SKLP CC vs Ealing CC

The game was played using the following rules:

Each innings starts on 200
Each pair bats for 4 overs
Each bowler bowls 2 overs each
No balls and wide balls give away 2 runs respectively and are not re-bowled (with exception of the last over of each innings)
Lose 5 runs for each wicket

Captain: Lucas Smith
Wicketkeeper: Paul Benson and Lucas Smith

The U9 boys travelled to SKLP CC in Ruislip on a warm day with temperatures reaching 26 degrees. Much to my surprise, SKLP decided they wanted to play the game with a hard ball, and fortunately for us, all our players brought their hard ball gear with them. Our captain for the day Lucas S, called correctly at the toss and decided to bowl first. He martialled the troops well with constant encouragement and was very vocal in the field. Lucas S himself, opened the bowling and set the tone early with 2 wickets in the first over. The others followed suit and bowled a good line and length. Eight of the ten bowlers obtained at least one wicket. Lucas S and Zuhayr K both shared 3 wickets each. In total, Ealing managed to capture 13 wickets, which included an excellent catch from Nikhil M at mid-wicket off the bowling of Indie G. Nikhil M played his part again in the field with a smart run out moments later. A direct throw to Lucas S, ensured he took the bails off before the batsman could make his ground.

When we went out to the bat, the opposition coach had me scratching my head on why he was adamant on playing this game with a hard ball. Very few of their players were able to bowl straight and on a good length. I even suggested to their players to bowl a little further up so that our batsman still had a chance to play the ball. We were gifted 62 runs courtesy of wides. This could have been more, had I not been so generous with wides and no balls. Our batting may not have shone as much as our bowling. The reason being that we didn’t have the chance to showcase our skills against bowling that was not easy to hit for all the wrong reasons. However, our running between the wickets was good with some excellent calling. Our top scorer was Lucas S with 9 runs

So all in all, the game wasn’t very competitive, but we displayed some good skills. I’m very proud of the boys. As always, please vote for your man of the match on ‘Teamer’