U13 Boys Indoor Cricket v TSA II

On Friday 3 February the year 7 & 8 boys were eagerly awaiting the second clash in their three match series against Thompsons Sports Academy. There are lots of boys at this age group who practice at lunchtimes and so this friendly fixture was the perfect opportunity for those boys to get some competitive cricket. Captains Toby Rice and Louie Dun were selected to take part again alongside some of the debutants and it became clear right from the start that their knowledge, experience and leadership skills were going to be invaluable.

St Kath’s batted first for the second time as openers Dun and Williams took to the crease hoping to get things off to a strong start. Louie wasted no time getting going and rotated the strike well. Joe followed suit and the boys put on an impressive opening partnership of 30 runs before Louie retired. Louie was desperate to go back to the hutch with a 6 under his belt and his eyes lit up when he came down the track and hit the bowler straight back over his head. Unfortunately for Louie the ball bounced just inches short of the back wall, much to his disappointment! Joe then helped Ben settle in to his batting before being unluckily run out after some sharp TSA fielding. Joe was backing up brilliantly at the non-strikers end when a fielder got a hand down to the ball and deflected it onto the stumps leaving him helplessly short of his ground. Ben continued the momentum as he and Harry formed another strong partnership. Ben’s natural athleticism and Harry’s touch were the perfect combination as both boys rotated the strike brilliantly to keep the score moving. The top 4 had all batted so well and set such a strong platform that there were only a couple of overs left and the score was already healthy. Ben and Harry retired to give Corey and Ari the chance to come in with a free licence. Corey took just 1 ball to settle into his stride before absolutely clubbing his second delivery into the wall for runs. Corey meant business but unfortunately his innings was cut short when he flicked a length delivery towards a TSA fielder who took a great catch. Ari was then joined by Jody for the last over and the boys continued to add runs to the total. After a really strong batting performance SK had reached 91 and were feeling confident about their chances of defending their total.

Lots of the boys were really nervous before stepping up to bowl but the only way to overcome those nerves, improve your bowling and boost your self-confidence is to get out there and do it! It was great to see so many boys bowling for the very first time and learning ball by ball. You can see from the bowling figures that this was a real team effort. The SK boys fielded brilliantly and this supported the bowlers giving them even more confidence. Two fantastic run outs from Jody Quinn, who had only 1 stump to aim at, followed by Toby Rice who just can’t keep out of the action really boosted the boys. Nana GS was in the thick of it as well behind the stumps and held a number of impressive takes. Perhaps the pick of the bowlers was Harry Slape who picked up 2 wickets for an average of just 4 runs. As impressive as their performance was TSA were still making good progress towards the total. Having thrown the ball to everyone else out there I could see Toby was itching to bowl. He had done such a superb job of supporting his team mates through their overs that he deserved a couple of overs himself and in typical fashion was economical and clinical. Toby rounded off a fantastic performance and held the opposition to a total of 84.

I can honestly say that over the last few weeks I have been struck by the quality of the sporting leadership across the school. On Friday evening I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by a handful of phenomenal leaders which meant that I did very little other than sit back and enjoy the occasion. Tom and Danny from year 11 and Caolan in year 10 gave up yet another Friday to umpire and score the match. As well as this the boys offered some brilliant advice to the younger boys and really helped them to improve. The younger boys love it when the older ones help – it is far more interesting than listening to me! As well as three fantastic older leaders Toby and Louie really took the reins on the field. Toby led the group for a really thorough warm up and both boys really understood how important it was to give others the chance of some competitive experience. Louie and Toby supported their team mates brilliantly and the progress they are making is testament to how well they are led. Great leaders lead by example and these boys set 5 of the best examples there are. The older boys are superb role models for the younger ones and the captains create a brilliant team atmosphere which makes the competitions so enjoyable for everyone.

Special thanks once again to the TSA boys for travelling over to us in pretty horrendous weather conditions!

Well done to everyone involved.

Mr Cook