only hit it straight to the safe hands of Nathan Brodie in the covers.

 

Majid Shah was promoted to three in a bid to instil some responsibility into the batting of the precocious talent and it appeared to work as Shah took few risks in a solid partnership with Tompkins.  It was the South African who was next to go, miscuing a ball onto the leg side as he tried to work it and being caught at mid wicket for 25, Lilley 75 for 2.

 

Majid Shah’s patience eventually snapped when he attempted a big hit off wily veteran trundler Colin Keeley, only miscuing to Lunney at point for 26.  Lilley had high hopes of a late flourish with Tim Perry set fair at the crease and Gareth Tompkins striding out at number five, but the Brylcream Kid was soon back in the hutch for just 1, bowled by a Lunney straight one.

 

Perry (31) continued on his merry way however, forming a good partnership with Ahmad Malik for the fifth wicket.  The pair added 42 in quick time before the Vice Captain selflessly sacrificed his wicket, run out, trying to get big hitting Malik on strike.

 

Lilley were being ably assisted by ten man Offley – Barker had withdrawn through illness by this stage – with some fielding of the lowest order.  They may have probably the best fielder in the league in Brodie, but they also have some of the worst.  Keeley brilliantly slide tackled a single for four before playing a game of statues with Van Hoof on the long off boundary whilst Freeman continued to wow the on looking crowd with probably the worst display of fielding seen since Stevie Wonder turned out for the Hollywood Celebrity Pro XI.  “I’m only here for the tea” was Freeman’s mantra, and how true it was.

 

Malik’s breezy knock was ended by Lunney’s wily left armers, bowled for 25, but Karl Berry (6 not out) and Rich Kendall (8 not out) pushed Lilley along nicely to 169-6 at 40 overs and tea, a decent score with a slow lush outfield.

 

Offley knew that they were likely to be without the prolific Barker, so it was imperative that they got a good start from Bexfield and Patel.  That dream came crashing down to a harsh reality when Ashby removed Bexfield (0) with a short ball in the first over of the innings, well caught by Shah on the run.  Patel (0) did no better, miscuing a ball from Malik high in the air towards fine leg where Dave Carman took a brilliant sprawling catch to leave the visitors in a serious mess.

 

Nathan Brodie decided that Malik would be the bowler he attacked, with Ashby bowling his best spell of the year from the Graveyard end (1 for 3 off 5 hostile overs) and potentially Perry, Shah and Lilley’s quickest bowler Tompkins to come.  The plan almost went bandy at the first attempt, Karl Berry narrowly missing out on what would have surely been catch of the season at wide mid off.  Brodie had almost hit Malik out of the attack, with GT asked to loosen up following another boundary, but the 17 year old left armer produced a gutsy slower ball with the final ball of his over which beat Brodie’s stroke and bowled him for 21.

 

Lunney was limpet like in defence but he eventually became Malik’s third scalp, edging an away swinger to Brad Tompkins behind the stumps and Keeley’s brief stay was finished by another in ducker which beat his stroke leaving Offley 45 for 5 and in real trouble.  Ashby was replaced by the impressive Perry whilst Malik bowled out to finish with 8 overs, 2 maidens, 4 for 36, his best for the club.  Khurrum Khan came on at the Cabbage Patch End as Lilley looked to turn the screw.

 

Wardley’s patience snapped on 3 when he spooned a Perry delivery to Khan at mid on and Vanhoof gloved a pacey Khan delivery down the leg side to Brad Tompkins who took a brilliant one handed catch, leaving Offley 47 for 7.  More importantly it meant Matty Freeman was striding out to the crease, which inevitably means something is about to happen!

 

Chris Austin looked as though he was in the mood to bat the remaining 20 overs out.  Freeman however, clearly had his eyes on an alternative version of events.  On strike, the portly medium pacer was desperate to atone for his bowling (he had earlier returned 0 for 30 from four overs).  He struck the ball to mid on, waited for Rich Kendall to stop it with his boot, before steaming off for a single which, had he been batting with Usain Bolt, may have looked tight.  Chris Austin is a smashing bloke, but Usain he isn’t and he was duly run out courtesy of a fine throw from Kendall.  Cue a verbal volley of abuse from the normally placid Offley ‘keeper, to which Freeman just shrugged and said “There was a single, because I got in..”.

 

Pity young Marc Ward then, the 16 year old flame haired medium pacer, who had the unlikely task of knocking off the remaining 119 runs without getting run out by Freeman.  Clearly the thought of a repeat was too much for Ward as he heroically ran himself out attempting a second which was as unlikely as Freeman turning down a third helping of cream cakes at tea time.  With Barker home and resting, Offley were all out for 51, a performance which Offley Skipper Bexfield ranked as their worst ever.  For Lilley, it was the sort of performance they had been looking for all year and a win which sparked wild celebrations in the Lilley Arms and at least ten jugs (or 40 pints to the layman at home).

 

A first league win of the season, too little too late, largely irrelevant but very, very satisfying!

 

 

FRIENDLY SPECIAL

Lilley 60 all out (Mills 22-2 (that's batting)) lost to Ivanhoe 60 for 4 (Perry 2-8) by 6 wickets

This game was certainly a game of 2 halves. Probably the worst batting performance seen in a long time but one of the best bowling displays all season. I wonder if any other clubs have the same dilema of having a village church side batting line up (at best), yet a top village bowling attack? Well as it turned out, Ivanhoe are pretty close to that.

The term "tails never fails" has been used much in the past, it was once again proved incorrect though as Lilley lost the toss and were put into bat on a wet, but drying wicket. Not all bad news though as Majid and his mottley crew had gone to Ivinghoe (in Dunstable)! With Majid only 40 minutes away, surely Lilley would be able to survive long enough for him to get there........

Things however did not start well as the chemistry between Brad and his new opening partner Dan "Gilchrist" Mills resulted in Brad being run out in the first over. Dan was soon to go for 8, playing an abitious shot and getting caught. Berry followed him quickly back after scoring just nine, another trademark swing across the line resulting in him being bowled. Perry was soon out for a duck, getting bogged down and caught at mid off driving.

New player Sheppard who had never played cricket before managed to show the stand in captain up by hitting a sweet 4 off his first ball, but he soon went for 6. Karl's 2 mates were now at the crease but Hashmi could only manage a single before nicking one. Nearly an hour had passed but there was still no sign of Majid and his merry men. Steve Perry was rushed up the order from number 11 and doubled his all time Lilley runs with a single. Aktar at the other end hit 3 mighty 4s but was soon out caught, with no one left to bat would Lilley be 35 all out?

A flurry of phone calls revealed Majid "somewhere in Barnet, do you know the black horse?" 
At one point Perry even left to try and find them, but with no luck. The longest drinks break in history would have to come to an end but luckily Ivanhoe were nice enough to allow 3 of our batsmen to go again. Mills started things off and hit a few decent shots. At the other end Steve Perry was stubborn but was also soon bowled. Tompkins strode to the crease, on a pair, a pair he would get as he played over the top of a yorker and was bowled. Perry strode to the crease, on a pair, a pair he would not get as he manged to squirt one away for 2. 

Mills was soon to go however, caught off the bowling of Evan who would end up with 5 wickets.
Lilley 60 all out. As the players walked off for tea, Majid and his merry men made an apperance!

Lilley would need wickets, and quick. Things did not start well with Tompkins adding to his already bad day by dropping a catch at point. Mills had the gloves for the day and performed quite brillantly against the pace of new player Aktar and the spin of Perry. The openers dug in and made it through to drinks at 20 overs, however they had only managed to put on 32 runs after some excellent bowling from Mailk, Akthar, Perry and Kahn. After the break Baddeley lost patiency and was run out for 9.

Big west indian Francioue was not gonna die wondering, after resisting the urge to heave Perry out the ground first ball he duely tried with his second. Majid ran, and then dived to the right taking an amazing one handed catch! Syiles came and went, having no answer to the spin of Perry and was bowled for a duck. Things were looking good but with opener Dancer still at the crease Ivanhoe were always gonna win. Sid looked awkward but managed 16 before being caught off the bowling of Zhib who finished with 1-4 off his 4 overs.

All in all it took Ivanhoe 30 overs to reach the target, the result may have been different had Dancer gone early, or atleast one Lilley batsman had applied themselves. A low scoring game but with 2 strong bowling line ups and 2 weak batting ones, on a slow and difficult pitch, maybe not all the unexpected.............

 

NHL DIVISION 1

Crawley Green Nomads (100-4) beat Lilley (99 all out, Ashby 30) by six wickets

 

Another abject batting display condemned Lilley to another league defeat yesterday at Crawley Green Recreation Ground.

 

The withdrawal of Dave Carman for family reasons meant a debut for friend of Ahmad, Khurram, in at the last minute to ensure Lilley fielded eleven men.

 

The home side won the toss and inserted Lilley on a wicket which was greener than the outfield.  Despite it's appearance, the wicket looked to be playing fairly well, with Bacchus and Reed keeping it tight early on with the ball.  Brad Tompkins was given leg before for just 3 before Gareth Tompkins and James Ashby steadied the ship, taking Lilley to a reasonable 63-1 at drinks.

 

They should have just walked off then.  The next 18 overs saw Lilley rack up a further 35 runs for eight wickets in a truly turgid and virtually unwatchable display of batting incompetence which puts even this most miserable of weekend seasons to shame.  Tompkins started the rot with a filthy looking drive at a ball which wasn't there for it, spooning it skyward and out for 26.  The Captain followed suit, aiming a big drive at spinner Jethwa only to miss the ball and be bowled for 30 having spent an hour getting in.

 

Mills (3) and Shah (5) came and went, LBW and bowled respectively and when Ahmad Malik had driven the other Jethwa straight back into his hands for 1, Lilley were 94-6.  That became 95 for 7 when Perry gifted part time leg break bowler Luke Munt another caught and bowled for 19 and Sean Lennon (1) and Khurram (first ball duck) continued the domino effect with aplomb.  Mik Carman managed his first UK runs for two years before he trod on his stumps, Karl Berry not out on nought and Lilley all out 99 from 38 overs.

 

Utter crap.

 

Still, stranger things have happened, the 'glass half full' crowd cooed at tea.  That was until Gareth Tompkins' opening overs whistled, albeit quickly, all over the shop.  His three overs of muck spreading were mercifully replaced with calm, controlled line and length from ever improving left armer Ahmad Malik.  Malik's perseverance was rewarded with the wicket of Captain Brickell, bowled for 20 and soon after the wicket of Luke Munt for 3, caught aiming a revolting smear and miscuing it.

 

With Perry's probing off spin proving fruitless and Ashby still unable to bowl through injury, Lilley turned to newcomer Khurram for some inspiration.  His opening deliveries looked nervy if nippy, but he soon straightened it up to remove Garri Reed for 20 and Lavender for 2, both bowled.  The pair were powerless to stop Nomads easing to the tiny winning total of 100 however.  Malik finished with 2 for 36 from his nine overs, earning the opposition man of the match gong, with Khurram bagging 2 for 24 from his 6.5 overs.  But for another fifty or sixty runs, it may well have been an interesting game.  As it was, it was another chapter in a testing season for the Lilley boys.

 

Bring on Friday and the welcome relief of T20 slap and tickle!

 

 

T20 - HERTS VILLAGE TROPHY SPECIAL

Lilley (139-6, 20 overs, McLaughlin 39) beat Hexton (120-8, 20 overs, Shah 2-15) by 19 runs

 

Lilley roared into their regional final in this year's Herts Village Trophy with a 19 run win over local neighbours Hexton, setting up a tie against either Pirton or Ardeley Walkern for a place in the HVT Finals Day.

 

Lilley handed a debut to Sean Lennon, a former footballing protégé of Steve 'Mcshuffler' Mcardle, whilst 15 year old Daran Holmes made his final appearance in Lilley colours before returning home to Adelaide.  Dan McLaughlin retained his place in the T20 side after an encouraging debut at Offley, with Tim Perry and Stew Collinson returning also.

 

Lilley lost the toss and were asked to bat first in scorching late afternoon conditions at Hexton.  Brad (12) and Gareth Tompkins (26) set the Lilley charge off with a typically whirlwind combination of hard running and big shots, but both fell leg before to Hill in quick succession.  Despite the fall of wickets, Lilley continued at a good lick.  James Ashby was caught at deep midwicket after a bright 19, but Tim Perry and Dan Mclaughlin continued the charge, running hard and being brutal on anything loose.

 

The huge boundaries meant a lot of running and it was little surprise when McLaughlin (39) holed out before Perry (22) got a grubber towards the end of the innings, but their work was done after a fine partnership.  Holmes got a fine yorker to end his English adventure but Shah (1*) and Dan Mills (2*) saw Lilley to 139-6 at the end of their 20 overs.

 

Lilley got off to a fine start with the ball when Majid Shah removed both openers in quick succession, but a fine third wicket partnership between Smith and Marshall threatened to take the game from Lilley.  Man of the match McLaughlin grabbed the key wicket of Smith leg before before castling F Marshall to finish with 2 for 27.  Tim Perry produced prodigious turn from the football field end and took 1 for 15 from four miserly overs which swung the game into Lilley's hands.  Gareth Tompkins, bowling spin, took two wickets towards the end as he and Ashby (1-10) closed the innings out leaving Hexton high and dry, 19 runs short of victory.

 

 

NORTH HERTS LEAGUE DIVISION 1

Houghton Town (163 all out, 32.5 overs, M Carman 3-16) beat LILLEY (156 all out, 33.1 overs, S G Eyres 51) by 7 runs

 

There have been tales of woe, tales of excitement and tales of what could have been in Lilley's first adventure in the North Herts League Division 1, but few Sunday's will have left the young side so deflated as this game, the archetypal snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory.  The game should have been remembered for Steve Eyres' magnificent first half century for the club, a knock that, coupled with Gareth Tompkins 49 and chasing such a meagre total ought to have been a match winner.  Instead, it will be the game that makes people wince come September and wonder how much difference these squandered four points will make.

 

All started well for Lilley, acting Captain Tim Perry winning the toss and taking the new ball against table toppers Houghton Town, the team everyone loves to hate.  Lilley got a great start when left arm swing bowler Amhad Malik bagged the wicket of Zaheer, caught at deep mid on by Majid Shah.  Malik's replacement from the Cabbage Field End, Tony Allbones, soon was in on the action when he sent Narinder's stumps cartwheeling for just 9 and when Majid Shah picked up the dangerous Naveed, brilliantly caught by Gareth Tompkins at long off for 26, Lilley were flying. 

 

Houghton slipped to 70 for 4 when Audi smashed Allbones to Karl Berry, who clung on well, and it became 78 for 5 when Majid Shah ripped through Javed's defences for just 1.  Houghton skipper Bob Ahmed looked in dangerous touch, but he too holed out off Tim Perry's big breakers, again a smart catch held by Majid Shah in the deep.  What's this??  Lilley catching things??

 

Imran and Sham then began repairing the damage to the innings with a decent partnership of big hitting.  Even Shah (2-28) came in for a little tap at the end of his eighth over, having bowled a wonderful spell from the Graveyard End which saw just 17 runs and two wickets come from his first seven overs.  A surprise bowl for Mik Carman came after Shah's spell, but any fears that 'Rusty' may live up to his name were soon put to bed.  Sham produced a mockery of a shot, holing out to Tony 'Michael Stipe' Allbones in the deep and then Carman blasted through Imran's defences to reduce Houghton to 161 for 8.  Tam was run out by Malik and Carman trapped Morris lef before to end the innings, Carman bagging 3 for 16 and Houghton Town all out for just 163.

 

As expected, Houghton came at Lilley hard after the tea interval.  Gareth and Brad Tompkins opened up for Lilley, with Perry staying at four and no Ashby, who's injured knee finally got the better of him.  Steve Eyres slotted in at the key number three position.  The Brothers Tompkins started well, soaking up some early pressure, before Brad Tompkins was bowled by Imran for 13 to leave the hosts 39 for 1.

 

In came big Steve Eyres, a man who in his last knock for Lilley was so caught with his feet trapped in concrete that there were genuine fears he may have to leave them embedded in Cambridge.  Not so this time, as despite a nervy start, he settled and began to get his legs moving.  At the other end, a typically belligerent GT blazed away, apparently enjoying his return to the top of the order.  The pair added 54 for the second wicket before Tompkins was caught attempting something huge to bring up his half century, caught for 49.  Jug for jug avoidance I fancy.

 

That left Lilley 93-2 but with stacks of batting in the hutch to come.  That stack took a torching when Lilley's most consistent batter of the year, Tim Perry, was trapped leg before first ball.  Eyres was joined by young Australian Daran Holmes, and the pair added 39 for the fourth wicket.  Eyres, the great anomaly of Lilley, finally put to rest one of the more frustrating runs in the club's ranks when he registered his own personal first half century for the club and Lilley's first league half century of the season with another crashing four, the fifth in the innings to go with three towering sixes.

 

So Eyres unbeaten on a half century, Holmes looking comfortable, Lilley 132-3 chasing just 164 to win, the sun was shining...can Sunday's get much better than this?

 

A dark cloud was soon to descend, sadly.  Eyres was stumped, every slightly over balancing, for 51.  Big hitter Majid Shah hit a four off his first ball, but got carried away and tried another huge shot off Morris, only to be caught.  Holmes, who had received a fearful blow from a Steve Eyres straight drive, was forced to use a runner, in this case Gareth Tompkins.  GT, a hard runner, and Amhad Malik, a casual stroller, were always destined to not be running club buddies, but when Malik was run out by about 22 yards after a difference in opinion for 11 having looked in fine fettle, Lilley were suddenly 148-6.  Still, we only need 16 to win, easy easy easy...

 

...or not.  Cue panic stations.  Tony Allbones, a man that could be batting much higher, played and missed, wandered outside his crease as he admired the shot that hadn't worked and was duly stumped by the quick thinking Zaheer.  148-7.  Twitchy hoop time.  It was all too much for young Holmes, who attempted to smash Lilley to victory only to find a fielder in the deep, leaving Lilley 155 for 8, still 9 short of victory.

 

Craig Paddington, a Lilley Hall Of Famer, has taken part in many an improbable win, but this sadly was not to be Screech's day.  He was bowled by Naveed for 1, but Lilley hopes were still high with Mik Carman at eleven,  Carman blasted a brilliant 30 something last time against Houghton Town.  All Lilley needed was 8 this time.  But Naveed was on the mark straight away and cleaned up Carman to leave Lilley 156 all out with over 14 overs to spare, sending Houghton back to the top of the table and into raptures.  Lilley were stunned.  There have probably been more bitter defeats to take, but I can't think of one right now.

 

 

 

T20 MANSFIELD/TOWNDROW TROPHY SPECIAL

Lilley (145-4, G Tompkins 41, 19.5 overs) beat Offley & Stopsley (140-5, G Tompkins 3-29, 20 overs) by six wickets *Lilley win Mansfield/Towndrow Trophy*

 

Lilley became the first outright winners of the 'Mansfield/Towndrow Trophy' last night, beating Offley and Stopsley in a thrilling Twenty20 match by six wickets with one ball remaining to take an unassailable lead in the series between the two clubs.

 

Lilley fielded a different looking side, with Daran Holmes making his T20 Lilley debut and Dan McLaughlin coming into the side for his Lilley debut in a side featuring returns for Rich Kendall and Stew Collinson, with Tim Perry, Ian Thompson, Steve McArdle and Dave Carman missing from the previous week's T20 thrashing of the same opposition.

 

Lilley won the toss and asked the home side to bat first again after the previous weeks debacle from the Offley batting line up.  Offley themselves made numerous changes, with Hoar, Barker and Brodie all dropped after failing the previous week.  Skipepr Bexfield returned to the fray and opened with Dave Bridgeland.  The two got Offley off to a good start, particularly against the seamers.  Majid Shah again opened with his off spin from the football field end and bowled four economical overs to tie up one end.

 

It wasn't until the late running Gareth Tompkins appeared at the ground that Lilley's fortune's changed.  Having seen James Ashby limp out of the attack with his injured knee after just six balls, Lilley's seam bowling looked for once a little bare, but Tarquin Tompkins made amends for his late arrival with two wickets in his first over.  Two rank long hops drew two rank shots from Bridgeland and Chamberlain respectively, but fortunately the sure hands of McLaughlin and Andy Burgess at cover and mid off were sound.

 

Tompkins then bagged the key wicket of Mo Chaudry, who scored 54 in last weeks defeat, when he had him caught by McLaughlin at square cover.  At the other end however, Bexfield continued to milk the attack with a combination of streaky edges and guides coupled with the occasional convincing stroke.  He found an able partner in Van Hoof, who made 28 before being run out towards the end.  Bexfield (74) was run out by an Andy Burgess direct hit with the last ball of the innings as Offley posted a far more convincing 140-5 from their 20 overs.

 

Lilley were going to need to go off like a train in reply to keep up with a required run rate of over seven an over and that's exactly what they did.  The brothers Tompkins, Lilley's T20 opening pair, continued as they have throughout the year in the shortened form of the game, working singles, turning ones into twos and smashing the odd boundary.  GT got off the mark with a six and once again feasted on some ropey offerings from Qumar, Offley's left armer.

 

The pair had added 57 for the first wicket in quick time when Gareth was caught off the bowling of Mo Chaudry for 41.  Ashby joined Brad at the crease and the older Tompkins continued on his merry way to 25 until he was caught, the visitors 70-2.  Daran Holmes joined the skipper at the crease and the pair eased Lilley along in a 46 run partnership which was curtailed when Holmes was bowled by cuddly medium pacer Matty Freeman for 20, but his dismissal brought McLaughlin to the crease.  The Cogenhoe run machine (14*) helped himself to early boundaries and looked at ease as Lilley closed in on the victory.  Ashby (30) somehow contrived to smack a Qureshi long hop straight down the throat of the only fielder anywhere near the covers, but Majid Shah's (6*) arrival at the crease inevitably ended in the all rounder smashing the ball out of the ground for a huge six to win the match with one ball remaining.

 

So a second consecutive victory against Offley in T20, a third in the Mansfield Towndrow Trophy, meaning Lilley will lift the cup at the final game of the season in September, irrespective of the outcome. 

 

 

FRIENDLY SPECIAL

Granta (172-9,  Ashby 3-36) beat Lilley (171 all out, Perry 49) by one wicket

Sunday saw a welcome distraction from the recent league disasters with a visit to Cambridge and our first game against Granta for 13 years.

 

The match was played on the University Press Ground, adjacent to Granta's main Clare Sports Ground.  The setting was one of the more unusual, a generally fine ground with excellent facilities, but with a small amateur dramatic society performing some very strange outdoor play at full blast in the corner of the ground infront of a crowd of about three people...

 

James Ashby was determined to win the toss on a fine day with a flat looking wicket on offer, but despite calling wrong again, the opposition put Lilley into bat.  Steve Eyres came back into the side and opened with regular opener Brad Tompkins, but the burly son of Darlington was soon trudging back to the pavilion when Singh angled one in that Eyres played all around.  Quack quack oops.

 

Dan Mills, in at three, was soon spinning around the revolving door and heading back to the pavilion, bowled through the gate by Singh for 1 as Lilley wobbled on 6 for 2.

 

Fortunately Tim Perry and Tompkins restored some decorum in the face of a decent opening spell from Singh and the motormouthed Northerner Jamie Jones, who instantly impressed the opposition by proclaiming he could 'swing and orange' in his first over.  A modest and humble chap.  Despite his best efforts, Perry and Tompkins worked the ball around with relative ease, with Jones consigned to the slips to provide helpful guidance to every other bowler and fielder.

 

Tompkins got an absolute grubber from Scott and was bowled for 12, a wicket which brought 15 year old Darran Holmes to the crease on Lilley debut.  He carved his first ball, a short one, over the slips and instantly looked at ease, albeit camping a little too much on the back foot at times for English conditions. 

 

Perry and Holmes forged a fine partnership, Perry imperious against even spin these days as his dramatic improvement with the bat continues apace.  Holmes meanwhile worked the ball around nicely and carved anything loose away to the boundary.  The pair put on 94 for the 4th wicket before Perry attempted something viscous in a bid the break the temporary shackles Granta had applied, only to be castled for 49, a score which saw him buy a jug for jug avoidance later at the LA.

 

Rich Kendall strode to the crease at six, a man fair to say not awash with runs in 2009.  But with a virtual licence to thrill in the last ten overs, he was able to swing from the hip and with a little fortune and one hefty smear off Jones made 13 before being cleaned by the bespectacled northerner.

 

Because of the adjusted order, Lilley had two of their more prolific batsmen of recent times down the order in Ashby and Gareth Tompkins, but both failed to make any impact as they were bowled for 1 and 5 respectively, Tompkins falling to Jones with a fine yorker which he boldly announced 'would have got much better batsmen than him'.  One suspects he didnt realise he'd just bowled Lilley's golden boy...

 

Karl Berry was Jones' fourth victim, bowled first ball with a delivery which not so much hir the top of off stump but rather broke it.  Majid Shah and Amhad Malik were ten and eleven in the order principally due to the fact that shortly before arriving at the ground in convoy, they decided to go an alternative route and there were genuine concerns they'd never appear!  Fortunately they did and the pair eased Lilley to 171 before Shah was bowled by Jones to give him 4-22, Malik not out on 9.

 

Malik took the 'new' ball (which by now most dogs would have turned down as too tatty, as the match started with an old ball!) with Gareth Tompkins and it was the 17 year old who bagged the first wicket when he induced an edge from Hammersley to Ashby at slip.  Tompkins has Van Roogen caught well on the run by Babs Eyres and by the time Gilmore had top edged GT to Mills at square leg, Perry had Shaz caught by Amhad and Darran Holmes had trapped Larded leg before for eleven, Granta were sinking to defeat.  Rico White and Lane came to the crease and instantly began stroking the ball around with far more confidence.  Such was the tide of runs coming, that Ashby brought himself into the attack having said he was resting his injured knee previously.  The runs weren't stemmed, but the wickets began to tumble again, White skying the skipper to Perry and Lane finding Berry at mid off to swing the match back in Lilley's favour.

 

Singh however had other ideas, and Granta's 17 year old all rounder began swinging from the hip in an unlikely bid to get the home side over the line.  He was involved in a catastrophic cock up with Jones, which resulted in the northerner being run out cooly by 15 year old Holmes, which sparked a flurry of swearing aimed at Singh, followed by a conciliatory hand shake.  The match seemed all but over seconds later when Ashby bowled the left hander for 34, leaving the home side 9 down and still well short of the 172 required.

 

The match turned in the 39th over though when the returning Tompkins came in from some stick from both the opposition Captain Brooklyn, who crashed a straight six, and the umpire who called him for two wides.  A full toss drew a top edge from Brooklyn which Karl Berry caught at fine leg, but any celebrations were short lived as a 'no ball' call was made with the ball passing comfortably over the batsman's waist.  With Granta 170-9 in the last over, Lilley needed a wicket, but Brooklyn stood firm to graft out the last couple of runs to guide the home side to an improbable one wicket win. 

 

T20 SPECIAL

Lilley CC (92-4, B Tompkins 35*, 14 overs) beat Offley & Stopsley (89-9, 20 overs, Ashby 2-10, G Tompkins 2-15) by six wickets

 

Lilley's fine run in the shortened form of the game continued with a resounding thrashing of an Offley & Stopsley side which looked as though it had never played this form of the game.

 

Having won the toss and pontificated long and hard, Offley skipper Richie Barker asked Lilley to field.  They got a disastrous start when Ashby bowled Vanhoof for 1 and then fellow opener Hoar for 4, only for Gary Chamberlain to shovel Shah round the corner to Dave Carman to leave them three down.  Three became four when Wardley was run out when Mo Chaudry drilled an Andy Burgess delivery back towards the stumps, where the Luton Town midfielder cleverly accidentally deflected the ball onto the stumps, although he claimed otherwise..

 

Nathan Brodie danced down the track and missed Dave Carman's leg spin, with Brad Tompkins completing his second stumping of the same batsman in five days.  If the home side had hopes of late acceleration they were soon scuppered by Gareth Tompkins and Tim Perry.  Taz Qureshi, turning out for Offley, made six before smashing a full Tompkins delivery straight back to the bowler and the South African then bowled Andre for 2.  Willis was run out and Perry trapped Ward leg before, with Barker hiding down at eleven and finishing unbeaten on 2 as Offley posted 89-9.  The vast majority of the runs were scored by Mo Chaudry, who having survived a big lbw appeal from Burgess earlier made an unbeaten 54.

 

Lilley's reply was off like a train, with the Tompkins brothers resuming their highly successful T20 opening partnership.  GT carted Brodie and Qureshi for several sixes as the pair put on 56 for the first wicket.  GT retired out on 34 to let someone else have a bash.  Debutante Thompson, drafted in from Irchester CC, came and went for a duck, apparently undone by Barker's lack of pace and Mills (4) and Berry (5) came and went in quick time.  Brad Tompkins though was in imperious touch and he hooked his first ever Lilley six en route to an unbeaten 35, with Majid Shah providing the late cameo with an 8 not out to seal the win with six whole overs to spare.

 

Offley & Stopsley (123-6, G Tompkins 3-21, Perry 3-29) beat Lilley (122 all out, 38.1 overs, Perry 36)

 

Lilley slumped to another NHL defeat yesterday at the hands of local rivals Offley and Stopsley, once again not puting enough runs on the board to defend.

 

The home side won the toss and unusually elected to bowl first, perhaps not fancying the Lilley bowling attack with a new ball.  James Ashby returned to the top of the order to partner Brad Tompkins, with Tim Perry dropping back down to four.

 

The start was fairly turgid stuff as Tattersall and Kumar bowled with good discipline and gave the opening pair very little to hit on a typically miserable Offley track.  Brad Tompkins was trapped leg before for 7 and Ashby was bowled round his legs by the miserly Kumar to leave Lilley in a spot of bother.  Gareth Tompkins and Tim Perry repaired the damage however with a fine partnership, with GT particularly severe on the flagging Kumar, belting him for 18 off one over.

 

The wheels began to come off however when Tompkins was trapped leg before to ageing all rounder John Cerasale for 29 and then Tim Perry was controversially adjudged run out by the home side umpire when apparently making his ground whilst well set on 36.

 

Majid Shah was caught and bowled by a new lighter-weight version of Richie Barker, Dan Mills was bowled for 5 and Amhad Malik was cleaned up by Cerasale for a duck to leave Lilley reeling, but experienced former Kempstonite Tony 'Sunscreen' Allbones showed his canny village skills to nurdle Lilley over the hundred mark , despite having almost twice his body weight (2 stone) in Amber Solaire caked on his head.  Aquaboner's dismissal, along with Berry and Kendall for 1 apiece, left Lilley 122 all out, Stew Collinson the not out man having smote a four before the end.

 

122 was clearly not enough, but it was something to bowl at.  Allbones and Malik opened up, but despite their best efforts, and those of the other bowlers, Offley marched to 53 without loss without too much trouble.  Nathan Brodie, who had looked in fine fettle, danced down the track and missed the ball, giving Brad Tompkins a smart stumping down the leg side off Perry to give Lilley their first breakthrough and GT was too quick for Mo Chaudry soon after, as he could only spoon the ball to Collinson in the Gully for 10.

 

Tompkins then had Bexfield trapped leg before for 26, the batsman unhappy with the decision so much that he held his position in disbelief.  Unfortunately the ball had struck him half way through his prod forward, but still...

 

The dangerous Cerasale became the second leg before victim soon after for Tompkins (3-21) and Perry bagged a couple of late wickets, bowling Lunney round his legs and picking up another ferret to finish with 3 for 29.

 

The total proved too much for Lilley to defend despite a valiant effort, and the coward Barker eventually appeared from his bunker to face his nemesis Perry and finish unbeaten on nought as Offley eased to a four wicket win.  If only for 20 more runs on the board.

 

Lilley (217-8, 40 overs, Perry 40) tied with Letchworth (217 all out, 37.3 overs, Perry 3-32, G Tompkins 3-56)  Lilley 4 Points, Letchworth 3 points

 

Lilley are off and running in the North Herts League Division 1 as the short trip to Whitethorn Lane in Letchworth produced an astonishing game of cricket which see-sawed constantly throughout the afternoon and eventually settled in a position of equilibrium which left both sides sharing the spoils.

 

Home Captain ‘Diesel’ Curry won the toss and unexpectedly asked Lilley to bat first on a sunny afternoon at Letchworth’s excellent headquarters.  Letchworth had instant success with the new ball however as Booth induced an edge through to the ‘keeper off Brad Tompkins with only 9 on the board.  Gareth Tompkins, opening in the absence of Tim Perry because of late running and a slightly earlier start, and James Ashby, steadied the ship and saw off the new ball shine in taking Lilley to 77-1.

 

The pair went in quick succession when Tompkins (30) pulled a long hop straight to midwicket and Ashby (27) spooned a full toss to mid wicket soon after leaving Lilley 84-3.

 

Tim Perry and Majid Shah then produced the best partnership of the innings for the fourth wicket, frustrating the home side into slating the pair about them only having one shot each.  The pair put on 84 for the wicket before Majid (36) became the first of what would be 4 wickets for Curry, the Letchworth Captain.  Dan Mills and Tallat Malik both came and went without troubling the scorers and Lilley looked in real trouble when Karl Berry went skipping down the wicket when Perry miscued one to mid off, apparently seeing a single that nobody else did.  A despairing dive couldn’t save him and Lilley were perilously close to disaster at 184-7 with over ten overs left.  Moments later, Lilley were Perry-less, as the batsman edged medium pacer Curry to gulley for 40, leaving the tail with an unpleasant looking task of surviving the remaining overs and somehow pushing for more runs.

 

Rich Kendall was joined by Amhad Malik and the pair quickly established that Kendall’s obdurate defence was far better suited to trying to keep out Curry whilst Amhad was best deployed trying to get Lilley up and over 200, which he did with some panache.  Kendall lined up and defended for all his worth while Amhad unleashed a flurry of strokes off the spinners at the other end, only succumbing finally to the last ball of the innings.  Lilley posted 217-9 in 40 overs, importantly preventing the opposition’s bonus point opportunity and not giving them extra overs to chase what was at best a par score on a fine ground.

 

Lilley’s bid to bowl out Letchworth started in fantastic fashion, as Malik removed both openers before Gareth Tompkins bagged the wicket of Bridge, two snaffled behind by Brad Tompkins, as the home side found themselves three down and still needing nearly 200 runs.

 

Jennin and Hurst then came together for Letchworth and enjoyed some outrageous luck as Lilley’s catching hands deserted them.  Brad Tompkins spilled a regulation nick which Ashby missed also on the rebound, and Paddington, Kendall and then Amhad all missed chances of varying difficulty.  Amhad’s was particularly tough to take, as he pouched a good catch at long on before inadvertently standing on the boundary rope and conceding six.  What was a promising start had turned into total disaster, with Jennin bringing up his century and Hirst cruising to a half century unbeaten on 43.  Letchworth were 185-3, needing only another 33 runs to seal the win and send Lilley home pointless.

 

Lilley threw one final roll of the dice, with Malik and Ashby bowled out, Gareth Tompkins bowled his final overs.  Jennin spooned one high in the air which Rich Kendall caught at the third attempt to give Lilley the faintest of glimmers.  Hirst then top edged a short ball from GT which Dan Mills pouched round the corner and if nothing else, Lilley had earned some respite from the onslaught of the Letchworth batsmen.

 

Tompkins (3-56) completed his overs, leaving spinners Shah and Perry to bowl out the remainder of the innings.  Perry ripped through Booth’s attempted stroke to bring Letchworth Captain, and former destroyer of Lilley with the bat, Curry, to the crease.  Curry attempted an extraordinary shot against Perry, smashing the ball straight towards Karl Berry at deep mid on and he made no mistake with the catch to leave Letchworth 7 wickets down with less than ten required for the win.

 

Lilley were unable to remove the stubborn youngsters at the Letchworth tail and they closed in on victory with just three runs required.  Plucky all rounder Amhad approached Ashby and asked for a bowl at the left hander, which he duly got.  He smashed through Reed’s defence’s first ball to send shockwaves through the Letchworth camp, but Shekhan edged the ball over point soon after as the pair scampered a two to leave them needing just one run to win.  Amhad took revenge by cleaning up Shekhan with another pearler next ball and Lilley had one wicket to take to tie a game that they had no right to even be competing in by then.

 

A. Reed kept out the last ball of Amhad’s fine over, so Lilley turned to Perry to try and conjure up a last wicket that would send the Lilley players and supporters into delirium.  With two younger players at the crease, Ashby asked Perry to revert to his seam up variety of bowling as a one off to try and pick up the final wicket.  He dropped straight onto his line and length.  Shires decided to go for broke with the third ball of the over and smashed it through mid on, where Tallat Malik was patrolling.   The ball appeared to pass Malik, but at the last his right hand shot out and the ball somehow, somehow stuck in the hand.  Lilley had done it, an amazing come back and astonishing end to the game.

 

The two sides were 217-9 and 217 all out, and with no rule on fewer wickets lost counting in the NHL, the match was tied.  Lilley come out marginally on top however, by virtue of receiving a bonus point for bowling the home side out to add to the three awarded to each side for a tie.

 

Lilley (151-3, Ashby 53, 16 overs) beat Caddington (128-4, D Carman 2-12, 16 overs) by 23 runs

 

Lilley turned in a magical performance with the bat to all but end Caddington's 20Twenty hopes at the halfway stage of last night's friendly encounter.  Having lost the toss, again, Lilley were asked to bat on a belter and with the best light, a somewhat generous concession from the Caddington Captain Dale Skeath.

 

The Brothers Tompkins opened for Lilley and the scoreboard was soon ticking over, with a combination of lusty strokes, hard running and clever placement.  Younger brother Gareth had just pulled Skeath for four but was caught flat footed when his fellow countryman pitched one fuller next ball and castled him for 20, Lilley 29-1.

 

James Ashby joined Brad at the crease and the pair set about the home attack with some aplomb in an amazing whirlwind partnership of 103 in ten overs which sealed the game.  Ashby passed 50, a knock including ten boundaries, before holing out in the dying stages.  Screech Paddington did little to justify his heady promotion to four, aiming a filthy smear at off spinner Casey and duly being bowled for 1, before Majid Shah injected some aerial action into the final moments of the innings.  Brad Tompkins somehow kept himself off strike for the remainder of the innings and finished not out on 49, an offence for which he was duly fined 1 jug for jug avoidance.

 

Lilley 151 for 3 in their 16 overs.

 

With runs on the board, Lilley were afforded the option of making sure all their bowling options were utlised.  Perry and Berry opened up and the former had soon sent back one time Lilley trialist Gary Norman for 6.  Into the attack came 'Washington' Dave Carman and he rolled back the years to produce a fine spell of leg spin which ended any faint hopes Caddington had of chasing down the total.  Brad Tompkins produced a sharp stumping to give Carman the first of his 2 wickets and he trapped Tensfeldt leg before to take 2-12 from his four overs.

 

Bull and Skeath chose to use the remainder of the innings as batting practice as the sun slowly slipped over the horizon.  Lilley's overs got quicker and quicker as they attempted to beat total darkness, with a succession of spinning options used.  With one over to go, Caddington required a miracle.  The crowd screamed for a bit of Caddington Paddington action and as is often the case, they got what they came for.

 

Paddington has been boasting about being the club's premier strike bowler, being owner of the club's best strike rate (well, forgetting Peter Rogers..), but even the wildest optimist would have not expected the Jeans Way Ripper to strike again with Skeath and Bull both well set and batting out to defeat.  A predictable array of tosh was sent down until Caddington's premier batsman Skeath could resist no more and thumped a Paddington leg break high in to the night sky and in the general direction of long on.  With fielders and batsmen struggling to pick up the ball in the gloom, there wasn't much hope of the chance being held, but Tim Perry swooped and clung on to a fine catch to give Paddington another wicket.  He then reverted to type, sending down one delivery which was so wide, it would have been wide on the next cut strip ten metres away!

 

So Lilley turn in another fine 20Twenty...well 16Sixteen performance.  If the form is reproduced in the Herts Village Trophy and more importantly the Mansfield/Towndrow Trophy, Lilley's trophy cabinet will be bulging come September!

 

Titanic (186-4, 38.4 overs, Malik 2-27) beat Lilley (185-9, 40 overs, Ashby 38) by six wickets

 

Titanic recovered from 24-3 to condemn Lilley to defeat in their first outing of the North Herts League season this afternoon at North Enfield Cricket Club.

 

The home side won the toss and perhaps surprisingly elected to field in perfect batting conditions.  Lilley continued with the preferred pre-season option of using Tim Perry and Brad Tompkins as openers, and they again looked solid in the opening exchanges, scoring freely off the medium pace of McGowan and Cooksey.

 

The introduction of two spinners in Smith and the other McGowan brother saw a change in momentum however.  After a long ball hunting delay, Perry was stumped for a tidy 34 by some distance by portly gloveman Allum.

 

Brad Tompkins followed soon after, chopping spinner McGowan onto his off stump.  Gareth Tompkins and James Ashby set about trying to steady the Lilley ship, but soon after drinks GT was trapped leg before by McGowan for just 11.  Ashby ruined Smith’s figures with a couple of big sixes over mid wicket, but he too came a cropper for 38 when he attempted to mow an Orton long hop into next week, succeeding only in playing the shot a week early and being bowled in the process.

 

Talat Malik, destroyer of Hexton’s attack the week before, could not repeat the feat this week and was bowled for 8.  The score became 136-6 when Dan Mills was caught having again played some sumptuous strokes before throwing his wicket away, but Majid Shah at the other end looked in fine fettle as he cruised into the twenties.

 

Shah had made 26 when he was adjudged leg before, but Karl Berry and debutante Amhad (14) continued to push Lilley on before the latter was caught.  The Dungeon Master Rich Kendall was snared leg before without troubling the scorers before Screech Paddington (3 not out) and Berry (8 not out) guided Lilley to 185-9 from 40 overs, denying Titanic the bonus point.

 

Talk at tea was of disappointment that none of Lilley’s top order kicked on again, but that 185 may just be competitive.

 

Those hopes received a huge boost when Ashby blasted through T McGowan’s defences midway through the first over of the innings and Allum could consider himself highly fortunate to have survived a huge leg before appeal and an inside edge which almost rolled onto his stumps soon after.

 

The second over was equally incident packed, and Malik soon had the other McGowan heading for the showers for nought having bowled him.  Allum and Orton had the task of trying to steady Titanic, but Malik struck a further blow when he trapped Orton leg before to leave the hosts at 24-3 and staring down the barrel. 

 

Allum survived a number of strong appeals, but he found an able partner in crime in Cooksey to re-build the Titanic innings.  Lilley’s usual potent spin partners Perry and Shah were both left scratching their heads as the home batsmen tucked in to anything slightly off line or length.

 

Debutante Amhad produced a tidy spell from the pavilion end, but the odds looked stacked against Lilley as Cooksey and in particular Allum were severe on anything loose. 

 

GT, having previously ruled himself out of bowling due to his thigh strain, could watch no longer and declared himself available to bowl off a few yards.  The move looked to have worked when he yorked a visibly tired Allum for 66, but Cimini (26 not out) joined Cooksey (69 not out) to see the hosts home by six wickets with eight balls remaining.

 

 

Hexton (219-8, 40 overs, Perry 2-38) beat Lilley (193 all out, 27.5 overs, Malik 68 not out) by 26 runs