Botany Bay CC U11 v Southgate CC U11 (Cup)
There was no rest for the U11s as a second fixture in two days, this one in the cup semi-final, played out.
Dhyaan won the toss and elected to field, also donning the keeper gloves to cover a late arrival. The team welcomed back a familiar face, Nikhil and featured some new faces.
Nikhil took the first over and instantly found his rhythm. Unfortunately, his pace whilst not allowing for runs to come from the bat, did allow for byes to be conceded albeit the problems his pace was causing gave grounds for optimism.
Julian took the second over and kept it tight and it wasn’t until the third over that the first boundary was conceded, a rather fortunate thickish edge.
Tom then joined the attack and squeezed the run rate further before Henry took over and claimed Southgate’s first wicket leaving Botany Bay 25-1 after 5 overs, an encouraging start.
A further 23 runs were conceded in the second quarter of the innings leaving Botany Bay 48-1 after 10. Good fielding and tight bowling had created pressure on the batsmen and even though no further wickets had been taken, the run rate was being contained.
The second half of Botany Bay’s innings saw their opening bat find his stride and boundaries were becoming a little more frequent. A few chances fell just short of or in between Southgate fielders, but it wasn’t until the 15th over that Southgate claimed a second wicket Tom bowling Botany Bay’s No. 3.
The run rate continued to pick up, the opener building a good innings and eventually passing 50, but a third wicket, this time for Zari, put Botany Bay on 117-3 with two overs to go. A late flourish saw a total of 139 posted with the opener leaving the field undefeated on 59.
The target felt achievable with the batting available however two early wickets left Southgate with a mountain to climb. Tom joined Nikhil and assumed the role of junior partner, steadying the ship and seeing off the stronger bowlers. This allowed Nikhil to get in and start to expand his scoring options, moving nicely through the gears and keeping the target within reach. The partnership lasted nearly nine overs and posted 67 runs before Tom lost his wicket.
Whilst Nikhil was batting as he was, the total felt reachable and with his sweetly struck 6 in the 14th over, confidence remained high. Julian ably supported Nikhil and it was only in the 17th over when first Nikhil and then Thevin fell, did the odds lengthen. It was a fabulous innings from Nikhil, he finished on 58 from just 49 balls.
Julian kept the scoreboard ticking over and the boys were taking chances with runs to force the win but two run outs and the overs themselves running out saw Southgate fall 17 runs short of chasing down a stiff target.
Match Report: David Cox