The U13 & U15 Girls qualified for their respective Finals which took place this week. Both were against Freeland, so it was agreed one would be played at Whitepost Road and the other at Freeland.
On Tuesday the U13’s Final was played at WPR and Freeland were put into bat. The format in this league is each team starts at 200, batting in pairs for 4 overs and losing 8 runs per wicket lost.
Banbury’s bowlers restricted Freeland’s opening 4 pairs to scraps whilst taking regular wickets and only the experienced final pair gave Freeland a respectable score of 248 from their 20 overs. Kate Davies was leading bowler with 3 for 9 from her 3 overs, with Coral Reeves (3-12-2) & Chloe Hill (3-7-1), supporting well.
In reply, Banbury were always ahead of the run rate with the first 3 pairs taking them comfortably beyond the Freeland score without losing a wicket. This allowed the final two pairs the luxury of losing 5 wickets and still have enough in hand to win by 22 runs, finishing on 270, and Banbury retained the trophy they won in 2009,
On Thursday, the U15 team, missing two County players, travelled to Freeland and were put into field. After 11 overs Freeland had raced to 80 with opener Abby Flory having retired (25 NO). Then some strong bowling and fielding including two sharp catches by Pia Davies behind the stumps kept the score down to 101 for 6 from 20. Nicole Howlett finished with 2 for 13 from 4 overs, with Kate Davies, Chloe Hill & Coral Reeves each taking a wicket
Unfortunately, an excellent bowling attack kept Banbury always behind the run rate and every time a partnership developed wickets fell too. Banbury managed a creditable 69 from their 20 overs, with Pia Davies top scoring on 14, Nicole Howlett got 13 and Harriet Boland scored 12, to lose by 32 runs.
So we finished the year with two trrophies and two runners-up. Well done to all the girls who’v played this year and thanks to all the parents for their support and help throughout.