9 Boys Cricket Tournament

On Wednesday 14 June the year 9 boys headed for Weston CC for their annual NS cricket tournament. This day is a fantastic opportunity to play a lot of cricket against local schools which the boys were relishing. The sunshine was beating down over WSM and conditions were set for a perfect day! The boys were entered into the elite tournament and were up against Clevedon, Churchill and Gordano.

Will CONROY, Ethan EGGLESTON, George HARDWELL, Kaie LAWRENCE, Corey PARKHOUSE, Alfie RENDELL, Eli SMITH, Logan WEST, Alexander WILSON

Game 1: Clevedon

In their first match the boys were put into bat first and were looking to set a competitive total for their 10 overs. The format of the matches is slightly different from normal cricket in that a wide or no ball is 2 runs and the following delivery is a free hit for the batsmen. In a 10 over game with these rules nobody was quite sure what a decent total was, but they did know that extras would prove costly.

Ethan and Alex got things underway and looked to be going well. Ethan rotated the strike well and Alex looked to face the majority of balls as he was going well and into double figures inside the first over. Having taken a single off the last delivery, Alex was on strike again but unfortunately in his haste to score was undone by a length delivery. Conroy then came to the crease and settled down right away. Ethan and Will were batting well together until Ethan was dismissed in the strangest of manners, which actually turned out to be an incorrect decision. Ethan was bitterly unlucky at the time and even more frustrated the following day when he found out that he shouldn’t have been given! The boys needed runs and it was Will Conroy and Kaie Lawrence who provided them; both boys seeing out the remainder of the innings and finishing on 24 and 22 respectively. Clevedon would need 83 to win.

In typical fashion Alex opened the bowling and was very tight for the first over. The second over was a little different and it was clear that Clevedon’s two bat was going to do the majority of the run scoring. The first ball of Eli Smith’s over broke the opening partnership but needed a phenomenal catch from Ethan Eggleston. I was stood and square leg and had a brilliant view of Ethan coming round from midwicket at full speed to catch a ball around his ankles on the run – a fantastic piece of fielding.  Clevedon ploughed on with their number two scoring at a good rate. It wasn’t long before he retired which allowed Alex Wilson, Logan West and George Hardwell to rip through the Clevedon middle and lower order. Unfortunately for SK the wickets meant that their two bat returned for the final and decisive over which saw them hit four off the last delivery needing 2 to win. A cruel defeat for the SK boys who could consider themselves more than unlucky!

Game 2: Churchill

Their second match was against Churchill who had also lost their first match at the hands of Gordano. It was clear right from the outset that the SK boys were still suffering the after effects of their first match defeat. This game could be summarised with just two statistics; 24 dot balls batting and 26 extras conceded bowling.

The boys were put into bat again which brought Ethan and Alex to the crease for a second time. Ethan accumulated well and again left the big hitting to Alex. Alex was helped a lot with a ridiculously short boundary on his leg side. One delivery in particular stands out which Alex flicked off of his pads which comfortably went for 6. It was little surprise that Alex retried shortly after hitting 3 sixes and a 4 among his 24 runs. Will was mightily unlucky in his second innings after he was found agonisingly short of his ground after a direct hit run out. Ethan and Will did absolutely the right thing in taking on the field and although Will had been run out, I wished that more boys had done the same! Ethan, Kaie, George and Eli saw out the remainder of the innings but struggled to score at a quick enough rate. There were too many runs left out there not enough urgency to score. The exception was George Hardwell who came and went quickly but actually added 7 runs to the tally in half as many deliveries. In a 10 over innings you can afford a couple of runs out (providing you haven’t lost early wickets) and really need to put pressure on the field. Their 24 dot balls meant that they finished on 79 runs – not a bad total but could have been a lot more.

As it turned out 79 wasn’t enough and Churchill chased them down with an over to spare; not least because SK conceded too many extras. The boys ripped through the Churchill batting line up; Wilson, Conroy (2) and Rendell all taking wickets. The only man they couldn’t get out was the Churchill 1 bat who retired having scored his 22 in quick and destructive fashion. The boys were a little disheartened by this as they were convinced they had him run out in his teens after some sharp work in the field. You couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the SK boys as they didn’t seem to be having any luck but to make matters worse for themselves they didn’t play great cricket in the second game either.

Game 3: Gordano

Having lost 2 games and knowing they were unable to end up winners at this point the boys made the decision to give those who had not batted / bowled as much an opportunity. Unfortunately for them and for Corey Parkhouse he was really struggling with his hayfever. In the second game he was forced to leave the field and couldn’t play at all in the last game but nobody was more frustrated than he was. Despite losing Corey the boys were determined to better themselves in the last game – and they did!

They were tasked with setting the total for a third time and this time opened up with Logan West and Eli Smith. Eli was really unlucky early on which left the batting to Logan and George. Both boys batted really well, scoring runs by punishing the wayward delivery and rotating the strike the rest of the time. If the boys weren’t sure this was perfect evidence that they had arrived at this tournament without a batting tail. There are stronger batsmen in this team but there really are no tail-enders and the rest of the team can all bat! George and Logan built up a great partnership which helped their team post a decent total. George retired on 23 while Logan was eventually run out for 14. Alex and Alfie saw out the innings and both batted impressively. Alex typically took the bowler on in attempt to add some quick runs at the backend of the innings but Alfie particularly impressed by scoring a single off of every ball he faced. He might have only finished on 3 but gave Alex the strike and didn’t waste any scoring opportunity himself.

Gordano were chasing 77 for victory and things were looking good for St Kath’s when George Hardwell helped himself to a caught and bowled in his first over. He didn’t stop there and picked up his second wicket in his next over. It was a great bowling display such that we can forgive him appealing to me after clean bowling the Gordano 3 bat. Gordano weren’t rocked by these two early wickets and re-established a solid partnership which would eventually see them to victory. In cruel fashion, for the second time in the day it came down to the last delivery; Gordano needed 1 and got it scrambling through to 77 and victory. The St Kath’s boys were really unlucky once again but didn’t let their disappointment spoil what had been an enjoyable day’s cricket.

Man of the tournament was a tricky decision as all of the boys had contributed at various times throughout the day when it was needed. Will Conroy came in against Clevedon and added runs when it really mattered, George Hardwell scored at a good rate and picked up wickets with the ball, Alfie Rendell was solid with bat and ball but the statistics don’t lie. Alex Wilson top scored with the bat, was joint leading wicket taker as well as being the most economical bowler so has to take the title.

Well done gentlemen – a tough day on the cricket field in terms of results but a hugely enjoyable day nonetheless!

Mr Cook