After snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Sherwood in the rain, the under 15's came up against Hucknall on a contrastingly pleasant summers eve at GLA. Having already defeated them in the under 13 age group and with a side close to full strength, I was hopeful the boys at the very least could do themselves justice and put in a performance with both bat and ball and potentially continue our push for the title, alas it was not meant to be! Although not through trying.
Batting first Hucknall got off to a flier being 30-0 after 4 overs, the introduction of Charlie Bateman however had immediate success taking a wicket with his first ball, an impressive catch by Evan Poole (some may say he dived for the cameras/press present). Ryder Wyatt, also now into the attack took a wicket in his first over but with the score on 41-2 after 6 overs Hucknall were still in a commanding position. The score raced along to 83-2 after 12 overs until a combination of the retirement of Hucknall's best bat and the introduction of Ethan Wright in particular slowed the scoring rate massively, with only 25 runs coming from the final 8 overs. Ethan finishing with excellent figures of 4-1-14-2 supported by Olly Lees 2-0-8-1 and death bowling specialist Stanley Tatham bowling a wicket maiden in the penultimate over to keep Hucknall to 108 for 6 in their allotted 20, a great effort after the start they got. In reply we lost the wickets of Evan and Sam early to Hucknall's star bat turned bowler, and with the score on 15-2 after 5 overs new batsmen Ethan, and Stanley not only now had to rebuild but also look to keep up with the run rate. Ethan was dismissed in the 9th over with the score looking slightly healthier at 37-3, with the in form Jack Spafford joining Stan at the crease. Stan in particular then decided to go on the offensive, playing an array of delightful cricket shots around the ground to eventually retire on an excellent 35 and put us in with a chance of winning.
Requiring a run a ball to win with 5 overs to go was a great effort and we believed!! Unfortunately Jack watched as partners came and went valiantly chasing the target to eventually close on 100-8 after our alotted 20.
A great spectacle enjoyed by both sets of fans and the media present, the boys showed fighting spirit with both bat and ball, Claudio could'nt have been prouder!
MOM- Stan Tatham
Batting first Hucknall got off to a flier being 30-0 after 4 overs, the introduction of Charlie Bateman however had immediate success taking a wicket with his first ball, an impressive catch by Evan Poole (some may say he dived for the cameras/press present). Ryder Wyatt, also now into the attack took a wicket in his first over but with the score on 41-2 after 6 overs Hucknall were still in a commanding position. The score raced along to 83-2 after 12 overs until a combination of the retirement of Hucknall's best bat and the introduction of Ethan Wright in particular slowed the scoring rate massively, with only 25 runs coming from the final 8 overs. Ethan finishing with excellent figures of 4-1-14-2 supported by Olly Lees 2-0-8-1 and death bowling specialist Stanley Tatham bowling a wicket maiden in the penultimate over to keep Hucknall to 108 for 6 in their allotted 20, a great effort after the start they got. In reply we lost the wickets of Evan and Sam early to Hucknall's star bat turned bowler, and with the score on 15-2 after 5 overs new batsmen Ethan, and Stanley not only now had to rebuild but also look to keep up with the run rate. Ethan was dismissed in the 9th over with the score looking slightly healthier at 37-3, with the in form Jack Spafford joining Stan at the crease. Stan in particular then decided to go on the offensive, playing an array of delightful cricket shots around the ground to eventually retire on an excellent 35 and put us in with a chance of winning.
Requiring a run a ball to win with 5 overs to go was a great effort and we believed!! Unfortunately Jack watched as partners came and went valiantly chasing the target to eventually close on 100-8 after our alotted 20.
A great spectacle enjoyed by both sets of fans and the media present, the boys showed fighting spirit with both bat and ball, Claudio could'nt have been prouder!
MOM- Stan Tatham