DESPITE being surrounded by forked lightning, tremendous rumbles of thunder and deeply black skies, Northwood Town and St Albans managed to evade the rain and get in an exciting game that consisted of 477 runs in less than 80 overs, an average of six runs per over throughout the match.

Town skipper Adam Hills lost the toss and unsurprisingly, given the intense heat, the hosts were asked to field. It was to be a long day of toil in the field for Town as once again their inconsistent and wayward bowling was exploited by the batsmen. St Albans showed their attacking intention from the start and Town didnt help themselves through poor bowling, desperate fielding and numerous dropped chances. Although Neil Dudley, Musharaf Malik and Dave Harding took a wicket each, St Albans wracked up an impressive 275-3 in just 42 overs with Ferguson remaining unbeaten on 126 for the visitors.

In reply, Town had little choice but to attack and they did so in impressive fashion. Dudley in particular produced a fearless show of aggressive batting and smashed 50 in just 24 balls. Supported by Musharaf Malik, Dudley showed no intention of stopping but was finally dismissed for 79 (2x6, 14x4) as Town reached 111 in just 10 overs. Clearly the run rate was to slow down but Jim Cotton (18) did his best to keep the momentum going before he and Malik (39) were to go in successive balls. Remarkably Town were still well up with the required run rate but priorities changed as the monsoon was seemingly approaching. The hosts were determined to reach maximum batting points whilst the visitors sensed victory. Dave Harding (16) ensured Town got to the 200 mark and St Albans snatched victory soon after to win the game by 73 runs and finish a thoroughly entertaining game.

Hills was encouraged by the fight back:
"It was a very disappointing performance with the ball but I was pleased that we kept the spirit up and showed a good attitude to have a go and chase the high target. Whilst we were well short in the end, we gave a good account of ourselves with the bat. We know we must improve in the field in future games."