Kevin Wood reports:
Yateley U11's secured their spot in the County Cup Final at the Rose Bowl by beating St Cross in a thrilling match. Yateley batted first and Jack Wood and Jonny Burgin gave us a solid start with an excellent stand of 56 in 11 overs. Jonny made 24 (39 balls) and Jack went on to retire on 25 (34 balls). Chris James led the way in the run chase at the end of the innings with an aggressive 24 no from 23 balls.Our later batsmen all swung the bat to look for quick runs and put the fielders under pressure with some magnificent running between the wickets. YCC finished on 118-5 from 20 overs.
Chris James and Dougie Moffat are becoming an excellent opening attack and proved it again. YCC were wary of "Macca"- the St Cross bat who opens for Hampshire and plays in a Hampshire side with three of our team.Chris and Dougie restricted St Cross to 34-0 from 8 overs turning in figures of 0-13 and 0-18 respectively.Macca then thrashed 20 from the next 2 overs including 14 off Jonny Burgin, his County Capt! Obviously serious rivalry in Hampshire U11's!! Now its "game on" - Macca retired on 26 and our team rally with some excellent fielding and much tighter bowling. We made 2 excellent run-outs, including a "Pietersen" direct hit from cover by Jack Wood, Josh Parkin bowled 2 overs for 10runs and 1 wkt, and Jack and Jonny managed to bowl the last 5 overs between them for just 21 runs - a fantastic effort.St Cross finished on 114-5 despite a frantic last over looking for those vital 5 extra runs to win the match.
This was a great team performance - well done guys. The final is at the Rose Bowl on Thurs 28th July, 6 pm start against Portsmouth and Southsea. Lotys of support would be appreciated.

Colin Justice writes "that Jack Wood, Hampshire under 10 Captain, made an excellent 77no to lead his side to victory over Surrey on Sunday. This is the reward for hard work, constant practice and determination. Well done Jack and good luck to the under 11 squad who play in the county semi-finals on Fridat at St Cross CC. The winners play on the Rose Bowl on 28th July"

Kevin Wood reports:
Yateley U11A have maintained their unbeaten league record with two recent victories:

At home to Eversley, YCC elected to bat and against a very good Eversley attack scored a very respectable 129-7 in their 20 overs. Jack Wood top scored with 27 and there were good contributions from Jonny Burgin (10no) and Jon Dow (15no).
Our opening bowlers then produced an awesome opening spell to reduce Eversley to 22-5 after 8 overs. Chris James turned in figures of 4-0-6-2, and Dougie Moffat 4-0-12-2 : A great performance lads. Josh Parkin chipped in with two late wickets and Eversley were all out for 48 in 18 overs to give YCC a win by 81 runs.

Pip Squire reports:
I have to say “What a way to finish the leagues” – The team played really good cricket and if they had all played like that against Rowledge and Dogmersfield we would have been undefeated. For the record Yateley batted first and scored 105 for 8 in 20 overs (Sanjeb Sada Sanker 20 off 14 balls). Tim Moore and Henry Wildey opened the bowling with an extremely tight spell 22 runs and 3 wickets in the first 8 overs (Tim Moore 4-0-11-2, Henry Wildey 4-1-11-1). They were ably supported by Dan Bone, Ed O’Connell, Dan Clack, Sagar Sunar and Justin Cash who got the rest, bowling Eversley out for 76 in 19.1 overs. Not only was the bowling good the fielding was tight and enthusiastic. A great way to finish the season.
Click for Scorecard

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley ran into a well organised and determined Cove side with their sights set on taking Yateley's unbeaten record.
Batting first, Yateley started slowly with Miles and Jack finding it hard to get the ball away, with Cove keeping it tight, Jack played across the line and got bowled by one that beat him down the off side, just clipping his off stump.
In came Ryan who also struggled to play his attacking game and he and Adam got bogged down with the score ticking along in ones and twos, before Ryan finally connected with one that threatend the club house windows. With almost the very next ball though Ryan was also tempted to swing across the line and was beaten by a straight one!
With most a number of the usual team away, we were then down to the under 9s who did a fantastic job filling in, Liam and Isaac stuck it out and pushed the score along as fast as possible, although we had by now fallen behind with the run rate and with the last batsman struggling to make an impact we limped to a fairly modest score of 78.
Cove had set the standard with some determined fielding and some excellent bowling. Jack opened the bowling and despite some wild stuff, he intimidated a wicket early on when Isaac caught brilliantly to unsettle Cove who had started determinedly. Ryan put the Cove batting under attack and Miles followed Jack and got an excellent caught and bowled. The game was still in the balance at this stage, but when Adam produced some of his best bowling of the season taking a brilliant hatrick all wickets bowled, then the odds looked to have swung Yateley's way.
Cove however did not buckle under the pressure and kept on nicking the runs here and there. In truth our bowling did get a little ragged and it soon became evident that without another hand full of wickets, Yateley would run out of time.
In the end a combination of loss of composure, lack of experience and perhaps most of all a lack of runs to defend, saw Cove pass our total with overs to spare.
Man of the match could have gone to Miles for his top score or Adam for taking his first hatrick, but it went to Jack Cusden who kept wicket very tidily against some pretty quick bowling.
Unlucky Yateley.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley fielded a fairly inexperienced side against Rowledge, however you would never have guessed when young Jacob Vincent bowled the second over taking two wickets and narrowly missing out on his hatrick.
The team settled quickly and went about fielding and bowling professionally, giving away few extras and setting a high standard considering their experience.
Run outs by Jonathon Henry and Alex Finch put the pressure on Rowledge who were already being examined by some accurate Yateley Bowling especially from Adam Handcock and Adam Finch, who was getting some wild swing withthe ball.
Yateley restricted Rowledge to 32 all out and confidently went about reaching this tally in just under 10 overs, with the runs coming from Josh Grimmett and Alex Finch.
Special mention should go to the two under 8s Alex Finch and Adam Hancock who did not look out of place with the hard ball, whilst Jacob Vincent took man of the match with a mature bowling performance which points to a bright future.
Other performances worth a mention was that of Jack Cusden who put on the keepers cloves for the first time and did an excellent job.
Whilst this game was memorable for the performance of the youngsters, it was a real team effort played an excellent attitude.
Well done on another well won victory.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
8 June v Eversley (friendly)(H) - Yateley 259 Eversley 285
A friendly match in every sense of the word for our less experienced side. Eversley notched up an excellent score of 285 despite some tight bowling from Adam Handcock, Paddy Finch and Chris Hartland and a couple of superb stops by Adam & Paddy. Anthony McGowan was a confident opening bat and Adam struck a beautiful 6, with Georgina Henry and Chris Hartland stalwartly defending some tricky bowling.
Batting award - Anthony McGowan
Fielding award - Paddy Finch

12 June v Eversley (A) - Yateley 259 Eversley 262
259 is obviously a difficult number for Yateley when playing Eversley. A good all round performance from Yateley fielding first as usual this season. Superb catches by T Halson and Keeper Adam Handcock and wickets from Liam Roper, Jamie Innes & T Halson kept Eversley contained, but strong batting performances from Liam Roper & Jacob Vincent weren't quite enough and we lost by just 3 runs.
Fielding award - T Halson & Adam Handcock
Bowling award - Liam Roper
Batting award - Jacob Vincent

15 June v Holybourne (H) - Yateley 237 Holybourne 239
It can't get closer than 3 runs, can it? Unfortunately for the under 9's, yes it can. Another fine performance meant that we were in with a real chance against the league leaders, but we ended up 2 runs short of that elusive second win.
Jacob Vincent yet again gave a fine performance with the bat with four 4's from his first 5 balls. Liam Roper - 3 overs 14 runs 3 wickets - and Isaac Cowdrill - 3 overs 5 runs 1 wicket - dominated the bowling with good overs from Paddy Finch and wickets from T Halson & Adam Handcock. Special mention to Joseph McGowan (age 7) for good positive fielding and for not losing his wicket.
Batting award - Jacob Vincent 20 runs
Yateley top bowler - Liam Roper 3 overs 14 runs 3 wickets
MoM - Joseph McGowan

26 June v Rowledge (H) - Rowledge 250 Yateley 257 Rowledge were confident of a win in this match, having outclassed us in the field in the first leg. Having opted to field, Jacob Vincent opened the bowling with an impressive spell - 3 overs, 8 runs, 1 wicket - follwed by good bowling from Isaac Cowdrill - 3 overs, 3 runs 1 wicket - Liam Roper - 3 overs 24 runs 2 wickets and Adam Handcock - 2 overs, 8 runs 1 wicket. Adam also provided our highest batting score - 14 runs which, together with his best wicket keeping yet, gave him a most deserved Man of the Match.

2 July v Wield (A) 2 friendly matches: U9/8 and U8/7 teams.
Yateley 252 Wield 287
The U 9/8 team put up a good fight with boundaries from Henry Aughterson, Adam Handcock & Paddy Finch and wickets taken by Kesley & Anthony, however the district & county players in the Wield side made all the difference and we were unable to
Batting award - Paddy Finch
Bowling award - Kesley Kaps
Yateley 268 Wield 266
The U8/7 team were victorious in what was for many of them their first ever match. Geezer Finch bowled a wicket maiden and Shalin bowled 2 overs for the loss of only 2 runs. Shalin (11) and Harry Cusden (10) had the best batting figures with Yateley finishing on 268 just 2 runs ahead of Wield.
Man of the Match - Geezer Finch

3 July v Bagshot (H) Yateley 231 Bagshot 338
Another friendly match for our U9/8/7 team, this time against an all U9 Bagshot team. Good match experience for our lads & lass who were unfortunate to lose by such a big margin.
Man of the Match Harry Cusden for his 13 runs.

Kevin Wood reports:
Yateley came through a tough match against Basingstoke to remain unbeaten in Division 1. Yateley were put in by Basingstoke and scored 113-4 in their 20 overs. Jack Wood and Chris James made a steady start as openers against some very good B’Stoke bowling but it was an inspired quick-fire 20 no from Chris Clubb that lifted the innings. There were good contributions from Jon Dow (8), Jon Burgin (7) and Dougie Moffat (12), - with a little more aggression in our shotmaking and running between the wickets we will be looking to scores of 125+ in future games.
Basingstoke, aided by some early wayward bowling, played their shots from ball 1 in their innings and got off to a flyer. After 8 overs they were on top of the run rate with 9 wkts remaining and looked favourites to win. Dougie Moffat, on his debut, then bowled a superb spell of 4 overs 1 wkt for 8 runs to change the game. With good support from Jon Dow and Jack Wood he slowed down the B’Stoke innings and they finished on 96-5 from their 20 overs – a win by 17 runs.
This was a good test for Yateley who stood up to it despite some very good cricket from B’Stoke who played the game competitively and in very good spirit. Well done to both teams.

Pip Squire reports:
The U15’s met at Cove’s Second XI ground, won the toss and invited Cove to bat. There followed a display of disciplined batting by the Cove opening partnership who were only split up in the twentieth over, on a very erratic wicket that left the wicket keeper battered and bruised (the ball could do anything from stay 1 inch off the floor to bouncing 4 feet into the air!). However I have to admit it was not the best display of Yateley bowling and fielding I have ever seen (we gave away 42 extras).
However, with responsible batting from Henry Wildey (19), Tom O’Connell (18), a swashbuckling 35 off some twenty balls by Tim Moore saw us home with two overs to spare (47 extras did help too).
We remain top of our league with 3 more matches to play. Well played all.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley won the toss and elected to bat. Sharple's and Wells batted tidily and gave a steady foundation for our innings with Sharple's playing some nice strokes before he was bowled.
Bone and Springgay piled on the runs with an excellent exhibition of hitting and quick singles, both batsman calling well and not leaving a run to the fielders. Adam and Miles continued the good work both scoring classy fours, Miles off the back foot through mid wicket and Adam on the front foot driving the Fleet captain straight down the ground.
Peter and Josh, both fell victim to the Fleet keeper, who was hot with her stumping and with tidy fielding from the visitors, Josh bit off more than he could chew when he tried to force two runs, where there was only really one.
Joe batted determinedly before he was run out when we were trying to force the total, whilst Freddy, still new to the game, was unlucky when he was caught off a thick edge which, was taken at point.
The surprise package, was Henry, who put in a focused innings, not giving an inch and then when the ball was there for hitting, he did, punishing one of the Fleet front line bowlers with three successive fours on the leg side.
At the interval, the lads must have had two many E numbers, because the discipline they showed with the batting in particular the calling and running evaporated. fortunately, this only appeared to affect our fielding and ability to concentrate on what the captain required of them. This was a shame, because it spoilt some excellent bowling, with everyone putting in two overs each. Of particular note was the bowling of Grimmett and Wells who demonstrated that line and length is what it is all about, both taking wickets. Sharple's and Henry also bowed economically, whilst wickets fell to Goold who is growing in confidence since his debut against HWCC.
Man of the match, went to Henry for his all round performance

Kevin Wood reports:
Yateley convincingly won this 1st Round fixture by 100 runs. YCC were put in by Fleet and lost their openers within the first 3 overs. The middle order, led by Jon Dow (31 no) and Chris Clubb (20 no), then batted extremely well to amass a big score.Jon was hitting the ball solidly "in the V", and Clubby was his usual buzzy self between the wickets. Towards the end of the innings Ryan Bone ( 12 no) hit a glorious 4 over the bowlers head and Jack Springgay produced his best batting of the season for a very well played 20 no. YCC finished on 159-5 from their 15 x 8 ball overs.
Fleet were soon in trouble in their innings and were 9-3 after 4 overs.YCC's skipper, Chris James, then took the opportunity to give all his team a bowl. Wickets fell steadily and were shared around between the bowlers.Fleet were eventually bowled out for 59 in 14 overs. One or two bowlers bowled some excellent spin instead of their usual "seam up" and it will be interesting to see how this develops during the season.
Well done lads - next round is the Qtr Final v Aldershot on 16th June at Yateley.

John Muir reports:
During half term we visited Rowledge for a 40 over game which was the first long version game for a number of the boys.
Unfortunately we didn't fair too well and lost quick wickets. We scraped together 138 with the help of a over 50 extras. Anthony Muir, Nick Ovens and latterly Danny Bailey all made useful contributions as the tail wagged.
When we bowled Ben Swingler-Brown and Danny Bailey bowled useful spells but we did not take wickets. Rowledge were on top but a useful 1 for 12 off 6 overs from the leg spin from James Muir brought Yateley into the game. Oliver Hickman kept his head for Rowledge scoring 55 not out to see them home with 7 wickets to spare.
This was good experience and will try to arrange a return in the summer holidays.

John Muir reports:
Yateley scored a decisive win against Alton. In there allotted 15 8 ball overs Yateley grafted to 111 for 8. Tom Wood and George Sandford were both forced to retire having scored 20. A late rally from Jack "mini" Wood who scored 19 not out say us to our total. Jack Myers took 5 wickets for Alton.
Alton were never in the hunt against the pace of Tom Lyons and Ben Swingler-Brown each took 3 wickets.
Alton were bowled out for 81 in the 14th over as Yateley romped home by 30 runs.
This was another good victory as Yateley kept up their unbeaten run.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley batted first against HWCC and Wells and Meade got off to a steady start with a partnership of 18 runs for the first four overs. Hull, Finch and Parsons added to the total scoring 6, 5 and 6 respectively. HWCC gave us 53 extras to take our final run tally to 96. Both teams were extravagant with the number of wides and no balls and perhaps more runs could have been scored with the bat if the bowling had been more playable.
HWCC were subject to some aggressive bowling from Hull and Mead who made an immediate impact, taking the first three wickets for just one run between them, with the first being neatly taken behind by Halson keeping wicket. Yateley had HWCC on the back foot and forced two dismissals by run out, before Finch, Grimmett and Wells all took wickets by hitting the stumps.
Yateley generally fielded well, whilst we gave too many extras away, some of the bowling was too good for HWCC when we did manage to put it in the right place and the result never really looked in doubt with Yateley notching up our second win of the season. We will be looking for a more disciplined performance next time out though, but the signs are good and with a little more focus on technique in the batting and bowling departments, the score book should look a little tidier