Hertfordshire beat Wales Minor Counties by 65 runs.....
Unicorns Knock Out Trophy Quarter-Final
Harpenden Cricket Club
Sunday 14 June 2015
Hertfordshire 349-6
Wales Minor Counties 284
Hertfordshire win by 65 runs
It is not only England who are buying into the bold approach to batting in limited-overs cricket. Hertfordshire, led by sparkling half-centuries by Harpenden players Ben Frazer and Dan Blacktopp, reached the semi-final of the the Unicorns Trophy when their imposing 349-6 meant the scoreboard pressure was just too much for Wales Minor Counties to handle.
They will now return to Harpenden for the semi-final against Cornwall on Sunday July 26.
After Saturday's rain and a grey morning on Sunday delayed the start, Wales won the toss and, hoping the damp would make batting difficult, put Hertfordshire in. But captain Nesan Jeyaratnam, from North Mymms, and the prolific Bishops Stortford opener Eddie Ballard got off to a brisk start before Jeyaratnam fell in the sixth over with the score on 33.
That brought in Tanweer Sikandar to join Ballard a week after their record-breaking partnership of 431 against Buckinghamshire. With Sikandar timing the ball bell and finding the gaps in the field, and Ballard becoming more fluent the longer he batted, the pair took the score to 148 before Sikandar was bowled for a 58-ball 56. Ballard was run out for 66 by a direct hit from the boundary, but at 174 for three in the 31st over the platform had been set for Frazer and Blacktopp to step up the pace.
Frazer hit 79 off 49 balls with 10 fours and four sixes and Blacktopp an unbeaten 74 off 55 balls with six fours and one six. George Scott, the Potters Bar all-rounder who is also with Middlesex, added a late flourish of 25 off 20 balls with two fours and a six as Herts set Wales a daunting total.
Frazer was again the star with the ball, taking four for 57 in his 10 overs, and he was well supported by North Mymms left-arm spinner Syed Kazmi, with two for 47 off nine overs, and Sikandar (two for 36 off eight), while Will Jones delivered another fine new-ball spell without luck.
The fifth bowler proved a slight problem, however, with Nick Lamb, the Harpenden all-rounder, disappearing for 33 in two overs and Scott for 52 in five.
But the pressure of the scoreboard meant that Wales had to keep swinging hard and taking risks. That led to regular wickets and they were finally all out for 284 at the end of the 43rd over to give Herts a convincing win.
Hertfordshire now resume their championship campaign with a three-day match against Bedfordshire at Hertford cricket club, starting on Sunday morning at 11am.
Hugh Bateson
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