Under 13s Cruise to Cup Win

Under 13s Lancashire Cup
Monton CC 88/5 (20.0) vs Didsbury CC 90/4 (14.0)

U13’s cruise to next round…. eventually

The first round of the Lancashire cup saw a trip to the farther reaches of the Manchester map but some sterling parent work saw a prompt 6 pm start. Monton elected to bat first and as the team settled into the field, the scorers got to grips with the Krypton Factor “Digital” score board.
Within a couple of overs Noah had snared the Monton opener with a drive straight into the safe hands of Basil, swiftly followed by a snick and great take by Adam for a 2nd wicket for Noah (8-2). Basil continued to deliver quality balls giving away just 3 runs from his 3 overs.

George then replaced Basil and bowled a tidy opening over, but the 3rd wicket took some time to come and had to wait for Harry to bowl clean onto the stumps. (71-3) with the 4th following on closely from a ball from Seb which the batsman edged into Adams waiting gloves. Joe didn’t have his best first over, as their batters punished some short balls, but that by no means damped his effort or enthusiasm with a much tighter second over being delivered.
There were both glorious and disappointing moments in the field, from the highs of both Louis and Ben saving boundaries and Zac throwing in from the boundary and missing the run-out by inches to giving away 4 byes from ridiculous overthrows.
George had his usual strong fielding performance again and Joe kept a good presence on the boundary, with his usual enthusiastic chat in the field a welcome motivator. Special mention to Ben who handled the helmet demands of the wicket keep expertly!
Noah closed down the bowling and the 5th wicket was soon to follow with a fantastic throw from the boundary straight onto the stumps – nice work Rishi.
Monton ended their innings 88/5

Harry and Adam opened the DCC batting and it was a nervy start. Monton had a strong bowling attack and held the boys to 0 for the first 2 overs. Frustration was bound to set in, and soon enthusiasm overtook and led to an unfortunate run-out. Harry leaving the field after just 2 overs. DCC 0-1 off 2.
Basil came in at 3, and the crowd were to be treated to a glorious batting display. He was cruising towards retirement and after 2 sixes and 2 fours he was on 24.
There was then the moment we will talk about all season - Basil middles the ball and the whole ground watched it trim the top of the looming conifers to become lost in surrounding gardens. A standing ovation from both the home and visiting support. What a shot to retire on!
Rishi then came in to partner Adam, hitting 4 from his first ball. Didsbury now 52-1 off 9. After being dropped earlier in the over Adams luck ran out and he was caught for 17 runs, giving way to George. Unfortunately, the George / Rishi partnership didn’t last long as George was soon bowled allowing Zac to take the field. Again, a nervy start from Zac – but he soon settled to open his U13 account with a perfect 4.
The runs had stacked up nicely and DCC needed just 2 to win. Rishi faced and hit a smart boundary shot to win the match from just 14.5 overs.
The crowd were treated to some great cricket this evening from both teams, and we should be confident in a decent cup run for this very strong team.