U9 Hardball team produce a performance of great maturity to extend winning run

On the hottest day of the year, Crockham Hill was a glorious setting for an evening game of cricket. The boys sensibly didn't charge around before the match and warmed up in the shade. We also had a longer tactical chat than normal discussing how to build an innings as a team when batting and being switched on from ball one in the field which we hadn't been against Reigate. The boys knew that Purley had also beaten Old Whits and would be a stiff challenge, we needed to be at our best from ball one (and we were!)

Captain Harry Ejje won the toss and elected to bowl. Having donned the pads to such good effect against Banstead, the Captain was asked to keep wicket for the first 12 overs and did a great job, conceding only one bye which with the pace of bowlers like Eddie Hemingway, George Abel and Leo Bines was a brilliant effort. As will be become clear very soon, he was ably assisted in this regard by Luke Hague at fine leg.

Eddie opened up very tidily, close in fielders were on their toes to prevent the singles and just one run was taken. George shared the new ball with Eddie, just 2 singles were scored and George took a wicket, bowled. The boys only bowled one wide in twenty four deliveries and Eddie picked up a wicket in his second over, also bowled, to finish with figures of 1 for 3 off 2 overs. In George's final over Purley really went backwards. A wicket, clean bowled, had them on the ropes, then two excellent pieces of fielding from Luke Hague at fine leg had them almost on the canvas with two run outs in two balls. Trying to run a bye the Purley non-striker was slow setting off, Luke's powerful arm had the ball whistling back to Harry (well positioned beside the stumps) and he gathered cleanly and whipped off the bails - owzaaattt! The very next ball was almost a carbon copy except this time Luke was right on target with his throw and, with Harry beside the stumps again (crucially not in front blocking the throw), the batsman was run out by a direct hit from the boundary - top skills! 175-5 after 4 overs.

We had had Old Whits in similar disarray and they had fought back strongly so we knew we couldn't be complacent, but at the end of the next over from Leo Bines (a double wicket maiden, both bowled) Purley were on 163-7 with five wickets falling for no runs in two overs. Leo bowled really well and finished with figures of 2 for 0 off 2 overs! Debutant William Satterley, known for his batting more than his bowling, kept going well despite a few wides and encouraged by his fielders struck in his second over picking up his maiden hard ball wicket, clean bowled. 177-8 after 8 overs.

In the next pairing Fraser Adams-Leach bowled particularly well to restrict their top scoring batsman, by bowling outside off stump on a full length. Luke Hague would have had perfectly decent figures bowling against seven other of the Purley batsmen, but was severely punished by this batsman when he strayed onto leg stump or outside especially when pitching a bit shorter. On a sunbaked track the ball sat up and was duly despatched to the boundary by Rahul who scored a quickfire 32 off 15 balls smashing four fours and two sixes - impressive batting.

When the next pair took seven runs off both Isaac Jones and Jack Kearns, Purley were staging something of a comeback, from 177-8 after 8 overs they had raced onto 227-8 after 14 overs and were back in the game. I gave the boys a reminder that we mustn't be complacent and needed to keep the pressure on Purley with another wicket and tighter bowling. Isaac and Jack duly responded in the next over when Isaac had the Purley batsman well caught at slip by Jack (coach claiming the credit for the field position for that one!)

There then followed an absolute masterclass in tactical cricket by the Grasshoppers. The last pair contained Purley's best player according to the stats (having hit 35 against Banstead), but he was paired with a player who was very defensively minded. Having been alerted by the coach to the threat potentially posed by Ali Ali, Harry gave him a single of his first ball, then proceeded to bowl four dots before allowing the defensive batsman to keep the strike with a final ball single.

Hugo de Vere Hunt came on with similar tactics in mind, keeping him scoreless for four balls before the batsmen ran a leg bye and Ali couldn't get a run off Hugo's last ball to pinch the strike back.

In Harry's second over, Ali was marooned at the non-strikers end for five balls before running a single off the last ball that was met by groans from the Purley spectators. In 18 balls we had had a bye, two wides, three singles and twelve dot balls, with Ali having only faced two balls. The Purley umpire perhaps understandably asked if Ali could be on strike for the next over having not faced any balls and having travelled a long way in the car!?! I slightly begrudgingly allowed this request, if only because I was so impressed with how the boys were executing our plans and this seemed a slightly underhand way to defeat them! I could afford to be magnanimous though as having been starved of the strike, Ali clipped Hugo's first ball of the last over straight to Jack Kearns at square leg who took a sharp catch. With the batsmen now having to change ends, three more dots ensued before a final single and four leg byes off the last ball of the innings. Purley closed on 233-10 with most of the damage done in the first five overs that produced seven wickets. A brilliant all round bowling and fielding performance from the boys. Six wickets clean bowled, two catches, two run outs, only six byes conceded (four off the last ball), no overthrows, four boys not bowling any wides or no balls and three more only conceding one.

After the much needed juice and snack break on this sweltering evening, Eddie and Jack strode out to bat to continue their unbeaten partnership from the Banstead game, but Purley had some decent bowlers and things would not be so easy this time around. Eddie in particular batted really sensibly, with coaches advice ringing in his ears he defended the straight balls and played some gloriously timed shots through the covers to wider deliveries. Probably the best batting by Eddie so far this season, proper cricket and he was very unlucky to be bowled by the last ball of the pair which was a very good quick yorker. Jack found timing harder to come by and at this stage of his career may be better suited to fast bowling than the slower stuff. When the leg spinner came on Jack's eyes lit up but he was swinging like he wanted to clear the Kent Hatch road rather than just a 25 yard boundary and didn't connect with too many. One straight one cleaned up the stumps but we were still way ahead of the rate on 211-2 after 4 overs.

Leo and George were next in, both played straight and looked to time the ball and work it for singles. Leo had the majority of the strike and hit a couple of beautifully timed cricket shots to the boundary. He was unlucky to be bowled in the third over of the pair as he was trying to defend a straight ball (perhaps too technical at U9 to start talking about bat and pad close together to avoid be bowled through the 'gate'). George, unusually for him, had a swing at a straight one two balls later and was bowled. The inquest from the umpire at the non-strikers end was perhaps overly critical! Still, a good last over saw us back on track on 221-4 after 8 overs.

Fraser and debutant William were next up, Fraser facing an over with three wides and three dots. William showed why he has been terrorising ESCL teams in softball cricket, crashing his first ball in hard ball cricket out to square leg. Fielding standards are higher at this level though and it was well fielded on the boundary, a good shot for one! Fraser, defending good bowling manfully, saw out the next five balls. A coaches dream as it was clear the messages about being prepared to see out the good bowlers is getting through to the team. With leg spinner and star batsman Rahul back on for a second over, Fraser was bamboozled by a 'bowling Warnie' style leg spinner that pitched outside leg stump and hit the top of off. On switching ends as I rearranged the bails, William asked me if he could hit the next ball for six, clearly sticking up for his mate, but I suggested that might not be the best idea against this bowling! The third pair also shared the fate of the first pair with a fast yorker cleaning up the stumps with the last ball of the pair. Another positive partnership as we moved onto 234-6 with debutant William the only not out batsman in the first six. Admittedly aided by four overthrows, William would emerge as our top scorer with 13 (net 13) off just eight balls.

So far we had had six wickets go down, all bowled with only two slightly suspect shots. Only two runs behind Purley with eight overs to go I asked both of the last pairs to play really sensibly, to score runs but not lose any wickets. They both delivered magnificently. Hugo and Isaac batted together for the third time this season and it seems a really good partnership with Hugo batting really well today. No boundaries, but five proper shots for singles, rotating the strike well. They survived two fast overs, running several sensible byes, scored eleven off the bat and picked up wides in one over where the bowler lost his line. A partnership of twenty four with no wickets lost and a team total of 255-6 with one pair to go.

Captain Harry and Luke came out last with Purley desperate for wickets. Leg spinner Rahul got a third over as did fast bowler Ali, but the boys were not to be knocked off their stride. Excellent calling, as throughout the entire innings, along with good running of singles and byes and a nicely hit boundary through the covers by Harry saw the boys build a twenty run partnership without losing a wicket. Innings closed on 275-6 and our biggest winning margin of the season, by 42 runs.

We only lost six wickets, all bowled and only two to suspect shots. No run outs and no dropped catches by Purley as we didn't give them anything to catch (well there might have been a couple of close ones!) Taking away the wickets lost, we shared partnerships of 23, 22, 22, 24 and 20. What an amazing example of building an innings, definitely our best batting display of the season.

Thank you to Pip for scoring again, and as clearly as ever with useful notes to enable the reporter to add colour to the match report. Thanks also for the help in warming up the boys and getting the ground cleared up and put to bed for whoever is next to play at Crockham Hill. Were it not for my U11 losing his school uniform at his match at Grub Street, your scribe would have had the perfect evening - THANK YOU BOYS AND VERY WELL PLAYED!!