Under 11s lose in cup final

On a misty day at St James the under 11s won the toss and put the hosts in to bat.

Aidan Russell opened the bowling with a maiden which set the tone for an excellent bowling performance. St James played very defensively, conceding only two wickets in their innings and quietly getting to a total of 264, Josh Everett top scoring with 12 not out. Aidan finished with 1 for 8 from his 3 overs, Sid took 1 for 7 and Jack conceded just 4 runs from his 3 overs which also included a maiden.

The under 11s knew that if each pair could score an average of 14 then they would be champions. Ollies H and G opened steadily, not losing any wickets and putting on the required 14. Owen and Alpha found it difficult to score and each lost one wicket to some tight bowling. Sid hit one four but he and George also struggled to score. A run out in their third over when going for a second run did not help matters and by the time the 4th pair of Aidan and Alex came to the wicket the score was on only 205. Sixty runs were therefore required from the last two pairs. Unfortunately it was not to be. Two wickets in successive balls in the first over pushed the score backwards and as Aidan and Alex tried to score runs they succeeded in losing more wickets each being out three times in total. The last pair of Kyle and Jack were therefore left with a mountain to climb. They tried manfully, Kyle hitting three excellent fours and Jack smashing one memorable six but their total of 29 as a pair was not enough and we finished on 224, forty runs behind.

It was a shame to finish what has been a very good season with a loss but the team can be rightly proud of themselves having finished second in the league and reached the final of both cup competitions.