Bishop’s Stortford beat Hemel Hempstead Town and West Herts to reach Readers Herts T20 Cup finals day
Bishop’s Stortford claimed two victories to win their group and advance to finals day of the Readers Herts T20 Cup on Sunday (June 8).
They saw off Hemel Hempstead Town by six wickets and Group D hosts West Herts by 62 runs, with finals day due to take place on July 13 when the other sides in action will be Broxbourne, Harpenden and Radlett.
In the first game, Hemel Hempstead won the toss and were bowled out for 79. Simon Lindop took three wickets and there were two apiece for Alex Hancock and Dom Clutterbuck.
Stortford successfully reached 83-4 in the 11th over as Adam Bassingthwaighte hit 32 at the top of the order before Will Dommett added 20 and Ben Twohig made an unbeaten 22.
In the second game, Stortford elected to bat after winning the toss and put 166-5 on the board.
Twohig led the way with 59no while Sam Davis made 34 and Max Sanderson added 28.
West Herts were then removed for 104 in the final over as Clutterbuck took four wickets and there was some excellent fielding, especially from Will Dommett.
The previous day, Stortford lost at Hertford in the Saracens Hertfordshire Premier League, Premier Division.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bowl, going on to see their opponents muster 273-7 from 50 overs.
Openers Hugh Cavener and Max Lawrence both made 50 while 119 runs were scored in the final 20 overs largely thanks to a cameo from Adam Carlson (44no off 30 balls). Clutterbuck (3-50) was the pick of the bowlers.
A 126-run fourth-wicket partnership between Cam Fletcher (68) and Twohig (65) kept Stortford ahead of the run rate after rain saw them set a revised DLS target of 268 from 47 overs.
But the innings collapsed after their dismissals - Twohig falling to an excellent catch on the boundary by Cavener - as the last six wickets fell for eight runs and they were all out for 217.
The second team lost a low-scoring encounter at home to Northwood in Division 2A by 19 runs.
Will Lambert (5-36) ripped through the visitors’ middle order as they were removed for just 110.
He had help from Austin Osborne and Harry Pigram, who took two wickets apiece, while wicketkeeper Ben Foster held five catches.
However, Stortford’s reply was well below par as two disastrous run outs and the spin bowling of Satyak Patel (4-13) led to them being dismissed for 91.
The third team lost by six wickets when they visited Hatfield Heath in the Tees Herts & Essex Border League, Premier Division.
The sides opted for a T20 contest due to the weather forecast and Storford put 131-6 on the board, mainly thanks to 15-year-old Ciaran Wilson’s 61.
That was not enough, however, as the hosts reached 132-4 with eight balls remaining.
The fourth team succumbed by 56 runs when they also opted for a T20 game at home to Little Hallingbury in Division One.
The visitors’ openers Stewart Goold (44) and Oliver Latham (92no) shared a 117-run stand in quick time to help them register 177-1.
Stortford’s reply was centred around 64 from James Lipscombe, but no one else made double figures and they finished on 121-9.
Meanwhile, the vets took on the World Cup-winning England over-70s as part of the club’s 200-year celebrations.
The international side batted first and compiled 232-6 with contributions from Stortford’s own Simon Sargent, captain John Evans (both 36), Derek Towe (43no) and Godfrey Lamb (33no). Darren Bennett took a couple of early wickets.
Matt Drury hit a brilliant 92 in reply, but accurate bowling from England - Marcus Young took 3-44 and Mike Stefford got 4-21 - saw Stortford bowled out for 210 in an exciting finish.
