Under 11s V Bowdon

On a damp morning, the Under 11s spent the first hour in the field looking like they would rather be elsewhere. Normally a strong fielding and tight bowling unit, Didsbury couldn’t shake off an early morning lethargy and struggled to get in the game. Bowdon batted very strongly at the top of the order, smashing 15 boundaries off any deliveries in their hitting zones. Uzmaan, spinning the ball prodigiously and Raheem settling quickly into a nice rhythm, wrestled back an element of control from the batsmen. Rehan was menacing when he found a good length. Harry B and Michael then bowled their best spells of the season, taking 3 wickets at 4 an over which in the context of the rest of the innings was an excellent return. Safe Hands Oliver has become a really consistent fielder, taking a neat catch here with little difficulty. A word also for Ben, who was keeping to some extremely variable bowling. He was excellent in this innings and rounded off a good personal performance with a sharp stumping.

Chasing a big target, Didsbury struggled to get going. Raheem was bowled by one that kept low, whilst Uzmaan, Jamie, Harry couldn’t find any sort of touch . Sam did try to play more positively but was played a bit to early on a ball that held up on the pitch and was caught. The exception to these batting woes was Dan, who once again combined craft and graft to reach a run a ball 28. Dan has now amassed 128 runs this season being out just once in the process – sensational batting. Joab and Ben looked in decent nick at the end of the innings both timing the ball well but mostly finding the fielders as Didsbury fell well short.

Whilst the performance in the field was out of character for this side, the batsman look like they lack confidence. Coaches and parents need to help the boys throw off the shackles of doubt and remember the joys of playing shots and scoring runs. There are only a few games left this season so let’s see some fun and runs with the bat.