Solid batting display sees under 12s home

On an evening of high scoring some fine batting saw the under 12s run out winners with 5 overs to spare.

St Matthias won the toss and chose to bat. That decision seemed vindicated when they reached 69 from the first 10 overs for the loss of only one wicket. However with Billy Downes retiring not out on 27, having smashed five 4s in quick succession, and Ollie G taking a smart catch behind off Kyle's bowling to dismiss the opener Hashim Riaz for 16, the mood of the match swung in our favour. From being 72 for 1 St Matthias collapsed to 80 for 8 with Kyle, Aidan and Alex taking two wickets each and Ollie H taking the other in that spell. Unfortunately, with St Matthias only having ten players, that brought Billy Downes back to the wicket and he started where he had left off with some strong hitting to the leg-side boundary. With the other remaining batsman Oscar Saunders joining in, St Matthias rescued a respectable total of 124 by the end.

The two Ollies began our innings positively taking 10 from the first over. With some smart running they put on 40 for the first wicket from 5 overs before Ollie G was bowled around his legs while attempting his trademark leg-side sweep. Kyle added a smart 5 before going for a big shot and also being bowled. That brought Sid to the wicket. Starting steadily, Sid played an excellent innings, first with Ollie H who made a magnificent 28 before retiring and then with Fin who hit a cool 16 before returning one to the bowler, at which point we had reached 117 for 3 from 13.3 overs. Not to be outdone by Kyle, Aidan also made a quick 5 before also being bowled going for a big shot when only one run was required. It was therefore left to Harry to come on and score the winning run which he did in no-nonsense style off his first ball with over 5 overs remaining.

Man of the match was Sid whose innings was full of terrific, aggressive but controlled shots, particularly when dealing with the spinner whose full tosses he dispatched with aplomb to the boundary.