Girls Rounders vs Backwell

Thursday 18 May

Year 7: St Kath’s 13 – 10 Backwell

After an initial victory last week, the Year 7 team were hopeful of another similar result.  The Backwell side lost the toss and were put into bat first.  Immediately the St Kath’s side made an impact with some sharp fielding by Maya Matthews to 2nd post Chloe Weaden, resulting in a number of girls being stumped out.  Ella Leakey was reliable backing up 1st and linked well with bowler Jess Stanley.  The Backwell side rose in confidence in their 2nd innings and this resulted in much improved batting by their team, this forced errors by the St Kath’s side, giving away half rounders easily.

When batting it was clear that the St Kath’s side would be dominant.  Isobel Taylor led the charge on the 1st ball with an immediate rounder to set up the rest of the team.  Rounders followed for Ella Leakey, Sophie and Chloe Weaden and Jamie-Leigh Bell and the rest backed these up with really useful halves.  The Backwell side made up for their batting with some really tight fielding, so towards the end of the game, it was clear this would be a really close game.

The final score was a well-deserved victory for the St Kath’s side and Ella Leakey was voted player of the match.

Year 8: St Kath’s 16 – 21 Backwell

The game was a really close one, despite the result, with both side having their share of excellent batting and secure fielding.  Beth Edwards was her dependable self as bowler and gave little away for the Backwell side to bat at.  The secure combination of Molly Jackson and Leah Milkins and Amelie Purvis in the deep kept the Backwell batters at bay; however they were able to find the gaps.

When batting, the St Kath’s girls kept in touch with the strike rate and the game looked like it was heading for a nail biting finish.  Great batting by all, including a number of rounders by Beth meant the St Kath’s side kept in touch.  However in the final balls of the game, the Backwell fielders tightened up and gave nothing away, limiting the St Kath’s scoring and handing the victory to the Backwell side.

Year 9: St Kath’s 3 – Backwell 10

With a number of players dropping out at the last minute, it was disappointing that they were only able to field a team of 7 players versus the full 9 of Backwell.  The St Kath’s side batted well, however the Backwell side were an excellent match and were well up the task, giving on half rounders away, even off of some fantastic strikes by the St Kath’s side.  Batting with only 7 players wasn’t the real test however, this came when fielding.

The bowling was taken up by Jazzy Pither, who was accurate and dependable, 2nd post was Izzy Fielden, who was excellent in taking all balls fired in at her at pace, linking well with backstop Ruby Webber.  However with only 7 players, it was up to Ellie McCarthy, Priscilla Lumoso and Maisy Atkins to cover the field and unfortunately with the lack of players, holes began to open up and rounders were scored by the Backwell side.  A loss for the St Kath’s side but a really hard working performance from the 7 players.

Year 10: St Kath’s 10 – Backwell 10

Due to the late arrival of Backwell, St Kath’s managed to use the opportunity to practice their fielding techniques, which was evident during the game.

Captained by Megan Griffin, St Kath’s began by batting first. It took the team a while to get into their batting stride, losing Lauren Dun early on in the innings, followed shortly by three other players who were stumped out by poor decision making.

As Backwell, stepped into bat, they had only 4 rounders to take the lead. St Kath’s showed some great effort in retrieving the balls quickly and accurately, either sending it to Lauren Toms on fourth post, or Lauren Dun on second. Despite the team’s effort, Backwell ended the first innings leading St Kath’s by one run.

In the second innings, St Kath’s managed to double their score by utilising some poor fielding decisions and taking a few risks which paid off. Despite some big hits from Backwell, the deep field and 2nd base partnership between Bo Marshall and Lauren Dun was slick, resulting in some of their key batters finishing their batting innings prematurely. With one good ball left, and Backwell trailing by 1/2 rounders, the game was up for grabs. The final batter contacted the ball and sent it between 1st- 2nd base. Thankfully, St Kath’s made the right judgement and fielded the ball to 4th post resulting in the final score being 10-10.

Special mention must go to Faye Morris not only for receiving Backwell’s player of the match but also for her consistent bowling.