Northwood Town CC vs Ealing CC

Ealing travelled to Northwood Town for what would be their first game of standard rules cricket. It was a 20 over a side game and played with a hard ball. Jack, the captain for the day lost the toss and we were put into bat. The innings didnt start of well with Jack being caught at fine leg on the very first ball of the innings. It was an extremely unlucky way to get out. The ball had four written all over it, and he played the correct pull stroke, but unfortunately it went straight to the fielder. Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals, with some poor shot selections from the Ealing boys. Having said this, Lucas Sm tried to play himself in but got a good ball to bowl him out with. It was a full length yorker that went underneath the bat and hit the timber. Arun G and Aman managed to stay at the wicket for a bit of time, however no batsman made any great contribution. The highest scorer being Arun G with 3 runs. Fortunately for us, we were provided with quite a few extras and were able to finish our innings on 62 all out after 18 overs

Therefore at the end of the batting innings, our bowlers had something to work with and I was pleased with how we responded in the field. The boys didnt give up and fought right to the end. Zuhayr got a wicket in the very first over with a good length delivery that went through the gate of the batsman. Jack obtained two wickets in two balls and at this point there was real belief that we could win this game. We were well into the game until the 14th over, where things took a turn for the worst and we gave the game away with too many extras. A notable fielding performance was Zuhayr going for a one handed diving catch but not quite holding onto it. However, he was able to get up quickly and throw the ball back to Lucas SA, the stand in wicket-keeper who took the bails off in a flash and obtained a run out. A slightly worrying moment in the field was when three players collided for a catch, which could have turned nasty. Even though Aidan M hung onto the high caught and bowled chance, the players were notified afterwards about the importance of calling for a catch. So in the end, Northwood Town knocked off the runs in the 18th over and won the game. However, it was a great lurning curve for our boys and I am sure they will learn from their mistakes and get better as they gain more experience