A Shenley side depleted by the absence of regular players held out for a draw against lower-table opposition Reed on Saturday.

Reed opted to bat on a sunny day on the Shenley Cricket Centre wicket, which has improved steadily as the season has progressed.

The home side was missing the firepower of regular strike bowler Jon Haley, his place being filled by second-teamer Dave Wilson.

Wilson opened the bowling with Ed Lillywhite, and between the two of them they got the hosts off to a good start, taking three wickets before Reed had chalked up 30 runs in the first ten overs.

When the fourth wicket fell, Wilson's third, to a catch by keeper Mark Perkins, Reed had only 44 runs and Shenley looked well placed to take control of the game.

Reed's fifth wicket pair of opener Watts and Bowles added some runs and seemed to be taking a liking to the pace of the Shenley bowlers, so Woodward replaced them with Steve Scott and himself to see if the lesser paced bowling would do the trick.

Woodward sent back Bowles for 15, having him caught at point by Dave Affleck. This brought Ian Roberts to the wicket, who, after initially looking very uncomfortable, started to dispatch the ball to all parts of the ground.

The sixth wicket pair added runs at a considerable rate, and, despite bowling changes that saw Wilson and Lillywhite brought back, Shenley were unable to stem the flow.

Both Watts and Roberts recorded their half-centuries during the stand, and when Roberts was run out after a mid-wicket mix-up, the damage had been done as far as Shenley were concerned and more than 200 runs were on the board.

Some tighter bowling towards the end of the innings, especially by Scott, saw the visitors pegged back to 214, when at one stage they were set to score 240-plus.

With a very different top-order from usual, the home side knew that chasing the target would be a tall order, but, with the wicket playing very well, they went out in positive frame of mind.

Andy Lewis was joined by Scott to open the innings, but this proved to be an unsuccessful change when Scott was dismissed for just one run to a brilliant catch in the slips off the bowling of Allsopp.

Wilson was sent up the order in the Villagers' quest for quick runs, however this experiment failed when he was bowled after hitting just one boundary. The hosts were now 18-2 in the eighth over. Affleck, promoted from the second team for this game, came in to join Lewis and they consolidated the innings, adding 60 valuable runs in the next 17 overs.

However, this meant that Shenley were now well behind the required run rate with more than a run a ball needed for the last 22 overs. Lewis was bowled for 44, trying to up the pace, which brought Dave Stubbs to the wicket, who perished for only one run, scored in five overs, during which time the Villagers only added five to their total.

With the chances of victory slipping away as the run rate moved upwards, Woodward promoted himself to see if he could help improve the tempo of the innings.

He and Affleck added 40 in the course of the next six overs, but when he was bowled for 20 in the 37th over Shenley needed to go at nearly ten an over.

The next two men in, St John Fuller and Arthur Jenkins, both recorded ducks, and Affleck was bowled for a good 44, which left Shenley with little option but to play out for the draw, a task ably completed by 15-year-old Will Hodge and Lillywhite.

The game was drawn with Shenley closing on 149-8.

SHENLEY VILLAGE: Matt Woodward (Capt.), Andy Lewis, Steve Scott, Dave Wilson, Dave Affleck, Dave Stubbs, St John Fuller, Arthur Jenkins, Will Hodge, Ed Lillywhite, Mark Perkins (wk).

Shenley Village 149 for 8

Reed II 214 for 9

Saracens Herts League

Division Eight

July 3, 2002 14:30