U9s NEC Hardball defeat Old Whits by 18 runs

Second hardball match of the season and we had four debutants in the team joining their experienced colleagues who already had one cap each.

A gloomy evening in South Croydon saw us take on a strong Old Whits side and despite being early for a match I was already worried would finish in the dark we didn't start until 18:25 as the opposition at first had no stumps.

Captain Hugo de Vere Hunt won the toss and put Old Whits into bat, although I think in future we should try and bat first to get the best of the light.

George Abel and Eddie Hemingway opened the bowling and soon had Old Whits in real trouble. High quality accurate fast bowling from both boys saw a total of 6 wickets fall in the first pair, all bowled. Eddie finished with 2 wickets for 1 run off his two overs and George with 4 wickets for 4 runs off his overs. Old Whits were effectively minus 30 after four overs on 170-6.

To their immense credit, Old Whits gradually clawed their way back into the game, playing straighter and protecting their wickets better. They only got into positive territory mid way through the 15th over but some good batting at the end saw them to a total of 240-9. With a strong bowling attack, it was probably a score they felt they had a chance of defending. Luke Hague and Jack Kearns picked up a wicket apiece (clean bowled) and Alex Bussenschutt with a smart tumbling catch at mid on from George.

8 wickets clean bowled showed the quality of the bowling by the Oxted boys. 38 runs given away in wides and no balls seemed harsh for how well we bowled, but just 19 wayward deliveries out of 120 balls bowled puts that into perspective. It's just that they carry a heavy penalty at 2 runs a pop!

Fielding was also excellent although concentration always wavers towards the end of an innings. Good backing up and sensible throwing meant there were very few overthrows if any at all. Excellent wicket keeping by Jack Kearns for 12 overs and Leo Bines for 8 overs also meant we only gave away 5 extras in byes.

Overthrows and byes would turn out to be the key difference in the match.

Straight round after the end of the innings with no time for a cup of tea or a bathroom break for the umpire, as the second innings started just before 7:30 p.m

George Abel and Eddie Hemingway opened up the batting. George has now played Old Whits on three occasions and batted in the 5th pair, 2nd pair and now 1st pair but can't find a position where he doesn't face 2 overs from Old Whits fast left arm Surrey bowler Dheer Ray. Knowing what to expect both openers set the tone for the team with some excellent technique against very quick straight bowling . The other opening bowler Rehan was possibly even quicker and in fact from the Umpire's position it looked like Old Whits had the three quickest bowlers in the game.

Eddie lost his middle stump to the second ball of the innings to one that kept low but he then kept out a brute that reared up off a good length. Batting was tough but all the boys stuck to their task so well and there were very very few silly shots although we did have a couple of silly run outs from over exuberant backing up.

End of the first pair and we had survived the onslaught and were in positive territory on 206-2.

Luke Hague and Jack Kearns strode out to be greeted by another pair of fast bowlers. Whilst both boys were bowled once, they kept out a lot of straight bowling and Luke managed to find the boundary on two occasions. They also put pressure on the fielders with well run singles, one of which turned into a 5 as the throw at the stumps hurtled off to the boundary. Even with the wicketkeeper standing miles back, he was still getting peppered by his own bowlers (the disadvantage of an express pace attack) and we were able to gain an extra 22 runs from byes. The 7th over was particularly helpful to our cause with 4 overthrows, 4 byes and a 4 off the bat by Luke.

End of the second pair and we were 222-4.

Harry Ejje and Fraser Adams-Leach were 3rd pair in and with the fastest bowlers now rested perhaps Harry was undone by the slower bowling as he was bowled first ball of the pairing. The next 23 balls brought no further wickets though and with sensible shots into gaps and good running Harry and Fraser proved you haven't got to belt the cover off the ball to score runs, although Fraser did still hit one lovely boundary back past the bowler moving us onto 233-5 after 12 overs.

By the time Leo Bines and Alex Bussenschutt got to the crease one of the fast bowlers was back on and Leo found his stumps castled by a fast yorker. More stout defence and a 4 off the first ball he has faced in hardball cricket from Alex contributed to the 4th positive partnership in a row, another overthrow for 4 certainly helped but we were now ahead of the game on 245-7 with one pair to go.

Hugo de Vere Hunt and Isaac Jones on his hardball debut came to the crease in the gathering gloom with Old Whits gearing up for one last attempt to break our spirit as their 3 quickest bowlers came back to bowl 3 of the last 4 overs. Isaac took on board the advice about playing straight and defending against good bowling and put away the heave across the line that had served him well last year in U8 cricket but which against good fast bowling just results in your stumps being smashed. He was a real hero facing more of the bowling and being resolute in defence. Perhaps wanting to take responsibility for the strike himself Hugo took on a couple of kamikaze runs, one of which ended in him being run out. It was only in the last over when it must have been hard to see the ball out of a backdrop of now dark trees that both boys were bowled by excellent deliveries, that, like all their teammates they had played absolutely the right shot to. More byes and overthrows plus some good shots and better running meant that those wickets didn't hamper us. A 5th positive partnership in a real team effort took our winning margin out to 18 runs as we finished on 258-10.

It was a match of top quality bowling with both teams getting 8 wickets clean bowled. Old Whits didn't bowl a single wide and only gave away 21 in no balls to our 38 in wides and no balls. They did give away 22 byes though whereas we only conceded 5.

It was a tight game and I was so pleased for the boys that they came through it with such a great all round team effort. All batting pairs contributed positively to our total and all ten of our team bowled 2 overs each. Old Whits love to win which is perhaps why their 4 best bowlers bowled 4,3, 3 and 3 overs so it was extra satisfying to see the boys achieve such a well deserved victory.

Thank you to Pip Ejje for scoring, Steve Hague, Ro Hemingway and young Hugo Hemingway for warming the boys up and providing the throw downs and for the support on the sidelines from Nicola Adams-Leach, Ed de Vere Hunt and Neil Ejje who made the trek from work to watch the match. Most of all thank you to all the boys who made my day with such a great performance. Makes all the effort worthwhile!