The U15s dodged the rain last Monday to kick off their league season against Chipping Norton CC at White Post Road.Having won the toss and opted to bowl, the work our bowlers put in during our winter training sessions started to pay off straight away. Archie H was quick and miserly (4-0-7-1), Shiva S grinned his way through another brilliant spell (4-2-8-3), and our first change bowlers Olly A (3-0-8-2) and Charlie P (2-0-10-0) kept the pressure on. We know Stan J from CNCC is a good player, and he batted well for his 23, but once he was out at 34 for 5 - to a good catch by Will R - Olly, James D (3-0-7-1) and Theo W (4-1-8-1) closed out the innings really well, with CNCC finishing on 53 for 8 from their 20 overs. The ground fielding was good, there were no dropped catches, and the energy from the lads in the field was excellent. It was nice to see our two spinners sharing 4 wickets as well.
Toby B was dismissed early on in our chase, but Bertie R and Ben M steadied the ship in the face of some good bowling from CNCC. When Bertie was out, at 24-2, there was no need to panic – but we did anyway! After 3 quick wickets reduced us 32-5, Ben M and James D batted sensibly, and at 49 for 5 the coaches had started to relax. Then an LBW decision for Ben M (23), a run-out, and some more good bowling from CNCC, left us 49 for 8 (and the coaches a bit less relaxed). Credit goes to James D (1*) and Theo W (3*) for calmly seeing us home for a 2 wicket victory, and also to CNCC for staying in the game and nearly grabbing a win – Elliot W, their left-arm seamer, bowled really well (4-0-9-4).
It’s always good to win your first league game, which was thanks mainly to the bowlers this time – they were all excellent. Some of our batters played poor shots and lackedpatience, but there is plenty of time for them to work on that - their day will come. This was a solid team performance, but quick mentions to our keeper Toby B who stepped up (from our U13 squad) and did a great job keeping to some unfamiliar bowlers, and to James D and Theo W for their all-round performances.
A big thanks to Greg P and Mark W for sharing the umpiring duties, to Rich H for scoring, to Martin P et al. at White Post Road for the very good wicket, and to all the parents, squad players and other supporters who came to watch what ended up being a very exciting game. We hope you enjoyed it.