Match Reports: Trinity Term Week 7

BCS v Westhouse

On 2 June, the U11 Boys produced a fine display of batting to beat West House in a closely fought game. In the end, the difference was probably two of the best shots the Sport Team have seen at this level, executed by Kavid Biswas, who pumped two 6’s down the ground over the bowler’s head.

The bowlers as a unit bowled well with Zayaan the pick of the seamers and AV the pick of the spinners. A massively encouraging performance from the boys, well done all.

Warwickshire ESCA Finals Day

The U11 Boys made the short journey to Warwick School for the finals day after progressing through the eliminator with West House. The day comprised of 3, 12 over matches with the winners qualifying for the regional finals in a couple of weeks time.

The first game was always likely to be the decider and so it proved. Against a formidable Solihull side BCS found runs hard to come by and only managed a total of 45, would this be enough against the fearsome Solihull batting line up, including none other than Ian Bell’s son, Joe? When Barwell, Basu, and Biswas took 4 wickets in the first 3 overs the improbable looked possible!

Whilst Solihull scored runs they also lost wickets to good, accurate, straight bowling that targeted the stumps. So it got down to the last 2 overs with 12 needed, thankfully 2 wickets in the penultimate number meant we recorded a crucial, fantastic victory.

The next two games were reasonably comfortable wins which means we are the Warwickshire representative at the regional festival at Shrewsbury School for the 3rd year in a row,  a truly remarkable achievement given the high quality of cricket locally.

On the day the players’ composure, especially whilst bowling in the first game, was remarkable and testament to the hard work they have put in over the last 3 years, all those early mornings were worth it! Well done all!

U11 Girls IAPS Hardball Cricket

After an early start, we began our journey to Prestfelde School. We were the first team to arrive and took the early advantage of gaining access to the practice grass nets.

This time to warm up and practise our bowling allowed for and tension and nerves to be dispelled as we moved base for our first match versus Packwood.

Alayna won the toss and we chose to field first. With a slight change to the bowling order, off we set and Arya got BCS off to a great start bowling 6 dot balls. By the 6th over we had taken 5 wickets from Arya, Tejvir and Susie and finished the match as comfortable winners 276-215.

As we had faced RGS before, we knew that they had some very good players and were quick in the field and in our first 3 overs they had scored 12 with Ihra taking a wicket.

By the end of their innings we had managed to suppress their score and keep it low at 225. We went into bat and lost 8 wickets within the first 9 overs and our final pair of Annabel and Mischa went in on a score of 219!

This was tense as RGS sent in their best bowlers again for the final 3 overs. With 7 to score to take the win the pair played with exceptional composure and all the spectators at the event had turned to watch this battle. Annabel held firm and protected her wickets with some excellent defensive shots and they both took singles when they could slowly breaking RGS down. It was a thrilling end to a well played match and we again came out victorious 230-225.

Our next match was against Hereford Cathedral who had looked quite comfortable taking the win over Prestfeld earlier in the morning. We need not have worried, the whole team was now confident and ready to take on what seemed to be outwardly a strong team. Within the first 6 overs we had taken 6 wicket with Arya M taking her first of the tournament. Hereford crumbled under BCS’ pressure and they finished on 206.

All I asked of the girls as we went into bat was to enjoy it, and they did! Hitting boundaries Alayna and Arya B got is started scoring 34 not to be outdone Esther’s boundary went thundering towards Mrs Bennett as she refilled her drink at the water station! BCS finished 276-209.

Due to the league scoring system it meant that it was BCS v Prestfelde in the decider. This is the first time we had to bat first and our rock-steady pair were bowled out twice in the first 3 overs. Elle realised we needed some big shots as we had to increase our run rate significantly and she did not disappoint as she found the gaps in the field and struck two boundary balls. We finished the innings on an average score of 241.

After a little team talk, we swapped innings and went into bowl. With no wickets taken in the first 3 overs Prestfelde were on a stead 210. In came our small but mighty Susie B, and took 4 wickets during her overs. We were now knocking the confidence out of a very good hardball team. Elle bowled steady and then Mischa and Susie bowled another wicket each.

In the final 3 overs, they had to score 31 to win and in came the big hitters. This was ok as we sent in the bowlers too who knew we had to keep the run rate low. They scored 9 from the first over and looked to try to chase our lead down but they couldn’t as we held steadfast and fielded with incredible determination and passion. I also think the draw of a McDonalds treat motivated them to stay concentrated in the field and take the win 241-229! From a hard-fought day, we retained our U11 Girls Hardball Champion status for the second year running!

Tournament Total: 223 runs scored, 27 Wickets taken (Susie 11, Annabel 5, Arya M 2, Tejvir 2, Mischa 1, Esther 3, Arya B 3).