Didsbury U11 v Whalley Range U11 2nd July 2017

After a week of rain, there was no doubt the boys were up for this game, looking forward to doing the double over Whalley Range, following a satisfying victory earlier in the season. They agreed a target of 120, just 6 an over, and knew they were more than capable of delivering. But sadly it was not to be…

Winning the toss Didsbury elected to bat first, hoping their 11th Man would arrive before the next innings. Confidence was high and George and Aiden opened well – soon putting a good number of runs on the board and keeping that run rate where it needed to be. Aiden impressed with a 4 from his first ball and George’s performance was solid delivering some intelligent shots and 4 good boundaries. .. Which was a challenge given the huge boundary set by the home team.

Unfortunately Aiden was out for just 7 to a quick stumping but good fortune shone on George - the home team seemingly unable to hold onto several easy catches. (They dropped 10 in total – quite a stat!)

As Adam came in at number 3 he was hoping to banish the ghost of his Golden Duck from the last match here, and he did. He and George made a great partnership against some unconventional bowling. They were smart with their running, making clear calls and as a result kept the score board ticking over. Our target looked achievable. However George’s luck ran out as he was stumped 1 shy of his retirement – but a great inning scoring 24 from 34 balls. Fin came in and he and Adam continued to add runs – taking Adams score to 17 before he was bowled.
Will came in to partner Fin and the two of them knew they had to make some strong shots as the run rated started quickly to fall below target. In the search for runs, Fin hit big and was caught, putting Joe into the crease. Will continued to put a fine performance in with the bat – some neat shots taking him to 10 before again, searching for runs, he was run out. With just 1 over to go Luuk came in to partner Joe, who stroked a nice boundary, to push the score over 80. Luuk was caught out to the last ball of the innings – and the team had to settle for 84.

Still no 11th man, “Super-sub” Ethan stepped up, ducking out of his under 9’s training to play alongside his big brother – and he did himself proud. Jan stepped up to bowl the first over, which set the pace for the rest of the game, as the home team quickly found the gaps driving the ball towards the boundary – but Ethan was there – saving 3 boundaries in the first 6 balls, and showing the “big boys” how to do it. Other notable fielding in the game came from Jan – a heroic painful stop saving 4 runs.

The opening batsmen were stubborn and despite a good bowling stint from Fin – including a maiden – the runs were totting up. However the crowd did question the wearing of sunglasses from Fin whilst bowling – something to be discussed further at home I believe! Our bowling and fielding could have been tighter as wides from all bowlers added to the extras. The boys were clearly not having their best day with the ball.

It took until the 11th over for the first wicket to fall, when some excellent fielding from Will, calmly stopping and throwing the ball into Adam who was there ready to take off the bails. But the home side were already on 51…

Luuk, Jan, George, Oisin, Joe and Aiden all tried their best with the ball – and frustratingly got nowhere, victory was now out of sight. Will put in one of the strongest bowling performances, giving away just 6 runs…. But it was just not enough.

The second wicket finally fell Fin (still in his sunnies) took a good catch from Joe’s ball, but the home team needed just 2 runs off 4 overs.
It was time to waste a bit of time, unsettle the opposition, distract them and maybe, just maybe… Joe took this task upon himself, handing the ball to Oliver he ambled back to his fielding position, feeling a little chilly, decided to put his jumper on… this took some time….quite some time. The crowd watched in frustration as first no arms went in, then the wrong way round and then some adjustment to the neckline….
Unfortunately it wasn’t enough and even Joe’s jumper antics did not stop Whalley Range scoring their final runs and taking the victory.

Emma Slater

Coaches Note
It was a tough wicket to bat on. On these sorts of wickets we need to put away the bad balls (which we did pretty well) and work singles to keep the score moving (which we generally didn’t do so well). When we get our fantastic new nets we can practice harder on bowling with more control, until then the boys have to concentrate hard whenever they pick up the ball in a match. The opposition had a team packed full of slow bowlers which worked well – we only have 2 slow bowlers in a squad of 23 – maybe one or two of the medium pacers can have a think about converting to off spin? Final thought from me – this team has always been incredibly positive irrespective of the match position. That is a unique feature of this group, so keep it up and be supportive of each other.