Ealing U9 - Festival at Old Actonians

The Ealing boys gathered at Old Actonians on a day which largely seemed cloudy and a bit cold but which judging by my sunburnt face when i got home must have been sunny at some point!!

Up first were South Hampstead with Ealing taking the field all the boys were shouting encouragement to one another and the sense of playing as a team is much more self evident this year. Indra got an early wicket and the boys were hustling in the field and the South Hampstead bats were not finding the going easy. Freddie got a nice wicket and later in the spell we were treated to a sensational run out by Adam. Our fielding has come on by leaps and bounds this season.

We were set the modest total of 214 to chase down. The boys set about it like we were playing in the IPL with the ball being swatted all over the ground everyone made a solid contribution with Henry building nicely again on his early season form with the bat.

An easy opening win delivered with a score of 242.

Next up we faced the hosts we won the toss and full of confidence we elected to bat, runs came frequently with some lovely stroke play mixed in with some rather more agricultural shots. Henry leading from the front kept the scoreboard ticking over we also made very few mistakes and posted a very credible 274. The boys were really coming together well and the fielding and steady pressure they were applying yielded regular wickets and also kept Old A’s pegged back they simply could not build any momentum. Posting a reply of 223, 2 played 2 won.

For the final match the opposition had resorted to fielding an invitational side with the somewhat daunting name of Central all stars however undaunted we again elected to bat. By now it is fair to say a long day was starting to have an impact and we lost a few soft wickets and some of our calling was a bit sketchy the 240 posted looked eminently gettable. But the boys rallied themselves in the field some lovely catches were held and again we kept the pressure up to the very end and had just a little bit more left in the tank than the all stars.

3 out of 3!

The whole team made a collective and individual impact.

Key take outs for me was the boys support and encouragement of one another and also approaching each match in a sporting and sportsmanlike manner.

Dom Morrey