Disappoyntment in the Cup

DisapPoyntment in Poynton
After complex scheduling arrangements, the Buffalos we up for the big cup match at Poynton on a glorious Sunday morning. After the Bulls crushing defeat the Friday previous, the pressure was on for the Buffalos to deliver for Coach Laker’s season plan.
Didsbury won the toss and put the home team into bat first… looking for a total to chase. A strong start for DCC saw Rishi tempt the batsman into scooping straight into Adams Gloves – 0 for 1. Strong fielding from DCC pegged the early batsmen back, with Fin, Aiden and George all saving boundaries on the early overs. The second wicket fell as Sam took the ball, after a really tight over his final ball hit straight onto the middle stump – 24 for 2 off 4. More great fielding from Jan, Luuk and Oisin kept the runs down. George took the ball and bowled a superb 3 “birthday overs” giving away just 5 runs off his 18 balls… unlucky to not get the “birthday wicket” – but he did earn a high-five from the umpire. Joe’s bowling was strong again, taking his first wicket with his first ball – great catch from Aiden (44 for 3) then 2 balls later a catch for Rishi. (46 for 4 off 11) Fin’s bowling was also strong with a superb caught and bowled, encouraging a cheer from the crowd. (78 for 5) Luuk also bowled well, delivering a wicket maiden with the injured Rahul taking a brave catch at slip. (78-6) The next 2 wickets also fell quickly with Jan bowling the perfect tempting ball for the batsman to edge it to allow Adam to take a brilliant 1 handed catch, soon to be followed by Jan’s second wicket, the batsman hitting straight into Sam’s hands. The final wicket fell as George continued be strong in the field throwing straight into Adam to deliver the run-out.
PCC all out for 82 off 18.2 overs. It looked good!
But this is where the joy of cricket comes clear… on paper an easy total to chase, but this was a bowlers’ wicket and as Fin and Rahul (with Luuk running for him due to injury) faced some very strong and fast bowling. They held their own defending their wicket but it wasn’t long before Rahul was caught for just 7 runs and Adam was in. More fast and tight bowling from Poynton really pegged the boys back, and with just 11 runs from just 5 overs it was clear this was not going to be an easy task. Fin was soon bowled for just 8 (17 for 2) – Rishi, but not for long as he was soon caught for 5 runs (28 for 3 off 10 overs) Aiden stepped up to partner Adam but faced just 8 balls as he too was caught (33 for 4). We were now needing 9 an over so the boys had to take risks and Adam did… but was caught scoring just 5 runs despite his 42 minutes in the middle. (36 for 5) George was set to have the best day at the crease for DCC, as he partnered Sam, Jan and Oisin all who tried for the big shots and were caught. Scoring 10 from 18 balls George too was caught - 64 for 8 off 15. This was a big ask. Joe and Luuk needed to score 20 off the final 2 overs – they tried but it wasn’t to be. DCC closing on 68 runs.
Taking the positives from the loss – we gave just 3 extras away (1 nb, 1 wd, 1 b) – showing how strong we were in the field. In his first U13 captain’s role Adam kept the team going along side the bowlers, moved the field around well. The boys knew they needed to hit the shots and were unlucky to hit them into the hands of the fielders… 7 catches in the innings. The team never lost their team spirit and camaraderie… these boys are a strong unit… we just needed to be stronger with the bat.