| On a bright and warm spring evening Medbourne U 11’s welcomed Harborough for their one and only encounter of the season and with the hope of adding another victory to their impressive list of scalps. However, little was known of Harborough’s strengths and judging by the number of familiar faces it was apparent that Harborough had a strong side.
Having won the toss Medbourne decided to bat to try and post a strong score putting pressure on their visitors. Their innings started with the opening pair of newcomer Felix Brady and Tristan Hubbard scoring 13 runs without the loss of only one wicket (-5 runs in this format). They were followed by Will Brooks and the previous games sensation William Wright who found the Harborough bowling very efficient and they were restricted to 8 runs from their allotted 8 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. Harborough showed their strength in depth by continuing to bowl tightly and held the third batting pair of Guy Jones and Tommy Higson to 6 runs, for the loss of a couple of wickets. At this stage Medbourne were struggling to get runs and the final pairing of Hamish Merriman and Euan Wardrop were left to show their experience but against a strong bowling attack this proved too difficult and a damaging 6 wickets were lost resulting in a negative run rate of -1 totalling 226 for 10 wickets!
Medbourne looked a beaten side when they took to the field, but started well with a wicket maiden from Euan Wardrop to reduce Harborough from the competition starting point of 200 runs to 195 for 1. This tight bowling continued and Harborough struggled to get ahead of the run rate and during the first half of their innings they only once got ahead of their 200 run starting point. Medbourne soon found some belief that they could win the match and the positive support and encouragement of each other became clear. Eventually Harborough finished on 217 for 8 wickets meaning Medbourne won by a surprising 9 runs.
Harborough proved to be the best bowling side that we have faced in some considerable time but they found it difficult with the bat. The difference between the two sides was marginal. Mention must be made of two fine catches from debutant Felix Brady as well as fine bowling from Will Brooks for 3 runs for 2 wickets, Euan Wardrop 8 for 2 and Hamish Merriman 10 for 3. However, it is not all about wickets and there was fine support bowling from Tommy Higson conceding only 3 runs in two overs and brave “at the death” bowling from Tristan Hubbard. We clearly have a budding star in the team in the form of William Wright who continues to impress with his bowling (4 runs from 2 overs) as well as his fielding.
It was good to hear positive support of each other from all the players (including Harborough) throughout the game and all the players deserve credit for their commitment and belief. A number of less experienced players are getting introduced to hardball cricket and they are showing their worth. However, the older players need to keep their heads when the pressure is on and help the younger less experienced players through the game. A good win but in fairness it could have gone either way and some improvements are needed for the next game.
On a bright and warm spring evening Medbourne U 11’s welcomed Harborough for their one and only encounter of the season and with the hope of adding another victory to their impressive list of scalps. However, little was known of Harborough’s strengths and judging by the number of familiar faces it was apparent that Harborough had a strong side.
Having won the toss Medbourne decided to bat to try and post a strong score putting pressure on their visitors. Their innings started with the opening pair of newcomer Felix Brady and Tristan Hubbard scoring 13 runs without the loss of only one wicket (-5 runs in this format). They were followed by Will Brooks and the previous games sensation William Wright who found the Harborough bowling very efficient and they were restricted to 8 runs from their allotted 8 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. Harborough showed their strength in depth by continuing to bowl tightly and held the third batting pair of Guy Jones and Tommy Higson to 6 runs, for the loss of a couple of wickets. At this stage Medbourne were struggling to get runs and the final pairing of Hamish Merriman and Euan Wardrop were left to show their experience but against a strong bowling attack this proved too difficult and a damaging 6 wickets were lost resulting in a negative run rate of -1 totalling 226 for 10 wickets!
Medbourne looked a beaten side when they took to the field, but started well with a wicket maiden from Euan Wardrop to reduce Harborough from the competition starting point of 200 runs to 195 for 1. This tight bowling continued and Harborough struggled to get ahead of the run rate and during the first half of their innings they only once got ahead of their 200 run starting point. Medbourne soon found some belief that they could win the match and the positive support and encouragement of each other became clear. Eventually Harborough finished on 217 for 8 wickets meaning Medbourne won by a surprising 9 runs.
Harborough proved to be the best bowling side that we have faced in some considerable time but they found it difficult with the bat. The difference between the two sides was marginal. Mention must be made of two fine catches from debutant Felix Brady as well as fine bowling from Will Brooks for 3 runs for 2 wickets, Euan Wardrop 8 for 2 and Hamish Merriman 10 for 3. However, it is not all about wickets and there was fine support bowling from Tommy Higson conceding only 3 runs in two overs and brave “at the death” bowling from Tristan Hubbard. We clearly have a budding star in the team in the form of William Wright who continues to impress with his bowling (4 runs from 2 overs) as well as his fielding.
It was good to hear positive support of each other from all the players (including Harborough) throughout the game and all the players deserve credit for their commitment and belief. A number of less experienced players are getting introduced to hardball cricket and they are showing their worth. However, the older players need to keep their heads when the pressure is on and help the younger less experienced players through the game. A good win but in fairness it could have gone either way and some improvements are needed for the next game.
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U11's Hardball league match vs Kibworth
Medbourne hosted the “A” side from Countesthorpe hoping to improve on their narrow victory against Harborough two weeks previously. As ever the Medbourne side included a mix of new players and more experienced players with Mattie Thompson, Sam Drysdale and James Bailey making their Under 11 Hardball debut. Medbourne fielded first and Euan Wardrop picked up his first of two wickets in the opening over, Mattie Thompson picking up his maiden wicket in the 6th over and James Bailey getting his first two wickets of his hardball career. Good bowling and fielding restricted Countesthorpe to a gettable 258 for the loss of 7 wickets and a mention is made of the very tidy wicket keeping of Luke Griffiths who improves with each game. Sam Drysdale and Guy Jones put on 27 runs for the opening partnership for the loss of only one wicket. Guy Jones is also one that is growing with confidence and scored a strong 14 runs of their allocated 4 overs. At this point Medbourne struggled and after the following two pairs had completed this innings Medbourne had lost 10 runs with a total of 225. More time at hardball will ensure these batsmen get stronger and make runs. The last pair of Hamish Merriman and Luke Griffiths faced a difficult run chase of 34 runs for victory and of course a loss of a wicket means -5 runs to the total. The game became incredibly slow with fielding alterations after each ball and instructions flying from all sides of the ground; it was very tense. However, Luke Griffiths, a left hander, has pioneered and one handed flick to a wide of leg stump delivery that results in a four and this, along with some sharp running ensured a Medbourne victory with the last pair defending the last three balls to ensure no further loss of runs!! A very tense game that didn’t look as if it would be a Medbourne victory but full credit to the boys for not giving up………again!!