Match Centre

Tuesday evening saw a trip to Finchampstead for our U15 girls. Captain Issy won the toss against her cousin and elected to bat first on a pitch that was rock hard and looked like it would be a treat to bat on.

Izzy and Amelia opened up, and both girls looked solid in the early exchanges, each hitting lovely drives to the boundary. Amelia was first to go, misjudging where the ball was and setting off for a run; the fielder hit the stumps and she was gone for 10. This brought Issy to the crease, and she started superbly, finding the boundary regularly.

Issy and Izzy put on a 50-run partnership for the second wicket before Issy was caught behind (though she feels she missed it). She had batted well and made 23. Grace was next in and set about the Finchampstead bowlers immediately. Grace and Izzy batted beautifully, with both girls reaching the 30 ball limit, Grace finishing 32 not out.

Hope came to the wicket for a quick cameo, hitting a great four before chipping one up and being caught. Isabel also came and went; she looked good before being bowled. Caitlin played some nice attacking shots, but she too was well bowled.

This meant Izzy returned to partner Isabelle for the final eight balls. The two girls batted positively and added vital runs to the total. Isabelle finished 8 not out and Izzy 32 not out, taking us to 155–5 from our 20 overs.

The fielding could not have started much better: Isabelle clean bowled the opener with the second ball of the innings. In the fourth over, Hope claimed her wicket, another clean bowled and Finch were struggling at 25–2.  But then the Finch fightback began as our girls let their standards slip slightly.

They recovered to 62–2 when Grace came on to bowl. By the end of the over, they were 66–4, thanks to a great caught behind from Isabel and then a lovely clean bowled. Izzy was next up; a fast delivery proved too quick for the batter and Finch were 78–5. Caitlin picked up the important wicket of Issy’s cousin, as the batter played on to her own stumps, leaving Finchampstead in serious trouble at 80–6.

The tail wagged for Finch as the last pair added 24 runs before Izzy returned to bowl her third over. It took just one ball, as the bails were sent flying, and Finchampstead were all out for 104, giving us a 51 run victory.

This was a strong performance. The girls batted well, set a very good total, and were led superbly by their captain, Issy. Thank you to all the parents who braved the cold towards the end and supported the team throughout.