Wield U9's vs Oakley U9's, Sat 11th June
Wield, 334-3 beat Oakley, 224-11
Well, so much for “Flaming June”: having had a wonderful week, the weekend arrived and down at the ground Robin was giving it one last trim in the rain and repainting the creases while I waited before putting out the tables and chairs! It did clear, just and sort of, so under leaden skies captain Thomas politely lost the toss for our second 10-a-side game of the season and we were batting first.
Maddy and Summer had a fairly slow start, mainly because they could not get to the ball – nine wides later we were off on 224. Josh and Max ran out and Josh immediately got to work hitting a 4 off his first ball. Max steadied things at the other end and as the blood rushed to Josh’s head a bit (with four 4s and a run-out and bowled) we were sitting pretty on 245-2. Olly and Tom took over and while both tried hard to connect, another rash of six wides and two no-balls slowed them up a little and we cruised to 273-2. Thomas and Charlie were next up and this time Thomas took the brunt of the 9 wides while Charlie blasted runs and two 4s from the other end – great to see Charlie getting into his stride here – 310-2. The final pair of Will and Harry stepped up and Will’s customary quick running put the field under all sorts of pressure while Harry supported well from the other end. A consolation run-out at the end dragged back a little, but 334-3 is a pretty unassailable score and the best of the season.
Thank goodness for Tea! Hot tea and coffee, and cakes galore today: Charlotte, Elles, Emma and Rachael really pushed the boat out with flapjacks, cookies and more cake and we hoped the skies would clear a little. But no matter, the flag was flying, we had scored well and we knew that our bowling is strong.
Maddy and Summer started the show and after Maddy’s quiet first over Summer had a bowled and run-out in her first. Maddy followed swiftly with a bowled herself but with wides Oakley moved off the mark to 204-3. Josh and Max, both looking to repeat previous multi-wicket hauls joined in and things stuttered a bit. Multiple wides instead and only one wicket from Josh moved Oakley onto 223-4, steady progress. Tom and Olly arrived and Tom was on fire today! He bowled one his first ball and then took a caught and bowled later in the over. Olly quickly replied with a bowled in his first over and dot balls followed, lots of dot balls. In Olly’s final over he took another wicket and Oakley went backwards to 212-8. Thomas and Charlie took up their positions and Thomas took one bowled in his first over. Charlie held down the other end with a maiden while Thomas had a fast run-out from Max in his second over and Oakley stuttered to 215-10. The final pair Will and Harry presented themselves and Tom executed another quick thinking run-out in Harry’s first over. Will baffled them with his speed at the other end and as we have seen before, accurate bowling can lead to accurate hitting as a couple of 4s went off leaving Oakley on 224-11 at the end.
Six out of six for the season so far for Wield and this was a brilliant win, although the wides and no balls were disappointing – 34 runs conceded here! However, the wickets bowled were unplayable balls, and the three run-outs showed quick reactions in the field, an excellent all round display. Thank you again too for the wonderful Tea, so welcome on a damp day!
Rupert Cazalet