1stXI beat Grange CC by 5 wickets
There were more than a few tired, stiff and sore bodies amongst the From 8 boys who had only returned from a week’s camping in the Lake District the day before but they hauled themselves out of bed to play only our second proper 1stXI match of this truncated season, and it was good to see half the side made up of U12 boys too. All were looking forward to another encounter against the Grange who we had narrowly beaten a few weeks ago At Portgower Place. Today’s venue was Broomhall CC over in Fife, on an artificial wicket, but the outfield was dry and we were forecast a dry morning, perfect for our 9am start time for a 25 over a side game.
Having lost the toss, we were invited to bowl first and we bowled very tidily indeed overall, with nine bowlers having a bowl, and we limited a strong Grange batting line up to 150 in their 25 overs, centred around an unbeaten 50 from their skipper, but it was a good effort all things considered, but still a very competitive total that would take some chasing. I though we fielded pretty well too, saving a number of runs through some excellent ground fielding (especially Sebastien and Charles) and although we dropped a couple of sharp chances, we kept up the intensity pretty well. Harry bowled some good off spin, Charles and Alexander bowled some excellent medium pacers and Glen bowled a fantastic first spell in his first proper 1stXI appearance of the season. So, it would be a good chase, but we bat long and the important thing would be to run the singles and be patient……little did we know just how close it would end up!
We quickly slipped to 23-2 and this brought Glen to the crease to join Rory, and this would be the key partnership of the innings in many respects; if they both scored runs, we would get close to the target. As it turned out, they put on 63 runs in just over 8 overs, and Glen, in particular, smashed the ball to all parts of the ground, including one enormous straight six that just missed my car! They seemed to be taking the game out of Grange’s reach, but then suddenly Glen was caught behind for 38 and Rory fell soon afterwards for 39, and all of a sudden we were 89-4 after 14 overs, with plenty still required.
Harry and Ollie began to rebuild the innings, putting on nearly 30 together, but when both of them fell in consecutive balls, we were 114- 6, needing 36 off 6 overs, with only the lower order left and two new batsmen at the crease. However, cometh the hour, cometh Seb and Xander! Together, they batted really sensibly, running the singles well, turning ones in to twos and hitting the occasional boundary, building their partnership and you could feel the frustration building in the Grange fielders.
Slowly but surely, they began to chip away at the total and kept us in touch going at roughly a run a ball, but then the Grange skipper came back on to bowl his last two overs, but we managed to hit a streaky boundary, and then suddenly it was down to 9 off 12, then just 3 needed off the last over. Nails were being bitten and everyone was on the edge of their seats, then Sebastien hit the second ball through the covers for two, meaning one needed of four balls……could it happen? The ball was outside off stump and Seb hit it away through the covers, diving headlong to make his ground at the non striker’s end. Just 3 balls remaining.......what a run chase under pressure! Nerves of steel from Seb and Xander!
Game over. What a win, and what a terrific partnership to clinch a memorable victory in what was a super game of cricket, played in excellent spirit.
Well played, boys. An absolutely wonderful Saturday morning of schoolboy sport.
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