Haddenham Young Guns Tear It Up In Narrow Loss
Not since Wham hit the top of the charts in 1983 have the Young Guns made such an indelible impression on those lucky enough to see them play live. In this case it was Hattie and Gayathri, rather than George and Andrew, who wow'd the large crowd at Haddenham Playing Fields on Sunday as they sent down delivery after delivery that had the very skillful Chalfont batters running for cover. The Wham impression continued when they batted as they had successful hit after successful hit, with Hattie almost snatching what would have been an incredible win for Haddenham.
Haddenham has rapidly become a team the village can be proud of, and this was on full display in this match as Haddenham restricted the very competent Chalfont Team to just 179. Clare F and Emma took important wickets but it was Gayathri's 2 wickets in 2 balls that was the highlight. Unbelievably close with the hat-trick ball which would have definitely taken the crowd to the edge of heaven
The bowling was complimented by the fielding which was excellent. Rach put her body on the line time and time again, Clare B stopped a definite boundary, and Laura's beautiful stumping which would have had Alan Knott purring with delight. Her play behind the stumps has been amazing and has improved even further since she's been using the kit she bought last Christmas.
Haddenham found batting tough to begin with but the beauty of this team is that we don't always know who will stand up and say 'I'm your woman'. This week it was Vicki who anchored the innings superbly and withstood a barrage of accurate fast bowling which paved the way for Emma to move things along when we needed it most, before Hattie played with freedom and put Chalfont to the sword.
In the end Haddenham scored 99 so only lost by 80 runs. The fans were transfixed and even if they were tempted to say wake me up before you go go, it was impossible to nod off. Things could have been even better if the 4 catches and one additional wicket we took had counted. Everyone agreed that the No Ball and Free-Hit laws need to change when we are playing.
With the temperature approaching 100 degrees the players and supporters retreated to the Club Tropicana. There was enough fun and sunshine for everyone and even though the drinks weren't free, we were able to suntan.
Tim Chowns
