U13s V Kew CC

On an evening of perfect weather for cricket the Ts welcomed Kew to the Green. Captain Frankie won the toss and decided to bat first. With The Green's quick outfield and the true bounce of the artificial pitch the Ts were looking for a big score but things didn't go quite to plan. Openers Hamish and Sean struggled to get the scoring going as Kew’s opening bowlers bowled accurately. Hamish (5) fell in the third over when bowled by a decent delivery from Kew’s by left hand seam bowler. He was soon followed by Max (0) unfortunate to get a faint edge through to the keeper. Sammy (8) came to the crease and after hitting a couple of fours missed a straight one when looking to hit big. Sean (15) was next to go, after one of those innings when good shots go straight to fielders, he missed-timed a push into the covers and was caught at mid-off as the ball looped easily to the fielder. Woody (3) departed next over, after playing solidly against some good bowling he finally missed one to be bowled. With the score 35-5 and nine overs gone the Ts were up against. New pair at the crease Samuel and Frankie started well, looking for quick singles and, with the occasional four added in, the scoreboard started to tick over. By the time Samuel was out bowled 6 overs later the pair had put on a much needed 40 runs. Asa Joined Frankie and the pair put on a further 16 before Frankie (28) chipped up a catch in search for more quick runs. With the score on 91 and 3.3 over left of the innings Asa started to hit out and produced some fantastic shots to take the score forward. Ably supported by Zunaid (2) and Luca (1), Asa (27) saw out the remaining overs and helped the Ts post a score of 117, a score which at one point looked completely out of reach.

At the halfway point the Ts knew that they had to field and bowl to the best of their ability to have any chance of restricting Kew. Kew’s openers started solidly and had put on 23 when Frankie induced an edge which was nicely taken by Sean behind the stumps. From then on wickets began to fall at regular intervals. A good spell of bowling by Luca didn’t produce a wicket but kept the Kew batters at bay. The Ts spinners of Hamish and Asa then took over taking the next 6 wickets (all but one being bowled) in 5 overs. The Leg-spin of Hamish and Off-spin of Asa too much for Kew’s middle order. Despite the wickets falling Kew were still scoring runs thanks to their opening batter who was still playing well. Sammy picked up the next wicket bowling Kew’s number 9 batter followed by a smart run out by Frankie to claim the dangerous opener. This left Kew’s numbers 10 and 11 to score 38 runs from the last 3.3 overs. The tailenders did well putting on a further 19 runs and frustrating the Ts but Frankie brought himself back on to bowl and struck, yet another clean bowled, from the fourth ball of the 19th over to seal the win.

A match of two halves for the Ts – a day to forget with the bat (apart from Asa) but a fantastic all-round bowling performance. A second win on the bounce in the league for the U13s - a final league match of the season - away at Richmond B - awaits next week.

Thanks to everyone in helping set up and tidy away – and the usual special mention to Craig for scoring.