The U12s ended their season with a highly entertaining internal encounter. Players from the U9s, U10s and U11s also took part as the two sides participated in the debut of a whole new format of the game. And, that format worked a treat......it can only be a matter of time before the ECB hear about it and declare it the saviour of English cricket.

Who needs the Hundred when you've got 'Ashish-ball'?
Be that as it may, in order to ensure that every batter was very much involved Ashish Singh invented a new 'face six balls and you retire' rule. If you're out before you've faced six balls then you are indeed out; if you've retired then you wait for your turn to come round again.

The aim? All players bat and indeed they bat in the meat of the contest. No one is left to watch for 19 overs before facing a small number of balls at the end. Or indeed doesn't bat at all. It sounded mad but, fair play, it worked a treat; every player was involved and for good measure the stronger players also had the opportunity - eventually - to make their mark.

Calamitous start, impressive end for Team Shay
'Team Shay' (nominally the U12Bs on the scorecard, see here) had first hit and they took little time in careering off into the disaster zone. Wickets fell left, right and centre as chaos ensued. Indeed at 38-8 it looked like the game was going to be done and dusted very quickly indeed.

Ronnie Riddett (3-18) was at the centre of the carnage, although six other bowlers also picked up wickets. 'Team Ishaan' were putting in a solid bowling performance.

Cricket is, however, a game where things can and do change. By the time Team Shay reached the half-way point only Austin Belshaw, Declan Bright and Stan Hough were left standing. Between the three of them they added 111 and thereby dragged the U12Bs back into contention.

Bright hit the hardest. He hit nine fours and a six on his way to 58 (41 balls). Belshaw found the ropes five times on his way to 23 (25 balls), whilst Hough, one of two U9s playing, cut and drove nicely for his 37 (36 balls). The U12s most certainly now had something to chase.

Can Team Ishaan keep their nerve?
Team Ishaan's innings ended up playing out completely differently. They kept wickets in hand, but ultimately struggled to really up the tempo at the end.

James Marsh (15 off 16) and Anay Singh (13 off 13) got them off to a decent start, whilst Jack Cornelius (10 off 20) and Billy Clark (20 off 15) also went along nicely. Team Shay didn't take many wickets, although Annabelle Marsh bowled impressively, whilst Henry Luke and Ishaan Jain both snared opposing batters.

By the time the game got to the last two overs Team Ishaan needed 24 to win. Ronnie Riddett had been going through the gears, but once Stan Hough caught a proper skier to remove him for 31 Team Shay knew they were in pole position. Indeed, Austin Belshaw bowled an excellent final over as Team Shay got home by 11 runs.

Well done to all involved for producing such an entertaining encounter. And, well done to Ashish Singh for coming up with a format that was both inclusive but also allowed the stronger players to leave their mark. Excellent stuff all round.