Fitz's Men March On

Top of the league and full of confidence, Adelaide 3s arrived at an overcast Barrowell Green in good spirits ahead of their meeting with Cheshunt Rosedale IVs. A good mix of youth and experience, as has become the norm this season for Andy Fitzpatrick's 3rd XI, meant that regardless of the toss the team looked well-balanced and full of quality.

The visitors won the toss and put the Adders in to bat. The returning Pete Tatakis joined the in-form Mike Cox at the top of the order. The two started watchfully, Pete showcasing all his trademark luck as a number of chances went down in the field. Let's just say, if Pete was a cat he'd be half dead by now! Both struggled to get Cheshunt's new ball pairing away, but once the first change bowlers were on runs began to flow. Just after their 50 partnership was brought up, Pete eventually departed for a very useful 22.

Cox saw his next two partners depart without troubling the scorers too much. Tristan Barton-Allen at 3 chipped one up for a duck and Milton DCosta holed out for 1 after an eventful innings that included one quite contentious appeal for a catch at slip. But Mike batted on expertly despite these setbacks, reaching his third 50 in a row with some lovely shots for 4, regularly piercing the leg-side. However, with the score on 109 he was smartly caught for a very good 62 - foundation nicely set for a big final 10 overs.

Dan Simms was unable to take advantage, falling for 10 to another good catch with the score still on 109. This proved a blessing in disguise for the As, with Ben Hammond and Aaron Fitzpatrick coming together. Both freed their arms and took the Cheshunt attack to the sword. Hammond in particular, with a point to prove having come down to the 3s, showed no mercy as he pulverised ball after ball to the fence. The two put 42 on in just over 5 overs before Aaron was caught at square leg. Young Tyler Cox-Smith failed to trouble the scorers at 8, but with Hammond still in at the other end boundaries kept coming. Eventually Ben missed one and was stumped in the final over to fall for 44 off just 20 balls, having taken the Adelaide score on to 168. Ellis then played a nice cameo, 7 off 2 balls, before Ben Whiting was adjudged LBW off the final ball of the innings. 175 set and a feeling that this would be enough to defend.

Such is the embarrassment of riches available to Andy at the moment, that he could have picked from 6 skilful, young seamers to open up the attack. Whiting and Heath got the nod, and showcased their ability to restrict the Cheshunt openers. The run rate was soaring, Ellis showing control and Ben a yard too quick for the batsmen to lay a glove on him. Heath picked up a wicket, bowled, and was unfortunate not to get one or two more after a couple of chances were put down, while Ben was very unfortunate to go wicketless.

On came the first change bowlers, Hammond and Fitzpatrick jr, with the opposition number 3 beginning to free his arms. Hammond cleaned him up after drinks as he went for just 5 runs off his 5 overs. Aaron at the other end was a bit looser but proved again his knack of taking wickets: Simms held on to a skier running back from cover, Barton-Allen took a smart catch at mid-off and then the number 6 found his timbers re-arranged as the younger Fitz went top of the Adelaide wicket-taking charts for the season.

Tyler Cox-Smith came on at the other end and showed his talent with tall left-arm swing bowling, reminiscent of a young Ellis Heath. He got the Cheshunt number 7 to nick off to second slip, well held by Mike Cox. The game, which realistically had been a foregone conclusion after the opening pair has restricted the visiting team, petered out a bit from there. Cheshunt's number 2 bat eventually hitting his first boundary in the 35th over and their number 8, aptly named 'Happy' hitting a few boundaries (including one beautiful flicked 6) as Adelaide let the intensity drop slightly. In the end, their score of 129-6 was well short, but also probably 15-20 more than Adelaide would have liked to have conceded.

A professional performance against a decent Cheshunt Rosedale side. The 3s are now well clear at the top of the C East division. Andy's beaming smile shows no sign of disappearing as he got to lead his 7th THE ADDERS in 7 weeks and promotion would seem to be a foregone conclusion in 2021.

Man of the match: Mike Cox's third 50 on the trot deserves a mention, but Ben Hammond's destructive 44 took the game out of reach and his 1-5 iced the game with the ball. Hammond MOTM

Written by: Dan Simms