Is Bobby Ewing going to emerge from the shower and declare that it's all fake, the Aussies are thrashing us at all sports, it's 12 degrees and raining and I've just won a free two destination holiday to Syria and Egypt? Well, maybe, but let's enjoy it while it appears to last.........
At Under-11 last week only The Pirates had a match, and duly chalked up their second win of the season with a good all-round performance at Milton Abbas. Batting first the team defended their wickets well and allowed the runs to accumulate, finishing on 273-2 after a key partnership of 33 from Will Coleman and Billy Daniels. The bowlers then bowled their tidiest innings of the season to keep the scoring rate under control, with the main damage done by Will Guppy (2 for 11) and our under-9 superstar Billy Daniels, who took 4 wickets for 3 runs in 3 overs, as Milton crashed to 213-6 at the end of their overs. Though everybody played well and contributed to a fine team victory, Billy Daniels was deservedly Star-of-the-Week.
Our all-conquering Under-13 Blues continued their long unbeaten run with a convincing victory against Sturminster. Batting first the Blues really put the Stur attack to the sword with Joe Daniels, Henry Chant and Max Nettley all scoring a very rapid 31no each This enabled Henry to declare with only 11 of the 16 overs completed with the score on 154-1. Stur managed to survive their 16 but could only reach 71-4 with Jamie Anderson -Deas taking 2-1 from 4 overs and Will Coleman 2-20.
This coming Saturday, the 13th, The Blues travel to Devon to take on Exeter CC Under-13s in the first regional stage of the National Under-13 Championship.
Meanwhile, the U13 Reds unbeaten run in the league came to a disappointing end at Marnhull. Despite a good start from Ben Woodhouse (12) and Oliver Legg (31), some indecision between the wickets and tight bowling from Marnhull restricted the team to 94. Poor fielding then contributed to the Marnhull batters getting well established, and although some encouraging bowling from Ollie Chant (2-25) threatened to get the Reds back into the game, the opposition reached 95 with 3 overs to spare. Man of the Match was awarded to Ollie Chant for his determination with the ball
Very disappointingly, the Under-15s game against Mere was cancelled as the opposition couldn't get a side. This has happened several times to the 15s this year and is especially frustrating when the weather is good. At least most of the players are featuring in the senior teams too, so they are playing regular matches.
On Sunday morning, while the Under-7s trained, a good crowd enjoyed the sunshine in The Park and watched the Under-9s put in a fine display against Blandford. The visitors batted first, making 255-5, with 2 wickets from Billy Daniels and one each from Lewis Wall, Dan Watson and James Sclater. Our boys then replied really well, putting up a winning score of 309-3, with George Perkins (14no) and James Sclater (14) making key contributions alongside excellent debut performances from Henry Meeks, Fraser Angell and Lewis Wall. For his all-round performance, James Sclater was Star-of-the-Week.
Across the age-groups last week, Stars-of-the-Week were awarded to:
Under-7s - Sam Kelly & Frankie Hayward
Under-9s - Oliver Handibode & James Sclater
Under-11s - Bill Daniels
Under-13s - Ollie Chant
So, on to the Seniors - and a much better weekend, with three wins out of four matches.
The 1st XI got back to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing of Swanage. The victory was set-up by a fine bowling effort that saw Swanage dismissed for 80. The attack was spearheaded by Ben Ladd-Gibbon (3-16), while Rob Knight (1-30) and Stu Sweatman (1-17) provided excellent support. This then opened the door for Andy Dike (4-15) to wrap up the innings. In reply, Stu Sweatman (51no) and Theo Grainzevelles (23no) duly knocked off the required runs in the 13th over without any of their teammates being required to bat! An excellent win and hopefully the start of a run of better results than of late.
The 2nd XI's poor run of form continued with another disappointing defeat at Cattistock. Batting first, the team struggled for momentum against tight bowling, with only James Lewis (68no) getting to grips with the situation. Sadly James ruptured his achilles and was forced to retire, leaving the innings in danger of petering out were it not for an 8th wicket stand of 60 from Iain Lomas-Walker and Charlie Middle. Still, 164 looked a low total on a small ground, and so it proved. Despite a good start to our bowling from Harry Woolway (3-29), as in the first game of the season we once again failed to dismiss Cattistock's main man Jon Legg, who guided his side to a comfortable victory for the loss of 4 wickets. The closest we got to getting him out was when his younger brother, Ollie, nearly ran him out with a direct hit - Ollie plays for our Under-13 Reds and kindly stepped in to field for us in place of the injured James. Not a good day, especially for poor old James, who we wish a speedy recovery (at least he can sit and watch the Ashes now!).
The 3rd XI recorded an excellent win against a team that gave them a bit of a beating earlier in the season. The team bowled well to restrict Winfrith Newburgh to 165 in their innings, with Neil Ford (3-23) and Alex Moore (2-18) the pick of the bowlers. The batsmen the put in a disciplined run chase, with another fine knock of 65 not out from Eddie Stevens providing the backbone of the innings. Jordan Nettley (19) and Neil Ford (34) gave good support, before Eddie and Alex saw the team through to victory with 8 wickets down.
Finally, General Knight-Hawk's Sunday XI had a close victory against Pokesdown at the ever 'delightful' King's Park. The home side made 213-6, before a good team effort saw Stalbridge home with 9 balls and 3 wickets remaining. Eddie Stevens (32) and Chris Hedges (50) put on 87 for the first wicket while Alex Sullivan (53) and Robbie Knight (37no) sealed victory.
We all wish the Under-13 Blues the very best of luck in their Cup match at Exeter CC on Saturday - they have already done the Club proud and we'll see if they can take things even further!
Have a good week.