Rickmansworth & Isambard Cricket Club

Isambard's inaugural Sixes tournament saw six teams dodge occasional showers to produce a memorable day of smash-and-grab cricket at Rickmansworth CC.  The Hadlee Super Kings, with a line-up familiar to most Isambard people, won the tournament, remaining unbeaten throughout.  They were deserving winners, astutely captained by Ric Firth, although he saved his only really big innings for them for the final.  Super Kings played well as a team - everyone except Pete Brooks managed at least one double-figure innings, and Brooks himself was their joint leading wicket-taker, along with Lachlan Gray.  All their bowlers were able to keep things tight, so pressurising opponents, and their team approach to batting saw them to success.
 
The teams initially played a round robin within two groups, as follows: 

Group A 

The first match in this group saw the Bradman Chargers, led by Sunny Munn, take on the Hadlee Super Kings.  The Chargers lived up to their name by tearing into the Kings' bowling like Mike Gatting at an all-you-can-eat buffet.  However, the Kings showed the wisdom of bowling at the stumps; five batsmen were castled as Sunny's men were dismissed for a mediocre 37 from 22 balls.  Only Munn stood firm, as Dave Treloar and Lachlan Gray took a brace apiece.  The Kings batted more circumspectly, but runs from Paul Frost and Dave Treloar saw them home with four balls to spare. 

Bradman Chargers 37 all out (2.6 overs) (S.Munn 13, L.Gray 2-6, D.Treloar 2-13).  Hadlee Super Kings 41-3 (4.4 overs) (P.Frost 16, D.Treloar 13 not out).  Hadlee Super Kings won by three wickets. 

Chargers then found themselves playing for survival against Steve Johnston's Bond Bar Braves, needing a win to have any chance of progressing to the semi-finals.  Ray Collins was, uncharacteristically, a complete anchor, with an unbeaten 22 as opener, while Casey 'Martine' McCutcheon belted a quick 18 at the end to see the Chargers to a good total.  In reply, Johnston played a captain's innings of 27.  Alas, his colleagues found runs harder to come by than an Imodium addict; the remaining five batsmen mustered just three between them, as Braves slumped from 30-1 to 32 all out.  McCutcheon managed a double-wicket maiden, rarer than an intellectual riposte from Jade Goody, whilst Ian Saunders took 2-2 to wrap things up. 

Bradman Chargers 71-2 (5 overs) (R.Collins 22 not out, C.McCutcheon 18 not out).  Bond Bar Braves 32 all out (4 overs) (S.Johnston 27, McCutcheon 2-0, I.Saunders 2-2).  Bradman Chargers won by 39 runs. 

The final game pitted the Braves against the Super Kings.  Batting first, the Braves made a fair total against bowling that was quite economical (a polite way of saying "wide and hard to hit").  Gray top-scored, retiring on 28 not out, whilst Johnston weighed in with two wickets in the final over.  In reply, Braves started like it was a Test match - 16-1 from their first three overs - only hitting their stride in the last two overs as Johnston and the splendidly-named Dustin Acton got going.  But the dismissal of Johnston - stumped by Paul Frost off a Pete Brooks wide, you couldn't make it up - left Braves too much to do.  The Super Kings posted a win that was probably more comfortable than the margin of victory suggests. 

Hadlee Super Kings 62-2 (5 overs) (L.Gray retired not out 28, S.Treloar 11, R.Firth 10, S.Johnston 2-8).  Bond Bar Braves 50-2 (5 overs) (S.Johnston 20, D.Acton 17 not out).  Hadlee Super Kings won by 12 runs. 

Group B 

A shock appeared to be on the cards in the opening Group B game, Rickmansworth Royals slumping to 18-4 against the Danbury Daredevils.  But some big hitting from Brett van Duppen, a.k.a. Dutchy, added 47 from the last two overs.  Daredevils were looking for a bright start; losing Paul Curry and Mat Lindsay to the first two balls of their innings probably wasn't it.  They never really recovered, subsiding to 36 all out. 

Rickmansworth Royals 70-4 (5 overs) (B. van Duppen 28 not out, M.Lindsay 2-7).  Danbury Daredevils 36-4 (5 overs) (J.Timberlake 2-4).  Rickmansworth Royals won by 34 runs. 

The victorious Royals then took on Isambard Knight Riders - sadly minus the Hoff.  Royals, assisted by Ric Firth, rattled up total that, were it a pair of breasts, would doubtless have been Jordan's prior to her first reduction - i.e. improbably large.  Firth's unbeaten 53 included some huge, er, hits, with only Dave Bywater standing, er, firm for Isambard.  In reply, the hosts appeared to be up for a fight, Matt Drew and Richie Robinson taking 37 from the first two overs.  But both were dismissed in Marc Robinson's over, along with Richie 'Not really my format' Gardiner.  Dave Bywater's 22 was ultimately too little, too late as Ricky sailed into the semis.
Rickmansworth Royals 87-4 (5 overs) (R.Firth 53 not out, D.Bywater 2-8).  Isambard Knight Riders 67-5 (6 overs) (M.Drew 23, Bywater 22 not out, R.Robinson 15, M.Robinson 3-4).  Rickmansworth Royals won by 20 runs.
 
Knight Riders then mixed up the batting order for their must-win game against the Daredevils.  Pete O'Sullivan Jnr. and Scott O'Brien hit the ball hard in putting on 53 in three overs for the first wicket, whilst Richie Robinson continued the trend to carry the hosts to a massive 88-3 from their five overs.  In reply, Daredevils lost two wickets in their first nine balls, with only five runs on the board.  Paul Danbury and Steve Spicer helped the Daredevils post a half-decent total, Danbury's knock including sixes from Roxy Bywater's first two balls.  But Bywater had the last laugh, bagging a brace as Isambard ensured their berth in the semis.
Isambard Knight Riders 88-3 (5 overs) (P.O'Sullivan Jnr. 30 not out, S.O'Brien 17, R.Robinson 17).  Danbury Daredevils 51-4 (5 overs) (P.Danbury 28 not out, S.Spicer 11, D.Bywater 2-17).  Isambard Knight Riders won by 37 runs.
 
Semi-Finals
Hadlee Super Kings v Isambard Knight Riders
Like many things in life, size isn't everything in this form of cricket.  The Super Kings only hit six boundaries in their innings - all scored by Simon 'Trigger' Treloar - yet still posted a useful 72-1 from their five overs.  Knight Riders' only success was a run out in the last over; at least it spared them being hit round the park again by Ric Firth.  In reply, the hosts made a stuttering start, losing Richie Gardiner and Dave Bywater early doors, but the third over, bowled by Pete Brooks, yielded 24 runs, mostly to Pete Jnr.  Could Isambard score 30 from the last two overs?  The penultimate over, bowled by Trigger, went for 13 from the first six balls, but then there were run-outs off of the final two balls.  Paul Frost kept his nerve, conceding just eight runs from the last over, and the Super Kings were in the final.
Hadlee Super Kings 72-1 (5 overs) (S.Treloar 37, P.Frost 14 not out).  Isambard Knight Riders 64-5 (5 overs) (P.O'Sullivan Jnr. 34, M.Drew 13).  Hadlee Super Kings won by eight runs.
 
Bradman Super Kings  v Rickmansworth Royals
Royals had opener Mick Horwood to thank for a decent total, as he scored 39 of their 61-5.  For Super Kings, Ian Saunders bowled a cat's arse-tight last over, taking 3-9, but Casey McCutcheon and Sunny Munn had bowled earlier with similar economy.  In reply, openers Simon Chadwick and McCutcheon found runs hard to come by; after Marc Robinson removed both in the third over, Chargers needed 34 from the last two overs.  Some big hitting and quick running from Sunny Munn almost did it for them, but ultimately they fell just short.
Rickmansworth Royals 61-5 (5 overs) (M.Horwood 39, I.Saunders 3-9).  Bradman Super Kings 56-4 (5 overs) (S.Munn 18 not out, S.Chardwick 10, M.Robinson 2-6).  Rickmansworth Royals won by five runs.

Final
Hadlee Super Kings v Rickmansworth Royals
The final saw the two unbeaten sides meet up; who would lose that record?  Super Kings started their innings like Gary Glitter chasing a school bus, reaching 42-1 at the end of the second over.  This was thanks to some quick hitting from the under-rated Simon Treloar, and Ric Firth racing to 27 in eight balls.  Marc Robinson calmed things down in the third over, whilst Brett van Duppen bowled a tight last over to peg the Hadlee-ites back.  That said, Royals' target of 77 was still stiffer than the aforementioned Mr.Glitter watching an old re-run of Minipops.
 
Royals needed a good start to stand a chance of victory; Dave Treloar's first over going for six singles wasn't it.  Then came disaster: Mick Horwood tried to launch Pete Brooks out of the ground, and instead found Simon Treloar, who held a good catch.  Two balls later, Sunny Munn tried the same thing, and this time found Paul Frost, who pouched another cracking catch.  Brooks thus ensured official Isambard cult status, although whether his golden arm will be tested in the eleven-a-side game remains to be seen.  A tight third over from Lachlan Gray sealed Royals' fate, and they fell well short of their target, despite van Duppen's best efforts.
Hadlee Super Kings 76-3 (5 overs) (R.Firth 41, L.Gray 11, S.Treloar 10).  Rickmansworth Royals 48-5 (5 overs) (B.van Duppen 30 not out).  Hadlee Super Kings won by 29 runs.
 
Wooden-Spoon Play-Off
Bond Bar Braves v Danbury Daredevils
A desire to progress to the bar saw this played with six-ball overs.  Daredevils looked set for a disappointing total, having reached 31-1 with one over remaining, but some powerful hitting from Mat Lindsay saw them to 50-1 from their five overs.  In reply, Braves' Steve Johnston led from the front with an unbeaten 31, seeing his team safely home with seven balls to spare.
Danbury Daredevils 50-1 (5 overs) (M.Lindsay 21 not out).  Bond Bar Braves 51-0 (3.5 overs) (S.Johnston 31 not out, T.Pearson retired not out 10).  Bond Bar Braves won by six wickets.
 
Reporting by Keith Williams.