Burgess Hill u11s 359-1 beat St Peters u11B 265-3 by 94 runs
The velodrome at Preston Park was a rather unusual, and likably quirky place to have a cricket match, and in the sweltering heat, the lads produced another bombastic performance to crush our hosts with a dominant batting display.
The hosts won the toss and put us into bat. The lads saw the slightly shorter boundaries, licked their laps, and teed off. Toby Spooner (9 unbeaten) bludgeoned the first ball for 4, and we just kept going. His opening partnership with Billy Fuller (7 unbeaten) is proving to be a winning formula, and their aggressive style again put good good bowlers under pressure, as they amassed 30 from the pair. Glenn MacDougall and Aaron Goldsmith also gained 30, with the help of a few wides, and although Tom Broughton and Benji Turner (season’s best 9 unbeaten) received tighter bowing, they kept decent momentum. The dynamic due of Ollie Baker (10 unbeaten) and Hayden Wickwar also kept the scoreboard moving and after 16 overs we still hadn’t lost a wicket. Enter Conor Ward with his partner Henry Cobham for the final pair this week. Conor was on on fire, he scored 31 off his first 12 balls including a towering hooked 6 over fine leg, and on 2 occasions dancing down the wicket to a faster bowler to meet him on the half volley and clear mid-on. Henry smashed a terrific boundary too, and was unlucky to be the only wicket to fall off the penultimate ball when he smashed a straight drive back to the bowler. Conor finished unbeaten on 38, and our total was 359, and ALL TEN batsmen scored boundaries in the innings – a remarkable achievement and another sign of huge progress.
In reply, St Peters simply never had the power or opportunity to fight back. Toby, Tim and Hayden bowled tight lines and the dot-balls kept coming, even though we weren’t getting wickets on the docile track. Conor (1-6 from 3) came on in the 3rd pair, and took a wicket bowled, and Glenn (1-6 from 2) duly followed the next over with another bowled wicket. A brilliant run out by Billy followed, and although their best player Isaac smacked 20 unbeaten in the last pair, they could only climb to 265 and we recorded a comfortable win.
A remarkable team performance again and an enjoyable morning’s cricket. Thanks to the parents for a great throng of support for an away game on Father’s Day, it made for a vibrant atmosphere and extra encouragement for the lads.
Scorecard: http://burgesshill.play-cricket.com/website/results/3059099