Back into the swing of things. This time at the beautiful Widford on a scorcher of a day. After winning the toss and electing to bat - against the recommendations from the ground staff. We made a steady start with debutant Jono and pricey leading us out, they were both excellent in punishing any bad ball from stevenages openers. We lost Adam in the most Adam way possible bringing Hugh Reid to the crease, and in the subsequent 27 overs the boys put on 176, with very good running, some devistating 6s and careful sweeps and ramps. When HR departed for a well made 89 this was then when the attention turned to the main man. 15 year old Jono kept going and got a magnificent 121, to set a score of 276.

Unsurprisingly little chat of it being a bowl first day at drinks

Jack and Steve kicked thigs off, Stevanage were aggressive and connected with a few keeping up with the rate. It took a great catch from Joel to get our first and then the flood gates opened. Steve Jack leading with 3 wickets each , and sam kev and Liam finishing things off for a dominant win, on to next week.

Match Report – Saturday 23rd May 2026
Ware Second XI vs St Albans Fifth XI

We arrived at the ground with the knowledge that the match would be played on an artificial pitch, which filled everybody with a mixture of joy and excitement. Once again, I lost the toss and was instructed to bat, which is what I would have intended to do anyway, so that is now three tosses lost, two of which have produced the decision I would have chosen regardless.

We set about our batting in a slightly cagey and patient fashion, gradually building runs against what was, at times, a reasonably tidy bowling attack. Despite the relatively modest nature of the bowling, it proved effective enough to claim three early wickets, leaving us 25 for 3 in the 10th over.

This brought Alex and Matt together at the crease, and the pair worked hard to rebuild the innings. Alex played some excellent shots before eventually losing his wicket for a well-made 36 in the 17th over. Andy then joined Matt, who by this stage was beginning to look increasingly comfortable, playing some fabulous strokes and settling beautifully into his innings.

By the 25th over, Ware had progressed to 154 for 5, with Matt having secured his maiden club fifty and being well supported by Immy at the other end. Immy lost his wicket in the 26th over, bringing Dave Green to the crease, who supported Matt superbly and helped facilitate Matt’s continued march towards his maiden club century.

Jamie also contributed well in support of Matt, who eventually reached his century with confidence and, it must be said, the occasional slice of good fortune. After Jamie lost his wicket, John arrived at the crease and batted positively, including one particularly delightful boundary. Unfortunately, Matt finally lost his wicket in the 40th over, leaving Ware with a very respectable total of 217.

After a lengthy tea break to replenish fluids and rebuild energy levels, it was St Albans’ turn to bat.

Immy and Rizzo opened the bowling and were effective in keeping the scoring under control, although wickets proved difficult to come by during the early stages. The breakthrough eventually arrived courtesy of a fabulous catch by Andy at slip off the bowling of Alex.

St Albans responded well and built another solid partnership which proved stubbornly difficult to break until Dom took another good catch from my bowling. Jamie then entered the attack and bowled well, claiming another wicket thanks to a safe catch from Alex.

At this stage, St Albans had progressed steadily and were beginning to edge closer to the target, aided by some increasingly aggressive hitting. Imran then took another catch to dismiss what looked like a particularly dangerous batsman and briefly reignite hopes of turning the contest back in our favour.

Despite the hard work put in by everybody in the field and the commitment shown throughout the afternoon, St Albans ultimately reached their target in the 38th over.

Although the result did not go our way, there were still many positives to take from the game, not least Matt’s outstanding maiden century and several excellent moments in the field. The effort and determination remained throughout, even during challenging periods of the match, and there is every reason to believe that performances like this will soon be rewarded as the season progresses.