Under 13's through to ECB Sussex Final
Semi Final Victory sets up Sussex Final at Blackstone.
A great victory – yes we were actually given the luxury of a grass pitch at The Nevill!!
We knew that we were up against very good opponents in Withyham CC and had to all play well to stand a chance of reaching the final. I don’t really need to tell you that we lost the toss again (rock, paper, scissors, next time) and were put in to bat. Bryce and Henry found it hard to get the ball away but did a great job in picking up singles and running byes. The boys then started to find the boundaries with a few shots before Henry was bowled for 17. This proved to be a valuable innings as it was the third top score in the match. Our batsmen came and went without anyone getting into double figures. However, Bryce was still there and while not scoring as quickly as he would have liked, actually batted very sensibly retiring not out on 33. We finished our 20 overs with 90 for 7 wickets.
Over a drink and biscuits, the boys remained focussed and knew that they had to bowl and field very well in the Withyham innings. After scoring 16 from the first 2 overs there were some worried looks on our parents faces. However, with some great team spirit and encouragement in the field our boys really stuck to the task. Kieran took the first wicket closely followed by Bryce bowling the other opener. The score now showing 17 from 4 overs. The boys knew that the key was to bowl straight and they did this superbly. We managed to take wickets regularly with only one batsman providing much resistance. When Marco bowled this lad we knew that victory was there for the taking. The last wicket fell in the 18th over with the score on 72. It was noticeable that 7 of the 10 wickets were bowled and with no wides conceded showed how well everyone bowled.
Credit to Withyham who were very sporting and wished us luck in the final. The match award went to Samir who took 2 vital wickets for 4 runs from 3 overs. However, the whole team contributed to this success either batting, bowling or fielding. Once again, I received comments about what a great team spirit we had amongst the boys which is great to hear.
The final is against Barns Green on Friday 24/6 at Blackstone (Sussex Academy Ground). Any support would be welcomed.
