Scorecard

Northwood Town Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI v Harpenden CC 4th XI on Sat 04 Jul 2026 at 13:00
Northwood Town Cricket Club Lost by 5 wickets

Match report Northwood Town Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI lost by 5 wickets

Northwood Town’s Saturday 2nd XI suffered a disappointing 5-wicket defeat against Harpenden CC 4th XI, after being bowled out for 122 and then seeing Harpenden chase the target down in 22.5 overs.

It was a difficult batting day for Northwood, with early wickets putting the innings under pressure, but Mitesh Pondha stood tall with a fighting 47, giving the side something to bowl at. Northwood’s bowlers then battled hard and took five wickets, but Harpenden’s Michael Voight anchored the chase with an unbeaten 59 to guide the visitors home.

Northwood Town innings — 122 all out

Northwood batted first and found themselves under pressure almost immediately. Tushar Shah and Pradip Pandey both fell without scoring, while Harish Janardhanan made 7 and Kishan Gordhandas added 4 as Harpenden’s bowlers kept things tight.

Bijendra Vaghela showed some resistance with 15, but Northwood struggled to build a proper partnership in the top order. At that stage, the innings needed someone to take responsibility — and Mitesh Pondha did exactly that.

Mitesh played the standout Northwood innings of the day, scoring a very important 47. With wickets falling around him, he showed calmness, patience and good judgement, keeping the scoreboard moving and giving Northwood a chance of reaching a defendable total. Without his innings, the game could have slipped away much earlier.

There were small contributions from Kishan Bharodiya, who made 10, Hardik Nakum with 7, Krunal Puwar with 4, and Tejasvi Srivastava with 3, while Stanley Babukutty remained 1 not out. Extras also played a part, adding 24 to the total.

Northwood were eventually bowled out for 122, with Harpenden’s Adam Dyson doing most of the damage. He finished with excellent figures of 5 wickets for 27 runs, while Mohammad Umar, Mike Hughes, Ben Sutherland, Belal Hussain and Harry Robinson all picked up one wicket each.

Harpenden CC 4th XI innings — 127 for 5 from 22.5 overs

Defending 122, Northwood knew they needed early wickets and a disciplined bowling effort to stay in the game. The bowlers responded well and made Harpenden work for the chase.

Kishan Gordhandas bowled an excellent spell, taking 1 for 20 from 5 overs, including 3 maidens. He removed opener Anuj Behl for 25 and gave Northwood some control with a very tidy spell.

Tejasvi Srivastava also bowled well, finishing with 1 for 21 from 5 overs, including a maiden, and picked up the wicket of Ben Sutherland for 4. Stanley Babukutty chipped in with 1 for 19, bowling Henry Pollard-Beeton for 4.

The biggest wicket-taking impact came from Krunal Puwar, who picked up 2 wickets, removing Oliver Jones for 8 and Peter Head for 0. His spell gave Northwood a bit of hope and briefly put some pressure back on Harpenden.

However, Michael Voight proved to be the difference in the chase. He played a composed innings of 59 not out, controlling the run chase and making sure Harpenden did not panic despite losing wickets along the way. Belal Hussain stayed with him at the end on 10 not out, as Harpenden reached 127 for 5.

Northwood positives

Although the result went against Northwood, there were still positives to take.

Mitesh Pondha’s 47 was the standout performance with the bat. It was a proper fighting innings in difficult circumstances, and he gave Northwood something to defend when the innings could easily have collapsed.

With the ball, Kishan Gordhandas was excellent, bowling 5 overs, 3 maidens, 20 runs and 1 wicket. That kind of control is valuable in any match. Krunal Puwar also did well to take 2 wickets, while Tejasvi Srivastava and Stanley Babukutty both bowled tidy spells and picked up a wicket each.

Final word

A tough result for Northwood, but not one without effort. The batting never fully got going, and being bowled out for 122 left very little margin for error.

Still, Mitesh Pondha deserves real credit for a strong and determined 47, while the bowlers gave the side a fighting chance by taking five Harpenden wickets.

Harpenden were guided home by a composed unbeaten 59 from Michael Voight, but Northwood can take heart from the fight shown with the ball and Mitesh’s excellent resistance with the bat.

One to learn from, reset from, and come back stronger next week.

Northwood Town Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
8nb 5w 11b  
for 10 wickets
24
122		        
Tushar Shah b A Dyson 0 7 0
Bijendra Vaghela b M Umar 15 12 3 125.00
Pradip Pandey st A Behl b A Dyson 0 4 0
Harish Janardhanan b A Dyson 7 11 1 63.64
Kishan Gordhandas b A Dyson 4 12 1 33.33
Kishan Bharodiya b B Sutherland 10 51 1 19.61
Hardik Nakum ct O Jones b A Dyson 7 17 1 41.18
Mitesh Pondha b B Hussain 47 71 7 66.20
Krunal Puwar b M Hughes 4 16 25.00
Tejasvi Srivastava b H Robinson 3 25 12.00
Stanley Babukutty Not Out  1 6 16.67

Harpenden CC 4th XI Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Mohammad Umar8.0417117.002.13
Mike Hughes8.0219119.002.37
Ben Sutherland6.0120120.003.33
Adam Dyson8.012755.403.38
Belal Hussain4.2117117.003.92
Harry Robinson3.0011111.003.67

Harpenden CC 4th XI Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
12w 5lb 
for 5 wickets
17
127 (22.5 overs)		     
Anuj Behl ct Unsure b K Gordhandas 25 25 5 100
Ben Sutherland ct Unsure b T Srivastava 4 7 57.14
Michael Voight Not Out  59 52 8 2 113.46
Henry Pollard-Beeton b S Babukutty 4 26 1 15.38
Oliver Jones b K Puwar 8 10 2 80.0
Peter Head b K Puwar 0 3 0
Belal Hussain Not Out  10 14 1 71.43
Mohammad Umar  
Harry Robinson  
Mike Hughes  
Adam Dyson  

Northwood Town Cricket Club Saturday 2nd XI Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Tejasvi Srivastava5.0121121.004.20
Harish Janardhanan1.00900.009.00
Krunal Puwar4.5138219.007.86
Kishan Gordhandas5.0320120.004.00
Stanley Babukutty5.0019119.003.80
Kishan Bharodiya2.001500.007.50