Saturday was another historic day for HCC (and also for Hitchin CC). We believe that the match between Harpenden 8s and Hitchin 7s was the first such match in the history of cricket in Hertfordshire. This was very much a family affair too with four father-and-son combinations in the Harpenden side and three in Hitchin’s. A great day for showing the strength of the game in the county.

The 1st team delivered another victory by beating Totteridge Millhillians by 5 wickets. The bowlers shared the spoils then Andrew Neal posted a very fine ton (including fifteen 4s and three 6s) and skipper Jimmy Latham a half-century to see us home and keep the side unbeaten in the League:
Totteridge Millhillians: 231 all out off 44.1 overs (Seagrave 2-24, Dudding 2-36, Frazer 2-40)
Harpenden: 233-5 off 41.3 overs (Neal 102, J Latham 58)

The Women’s 1st team lost to Ampthill Town by 4 wickets:
Harpenden: 91-6 off 19.5 overs
Ampthill Town: 93-4 off 18.4 overs

The 2nd team went down to Leverstock Green by 9 wickets:
Harpenden: 105 all out off 31 overs
Leverstock Green: 108-1 off 19.5 overs

The Women’s 2nd team beat Cheshunt Rosedale by 43 runs:
Cheshunt Rosedale: 96-5 off 20 overs (Ahlowalia 2-16)
Harpenden: 119-1 off 20 overs

The 3rd team got back to winning ways by defeating Kings Langley by 5 wickets. There were wickets for skipper Jack Killen and Gareth Taylor, and a crucial 130-run partnership from Ben Newton and JK to see us home:
Kings Langley: 162 all out off 41.1 overs (Killen 4-36, G Taylor 3-??)
Harpenden: 162-5 off 44.1 overs (Newton 67 not out, Killen 47 not out)

The 4th team also got back on the campaign trail with a resounding 9-wicket win over Kings Langley 2s. Jon Taylor took his first 5-fer since Queen Victoria was on the throne before Anuj Behl and Mike Voight knocked off the runs:
Kings Langley: 95 all out off 26.1 overs (J Taylor 5-17, Hussain 3-9)
Harpenden: 97-1 off 17.5 overs (Behl 61 not out, Voight 33 not out)

The 5th team came agonisingly close to victory in their game against Offley & Stopsley, narrowly losing by just 8 runs despite the best betting efforts of skipper James Bell and Harry Robinson:
Offley & Stopsley: 174-6 off 40 overs (Robinson 3-30)
Harpenden: 166 all out off 39 overs (J Bell 48 not out, Robinson 44)

The 6th team joined the party with a fantastic 21-run defeat of Northwood Town 4s courtesy of strong knocks from Tom Buckley and Rich Barcock and a 4-wicket haul from Josh Hill:
Harpenden: 166-8 off 40 overs (Buckley 43, R Barcock 42)
Northwood Town: 145-7 off 40 overs (J Hill 4-28)

The 7th team found the going hard against Weston 2s, losing by 133 runs. Michael Honan scored an unbeaten half-century and took two wickets:
Weston: 280-6 off 40 overs (Z Honan 2-45, M Honan 2-54)
Harpenden: 147-9 off 40 overs (M Honan 65 not out)

Our historic 8th team gave a cracking account of themselves in losing by just 2 wickets to Hitchin 7s. The highlight of the Harpenden innings was an 80-run partnership between the father-and-son pair of Steven and Sachin Jallport (U13), both making their HCC Senior debuts. The pick of our bowlers was another father-and-son combo, Joss Abbott-Chambers and Nick Abbott, who very nearly took us to victory:
Harpenden: 190-7 off 40 overs (Steve Jallport 54 not out, Sachin Jallport 46, Ollie O’Toole 35 not out)
Hitchin: 193-8 off 35.2 overs (Abbott-Chambers 4-28, N Abbott 3-30)