CHCC welcomed Tunbridge Wells Girls Under 12s to a rather damp and drizzly Castle Hill. Fortunately the rain stopped and we were able to get underway without too much delay with CHCC winning the toss and deciding to bat. Our openers Ben A and Lucas started brightly running plenty of byes as T Wells struggled with the slippery conditions. The bowling was still accurate however and runs were tough to come by, both boys played sensible and thoughtful innings which was great to see. Unfortunately Lucas fell to a very good delivery and Callum also received a good one shortly after which dented our progress. In order to give as many players a chance we retired Ben A after 8 overs and in came Harry and Elliot. The boys played some great shots and moved the scoreboard along rapidly with both retiring on 25 within a few balls of each other, a 50 partnership in just 6 overs. With two overs to go Charlotte and Ben P came in and moved the score along to 106 for the loss of just 2 wickets.
In the first match of the season against the same opposition we had posted a score of 108 but had lost on the final ball, would the result be the same or different??
The CHCC bowling was much improved on the whole with only a couple of overs where the bowlers struggled for line and length. The T Wells batting is strong and in the middle section of the match they really sped up the run rate so that with 6 overs left they only needed 20 runs to win having lost just one wicket (an excellent delivery from Harry which bowled one of their openers). It is testament to CHCC that the game ended up coming down to the final over. In the previous 5 overs Sam, Callum and Elliot had put in a superb spell taking 3 wickets and conceding only 17 runs.
Unfortunately the grandstand finish was not possible, a very nice shot from one of the girls winning the match with 3 balls to spare.
I has been normal in the match reports so far this season to bemoan our lack of discipline with the bat or ball, or some vaguely calamitous fielding… however not this time. The concentration, application and execution was excellent all round. There were some terrific stops in the field (I fear Charlotte may have a large bruise this morning), more energy and support than we have seen previously (well done to Harry and Elliot as joint captains for keeping the team spirit up) and great enthusiasm all round. Sometimes you come up against a team that just has more on the day and given the age differential and the quality of the T Wells team it was likely to be a tough task, a great performance to run them so close.
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