On probably the wettest wicket and out field ever to stage a game of cricket Banbury and Wicken Under 11’s competed manfully in the South Northants Final.
Under 11’s is an eight a side pairs cricket game, each innings starts at 200 and each pair bats for 4 overs losing 5 runs for every wicket lost.
Having won the toss and electing to bat first and with runs always at a premium Banbury got off to the worst possible start by losing a wicket in the first over but from then on batting sensibly and with some great running between the wickets they ended up posting a challenging target of 258, the main partnerships came from man of the match Andrew Pallett (11), who also kept wicket magnificently and Jack Briggs (6) totalling 23 with no wickets lost and then the last pair Will Briggs (12) and Daniel Nash (4) contributed 20 again without the loss of wickets.
This total always seemed beyond Wicken who also batted sensibly only losing three wickets in their innings but never emulated Banbury’s running between the wickets finishing on 225. The main feature was Banbury’s accuracy on the bowling front only giving away 2 wides and solitary no ball coupled with another energetic ground fielding display with great backing up when the wet ball was flying around and a secure focal point in Andrew Pallett behind the sticks.
Banbury will now represent the South Northants League in the Northants Finals day to be held on Sunday 19th August at Overstone Park Cricket Club.