U11 Tigers CHAMPIONES

View from the Boundary

Sunday 25th July 2021 – Didsbury U11 Tigers beat Lindow U11 Gold by 5 Wickets.

So here we are final game of the season, Lindow Gold at home, knowing a win gives the Tigers the league title. Defeat and the winner of Macclesfield V Didsbury Lions would win the league instead. The confident Tigers had everything to play for.

Adam lost the toss and Lindow chose to bat first.

With Calum behind the stumps, Adam backed himself to open the bowling, followed by Aaron, Charlie and Kush. 4 overs gone, 12 on the board for Lindow when in form Raees takes aim. First ball of the 5th over and the first wicket goes. C Rourke caught well by James (12/1). Raees has made a late season habbit of taking crucial wickets at crucial times. Another bowler who’s done the same is Issac and with the 6th over he dismissed the other opener L Rae. Well caught again, over the shoulder this time by Kush. Isaac came back well after being hit for 6 the previous ball (26/2). Some Miserly bowling was to follow from the tigers, maiden from Solomon, 3 runs off Kush, 4 off Alfie, 2 off Ibrahim, maidens from Alfie and Adam took us to the end of the 12th over and the score was 35/2.

The runs picked up a little from Lindow over the next few overs but not much to trouble the scorers. 5 off Ibrahim, 3 off Solomon, 4 off Raees and 5 off Isaac. 16 overs bowled and the score was (52/2). Kush had taken over from Calum behind the stumps so he could bowl 2 of the last 4 overs and in tandem with James that’s what happened. Calum went for 2 in the 17th over. Before James C & B Holder in the 18th. Calum went for 7 and James 8 in the final 2 overs, so with a flourish Lindow finished on 71/3 off their 20 overs.

Real credit to the bowlers today keeping the runs down through the middle overs. Solomon, Alfie, Adam and Aaron all with Maidens. Everyone else running at excellent economy rates. Taking wickets isn’t always the way to win. Limiting a side scoring in a T20 is just as important and most parents/fans watching thought the small total of 72 to win was an easy reach for the Tigers.

Confidently Kush and Charlie strode out to the middle to chase down the runs and win the league. Confident they should be Kush has batted 5 times this season and retired every time. No U11 had managed to get him out. Charlie on the other hand is the U11’s top scorer with 4 retirements from his previous 6 innings. Surely these 2 would be back in the hutch with a handful of overs gone both having retired again…?

With a 3 off the first ball and a 4 off the second the expectation that it would be over in no time rose further. Kush and Charlie both looked in fine form as they have done all season. However, the hope was short lived when Kush top edged a rising ball from L Rae to end up C & B (5 off 3) (11/1). Incoming batsmen James Coventry, fresh from a covid break, was clearly looking to score big having missed the Lions match the previous week. 8 runs from the 2nd over (20/1) the score was certainly moving on. The 3rd over saw a further 6 runs but the end of Charlie. Again, a rising ball chipped up to the bowler L Rae for another C & B (13 off 10 2 4s). Clearly frustrated Charlie trudged off to be replaced by Aaron (26/2). He was in and out in a flash having struck a 4 off his first ball he was out, again C & B off his 3rd ball (5 off 3 1 4) (34/3). Up step Captain Adam. With almost half the runs scored and so many overs left it felt like the Tigers couldn’t lose this but the 3 wickets down and with James and Adam at the crease it was getting a little itchy. Both these batsmen have been known to get out cheaply in the past, was this going to be another occasion…..?

Let me interrupt the game for a moment to give you some background - Adam took on the role of Captain this season and has grown into that role every time he has stepped on to the pitch. In this observers’ opinion (and through discussions I know others feel the same) he has developed his game to become a genuine leader on the pitch. Is he perfect? No, he’s 11 he needs to work hard on various aspects of his game the same as the rest of the boys. Is he a good example to the boys? Yes, certainly. He has tried to play every game this season in the right cricketing spirit. He’s tried to let everyone bowl and bat and contribute no matter what their level of ability. Back to the game.

No, it wasn’t. This game, and this moment, was his to shine. Both Adam and James batted well over the next few overs to take the game from 34/3 to 67/3 at the start of the 9th over. 5 runs needed for the win. Adam had scored 21 of the runs, James 8. Testament to the pair for holding together under some pressure and taking the game to the point of victory. Adam’s innings came to an end in the 9th over run out (22 of 17 4 4s). Alfie, his replacement was out for 0, 2 balls later and Calum came into replace him. Fittingly James scored the winning 4 runs in the 10th over. Didsbury Tigers reaching 73/5 off 9.1 overs.

CHAMPIONS!!

Well done to all the boys for this match and all the matches this season. Undefeated and deserved winners of the league. Having beaten Urmston comprehensively in the previous round (7 wickets and 7.2 overs to spare) and with Bowden 59/3 off 14 overs when the rain came there is not much doubt the boys would have won every game of the season if they’d had the chance.

My man of the Match today is Adam. A real captain’s innings on top of 2 maiden overs when bowling.

Season Review

Time to look at some statistics for the season. Stats are not everything because they are influenced by when you bat and bowl during a match but they are a good starting point and certainly interesting look at:

Bowling:

Top Wicket Taker:

Raees Mirza – 5
Issac Hindmarsh – 5
Elliot Huckle – 4
James Coventry – 4
Adam Siddique – 4

Top Economy Rate:

Adam Siddique – 1.35 – Top U11
Kush Patel – 2.67
James Coventry – 2.69
Raess Mirza – 2.70
Alfie Storey – 2.88
Aaron Brody – 2.88

Batting:

Top run scorer (not outs) [High score]:

Charlie Tucker – 136 (4) [28*] – Top U11
Kush Patel – 113 (5) [27*]
James Coventry – 92 (3) [26*]
Adam Siddique – 77 (2) [26*]
Aaron Brody – 49 (1) [22*]

Top Strike Rate:

Aaron Brody – 128.95 – Top U11
Kush Patel – 125.56
Adam Siddique – 101.32
James Coventry – 92.93
Charlie Tucker – 81.44

By Matt Tucker