U13 Boys Cricket v Sidcot

On Wednesday 3 May the U13 boys faced their first opponents of the outdoor season in the form of Sidcot School. We were really lucky to have the support of local cricket club Lodway who kindly allowed us to use a pitch for the game – this was a great opportunity for a number of the boys who don’t yet play for a cricket club!

Max ANDREWS, Louie DUN (c), Corey GARLAND, Nana GYIMAH-SARPONG, Benjamin LUMOSO, Toby RICE (c), Ariel RUGMAN, Harry SLAPE, Ollie STRATTON, Jack THOBURN, Joseph WILLIAMS, Maxwell WILLIAMS

Captain Toby Rice made his way out to the middle to win the toss and put the opposition in to bat first. Toby and Ollie took the first two overs between them and both started well with the ball just conceding 1 run from the bat. The other few runs came in the form of byes with a little inexperience in the field. This wasn’t surprising given that there were 5 boys in the team playing hardball cricket for the first time. The more experienced boys were quick to give their support and encourage their team mates to learn about the game as they played.

The first bowling change saw Louie and Maxwell thrown the ball and again both boys bowled economically but struggled to find a break through. The Sidcot opening pair were demonstrating solid technique by keeping the straight ball out but were not scoring at a worrying rate. One of the Sidcot boys needed a runner due to an injury so it was surely only a matter of time before the drama would begin. It was a bold move from Toby to bring on Louie and Maxwell at the same time with both boys being spinners but it proved to be a great choice when an inevitable mix up between the 2 batsmen & runner gifted Louie an easy run out. Maxwell kept his end tight and you can see from the figures below that it could very well have been pressure at his end that led to the wicket.

Jack Thoburn, Harry Slape and Joe Williams bowled the next four overs between them and all offered something different with the ball. Jack picked up a wicket in his second over when Louie held an easy catch standing at mid-off. Jack’s skiddy, low action was causing the Sidcot boys problems and eventually led to his wicket. Harry and Joe then both weighed in with vital overs; Harry gave his deliveries a lot of flight whereas Joe hit the pitch much harder – both boys doing their job at the back end of the innings. Toby and Ollie both came back on to finish their overs at the end and kept things tight so that after 12 overs Sidcot had a total of 54 at an average run rate of 4.5 per over.

Captains Toby and Louie led the charge with the run chase and set about getting after that 54 as quickly as they could. Louie rotated the strike well and left the bulk of the shot making to Toby. Toby looked to be seeing the ball well when he smashed two consecutive boundary fours through the covers which took him to 19. Toby then got a straight one with quite a lot of natural variation that bowled him. Ollie Stratton and Maxwell came to the crease shortly after Sidcot had their second wicket and just kept the runs coming. Ollie quickly got into his stride and took a lot of the strike which was unfortunate for Maxwell. Shortly after scoring his last 4 Ollie was retired along with Maxwell which gave Max Andrews and Jack Thoburn the opportunity to go out and hit the winning runs. Max really went after the ball and it was his bat on ball that eventually allowed boys to run through to victory. They batted out the remaining 12 deliveries and finished up on 61.

Special mentions to the boys who were playing hardball cricket for the first time! Nana GS did a great job behind the stumps and got behind any wayward bowling really well stopping vital runs. Nana is really keen to learn and would be a great asset to any cricket club. Max Andrews could quite easily be a really destructive force with the bat given the opportunity for some more time at the crease. Ben Lumoso is a fantastic athlete in the field and with his natural height and athleticism is more than useful with the ball too. Corey Garland has improved massively this year and offers real variation as a left handed bowler; he also has a natural eye for the ball too! Finally Joe Williams is a great all-rounder who hits the pitch hard and scores runs. All of these boys really need to get themselves to cricket clubs and Lodway would be perfect for them!

A big thank you to Caolan, Matty and Louis from year 10 who all came along to lend a hand. The boys set up everything for me, took on umpiring and scoring duties as well as helping boys get padded up ready to play. They could have run the fixture themselves!

Well done boys – a great afternoon of cricket with lots of vital hard ball experience. Many thanks to Sidcot for making the trip over to us.

Mr Cook