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Washington put in a creditable performance with bat and ball on Sunday, but ran out losers by 7 wickets against a strong Berkhampsted side, comprising several Hertfordshire league players. The stars for the Wash were Pete Demitri who almost carried his bat through the innings scoring 66, John SanJose who hit 53 on debut, and bowlers Peter Kloss and Shawn Hill who both delivered their best spells for a while, only took one wicket between them, but completely tied the batsmen down. Indeed Washington appeared to have a good chance of winning two thirds of the way through the Berkhampsted innings. At 89 for 2 from 26 overs they required almost 8 runs an over. However wickets in hand meant that the batsmen could hit out more freely, and some ordinary Washington bowling and fielding also assisted the winning team. The home Berkhampsted side won by 7 wickets with 4 overs to spare. Earlier in the day Berkhampsted won the toss and put Washington in to bat on a green, but good pitch. Aff Naseem (0) went in the first over, a rising ball taking the glove and looping to gully. Shawn Hill (17) struck some sweet blows before being bowled and Pete Demetri, playing his first game of the season was struggling to place bat on ball at the other end. However two strong partnerships then formed the backbone of Washington’s innings. Paul Irons (30) and Demetri put on 56, and then John SanJose (53), playing his first game for Washington, and Demetri scored 79 together in little more than 10 overs. SanJose hit one huge 6 which virtually cleared the pavilion, quite a feat at this large ground. Demetri was now in much better form and several boundaries flowed from his bat. Several batsmen came and went in the closing overs, debutant Yogesh Bhatt (3) running himself out and Chris Davis (7) and Brad Hitchcock (0) departing quickly. Peter Kloss (5*) was there at the end of 40 overs but Demetri unfortunately chipped the penultimate ball to cover and was out for 66. Max Murrain (0*) faced the final ball. Washington ended on 199 for 8. After tea, skipper Hill first gave the ball to Max Murrain (0-47) and Peter Kloss (1-27). Kloss bowled exceptionally accurately, utilizing the sloped pitch well to pass the bat on the off side numerous times. He was unlucky to only gain the single wicket, caught behind. John SanJose (0-24) and Shawn Hill (0-17 from 8 overs) took over and both bowled well without success. Hill in particular bowled with a firey pace not seen for a season or two and, like Kloss, passed the bat many times. By this stage of the innings although Washington had taken only 2 wickets, they were on top having strangled Berkhampsted’s scoring with the accurate bowling. Almost 8 runs per over were now needed from the last 14. Unfortunately at this point the Wash lost it a little. Paul Irons (1-45) went for around 8 an over, as did Chris Davis (0-17) and David Gluckman (1-13), although he did get a wicket caught in juggling fashion on the midwicket boundary by Irons. Brad Hitchcock, behind the stumps, had a very good game. Berkhampsted were also aided by several Washington fielding lapses in this phase of the game and also demonstrated their skill and knowledge of the local conditions by striking balls into the gaps in the field and scoring many 2s. As it turned out they got home comfortably with over 4 overs to spare and only 3 wickets down. Shawn Hill said after the match “I’m glad we played well and didn’t let ourselves down at all. They were strong, particularly in batting, but we were in a good position with 15 overs to go and I am a bit disappointed we couldn’t capitalise on that. The season is young and we’ll have better luck next time, I’m sure.” Man of the match: Pete Demetri, for has hard fought 66 Packing the kit: Max Murrain for being 25+ minutes late at the Washington Washington: Pete Demetri, Aff Naseem, Shawn Hill (c), Paul Irons, John SanJose, Yogesh Bhatt, Chris Davis, Brad Hitchcock (+), Peter Kloss, Max Murrain, David Gluckman
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