U11 Championship League - V is for Victory

A balmy evening at Castle Hill saw our under 11 Bs welcome a depleted Cranbrook team. Injuries and availability had affected both teams so we had 8 v 7 in our favour, though we provided Cranbrook with an extra fielder.

CHCC won the toss and decided to bat. Harry and Artie got off a flyer against the Cranbrook opening bowlers who are both district players, some mighty blows from HK saw CHCC race to 35 off the first 4 overs. A change of ends brought a change of luck to Cranbrook, their first change bowler putting in a fine two overs having first Artie, then Harry and then Elliot all caught behind by their keeper. JJ hit two nice 4s before being caught out and suddenly it looked a little precarious, 10 overs left but only 3 wickets left. Ben Perry then came in and played a superbly controlled innings supported along the way by Jack, Oscar and finally Callum. Castle Hill posted 88 for 6 with Harry top scoring with a fine 24 and Ben retiring on 16.

CHCC knew there weren’t many runs to play with and I am pleased to report that the bowling and fielding was a marked improvement on the first two games. Harry and Elliot opened up with speed and venom with one of their openers falling to Harry 3^rd ball and the first 4 overs only going for 12 runs. The first bowling change saw Callum and Ben P come on, Callum duly picking up the wicket of Cranbrook’s other opener and Ben also bowled a tight line and great length which left Cranbrook on only 34 after 8 overs. 

The next bowling pair Of Oscar and Jack also bowled really well and by the time their batsmen began to swing it was looking like too little too late.

The final overs saw Callum return to the attack and combined with some great work in the field by Oscar and behind the stumps from Artie CHCC ran out the last danger man. An immaculate maiden followed from Harry which left Cranbrook needing 27 from the final 2 overs. Up stepped Callum who continued to enhance his fearsome reputation as the bowling finisher by cleaning up their last two batsmen.

CHCC U11 Bs beat Cranbrook by 24 runs.

A fine performance from the boys who really played well, every boy played their part in a great team victory. The improvement in the bowling and fielding was marked and a sign that the boys are getting over the rustiness of the first few games. Next up is Bells Yew Green, away on 4^th June…

U11 Premiership Team - Not this time

Castle Hill U11A came second to a spirited and tactically astute Holmesdale team, in a topsy turvy game losing in the final over.  

Having won the toss and opting to bat, openers Ted and Cameron got off to a flyer, the visitors reaching 45 without loss after 6 overs with some fine shots and excellent running.  However, after Cameron fell to a fine sprawling catch on 19, wickets fell steadily and the momentum was lost.  Aside from some some useful blows from Ollie, the innings stuttered to 89-7 off 16 overs, Ted coming back at the end to finish undefeated on 33.

In reply, Castle Hill struggled to keep a hold on the scoring rate despite taking wickets (Tom 2, Ted 1 and a run out),  The Holmesdale batsmen all ran well and too many wides were conceded.  Bear was the star in the field, taking a good catch, effecting a run out and bowling a maiden with the penultimate over which gave his team a chance with 4 runs still required.  However it was too little too late and the home side made it home in the final over, the Holmesdale opener Stone carrying his bat.

Nevertheless, an enjoyable game despite the boys coming up short.

U11 Premier League - Castle Hill's got talent

After the U11B team's stirring win against Withyham B on Tuesday, the U11A opened their season with an encouraging 17 run win against King's Hill.

Having won the toss and opting to bat, skipper Ted and Cameron got the team off to a positive start before Cameron was undone by a good delivery.  Bear then failed to trouble the scorer (his dad - thanks Julian) and this marked the start of the Ted and Harrison partnership, which was the cornerstone of the innings both reaching 25.  They particularly ran very well between the wickets once Harrison's vocal chords got into gear.  Some good blows from Ollie, and one from Tom, and good running from all the batsman enabled the team to finish on 98-6.

Harrison proceeded to clean bowl the King's Hill opener first ball and a rout was predicted.  This failed to materialise as the batsmen played steadily without threatening to keep up with the required run rate.  King's Hill closed on 81-5, the other 4 wickets were claimed by Ryan, Ted and Ben along with a run-out.  The bowling was rather wayward at times, something the boys will need to work on in matches to come.

Castle Hill was looking its fabulous best on a sunny but rather chilly evening; thanks to Richard and Hirsty for all their work.   And thanks to Hayley for some delicious sandwiches and cakes.

U11 Championship Match - home verses Withyham CC - 6pm 15th May

Warm weather, blue skies, a splendid pitch and a cracking game…

The U11 Championship squad continued their 2018 season against Withyham CC with Castle Hill Cricket Club bathed in sunshine!

Match Summary:

CHCC batted first and made steady progress, Lucas did a fine job anchoring the innings and saw off some good bowling as he progressed to 21 Not Out, Elliot made a cautious start against some good length bowling but soon found his rhythm and was duly retired.

Castle Hill then lost a few wickets quickly, Charlotte was bowled by a looping delivery that I think deceived everyone in the ground with its flight and pace, JJ made a few quick runs before being bowled, and Callum managed to run himself out on his first ball.. (I blame too much touchline coaching for that one.)

Sam Bromley hit an absolute monster over long off which caused a few gasps from the crowd, before being bowled by a good delivery! This left Hugo and Elliot to see out the innings, Elliot finishing on 32 Not Out and CHCC posting a score of 95 for 6.

Withyham started at a pace and their openers put on some quick runs that looked to have CHCC struggling, then the match was turned on its head by 2 incidents. Firstly one of their best players was superbly run out by Callum who whipped off his gloves and knocked off the bails in fine fashion, followed by an outrageous catch at mid wicket by Harry which will take some beating this season, at any age group! Elliot then clean bowled two of their batsmen before a change of Wicket Keeper for CHCC brought Callum in to the attack. Clearly keen to make an impression Callum got a wicket with his first ball and then another two balls later, Hugo taking over the gloves kept immaculately behind the stumps.

This left CHCC needing one more wicket, Withyham needing 11 runs, 4 over to go..

Up stepped Captain for the day Ben Perry who having marshalled his troops superbly in the field bowled out their last batsman.

Result – CHCC beat Withyham by 10 runs

Well done Boys, still plenty to work on but stirling efforts all round..

A tough test against a strong Cranbrook team lies ahead on Monday

U11 Championship Team - 1st match report

Warm weather, blue skies, a splendid pitch and a cracking game…

The U11 Championship squad begun against a very strong and well drilled Tunbridge Wells U12 Girls team, which included several district and one county player.

Match Summary:

CHCC batted first and straight away we could see it was going to be hard work, immaculate line and length from their opening bowlers made scoring hard and unfortunately we also had a run out early on (unlucky Ben P). However, the boys weathered the storm and protected their wickets, Harry also chipping in with some useful boundaries, which would prove valuable later on.

Having rotated batsmen and seen the need to pick up the run rate we were then treated to the JJ Jackson leg side extravaganza as he dispatched three deliveries for 4’s before being bowled by an excellent delivery. Elliot then came in and hit 22 very quickly (including a huge 6) which helped keep the scoring rate up before being caught by the opposition captain. Useful runs then came from Ryan and Oscar before a few late wickets brought back our earlier retired batsmen. In the final few overs, assisted by some loose bowling (at last), Harry with a huge 6 (finishing on 24), and Ollie with two cracking 4s came back on to help us post a target of 110 for victory.

It was clear that there was some rustiness in the CHCC bowling and their openers exploited anything short or wide with ruthless efficiency. Credit to our boys that their second overs were generally a lot better which bodes well for the season. The openers retired with half of the required runs scored after only 7 overs bowled of a possible 16. Then came the CHCC recovery, Elliot took 3 quick wickets and then Lucas chipped in with one along with a run-out, suddenly Tunbridge Wells needed 17 from the Last two overs…

Unfortunately the boys were not able to hold on, some good hits, great running between the wickets by the girls and a few missed opportunities in the field meant that Tunbridge Wells won on the last ball of the game, despite an excellent last over from Ollie.

Result – Tunbridge Wells Girls U12 beat Castle Hill by 1 run

All can be proud of a superb first effort, Callum who was keeping wicket for the first time did a great job behind the stumps in difficult conditions, the enthusiasm could not be questioned and the competitive spirit was definitely there.

Plenty of positives and I am confident we will learn from this and move forward as a stronger squad.

Looking forward to the next one!!