U14s - Indian Gym v Twickenham - Cup Semi-Final

This much anticipated cup semi-final match didn't quite live up to expectations as Indian Gym came out easy winners. Even though the match had a severe lack of runs it still had plenty of drama, most of which happened before a ball being bowled. A late drop out in the afternoon started things off but thankfully Danny came to the rescue to fill the vacant spot. Once at the ground, a message comes through to say Frankie was late getting back from school - not a big problem as we could start with 10 players. And then another message - Oliver has gone to the wrong ground - luckily he's not too far away and so shouldn't be too late. Meanwhile Ali wins the toss and decides to bat first. Surely nothing else can happen? Well…Ewan gets hit below the eye by a cricket ball during a gentle catching warm up and has to go home.

Not ideal pre-match preparation but at least we still had 10 players. Ali and Teddy headed to the middle knowing that the pitch would be difficult to score on as a match a few weeks ago at same venue showed the ball will keep low and not come on to the bat. Ali creamed the first ball through the covers for four - an amazing start. Apart from this first shot it's probably best not to go into the detail of the rest of the innings. Though Teddy and Sammy are to be commended for battling things out for as long as possible.

33 all out after 11.3 overs makes grim reading but the team didn't get down about it and were commendably phlegmatic about the performance as they all recognised the pitch hadn't been the easiest to play on.

That they made as much of game of it when fielding was testament to the great team spirit this side has. Loud and positive vocal support for the bowlers, everything chased with gusto in the field and every good ball bowled and every fielding effort applauded. The Ts made sure Indian Gym had to work for every run and it took 10 overs for them to reach the meager target. A great catch from Teddy at square leg as the batter tried to clip Hamish through the leg side a highlight of the fielding innings. Despite the result the performance was one of the proudest moments I've had when managing/umpiring a Colts match.

Thanks to all the parents support, thanks to Craig for his magnificent scoring yet again and a final thanks to U10 Oscar for helping with our fielding and making a number of fine stops as well as bowling the final over of the match - another great highlight.

Paul