Paul Finch reports:

Yateley came into the 15/15 final full of confidence having convincingly beaten HWCC in the semi final. You can never take any opposition for granted when it comes to this game however and althogh we had already beaten Cove twice in the league, the lads were focused not to slip up in this one.

James H and Jack W, got us off to an excellent start, with quick singles in amongst the fours. James retired first and Adam carried on the strike rate with Jack, picking off about twelve an over before Jack retired. Miles joined Adam next, and there seemed little Cove could do to stem the flow, before Adam was bowled, however an impressive base had been laid by the first three for the rest of the innings to build upon.. Miles went shortly after to one that kept low and the runs dried up momentarily until, Peter P and Jacob upped the tempo again scoring 11 and 13 respectively. The innings was finished off by Jacques and Liam who saw us home to an impressive total of 173.

Having set a daunting task for Cove, Yateley set about the Cove batting with vigour and restricted Cove with some accurate stuff from Jack W who took a well bowled wicket in the first over. Jack S was even more economical from the other end and after just four overs Cove had an uphill battle on their hands. With the wickets falling and no rest bit from a Yateley attack which could bowl right the way down to the last man, Cove did well to hang on and not cave in. Everyone bowled well, but perhaps the Cove innings will be best remembered for the one handed diving catch that Miles took, straight out of the Paul Collinwood book of fielding. You will not see a better catch in any class of cricket!! If that was not enough, Jack W combined with James H behind the stumps for a text book pick up and run out, with James removing the bails.

Yateley remained professional throughout and the Cove score was severely restricted by some great all round fielding, particularly from Jack S who covered third man and fine leg with the speed of superman. The last over was finished off, with a one stump throw down by Jacob, to put the icing on the cake.

Man of the match was awarded by Roy Finny to Miles, for although he did not get going with the bat, the sheer brilliance of his catch was enough on its own.

Well done lads a professional Job done

Paul Finch reports:

Yateley Cricket Club under 9s,10s and 11s spent the whole week with Coaching For Greater Understanding run by Ian Stuart from Dummer Cricket Center.

The week was a great success with three groups, the improvers, intermediate and advanced training group being put through their paces by Ian and his coaching staff Dave and Sean. The course ran from 10.00am to 4.00pm everyday and focused on the girls and boys having fun and improving their technical ability for the game.

This was the clubs first such coaching week, but such was the success that we will be talking with Ian and his company Coaching For Greater Understanding about future coaching and development projects. Thanks to the club and in particular John Parker for letting us use the facilities and having them available each day. Next time John I will enquier about a senior group!!!

The week was finished off with an award ceromny and certificate with each player receiving recorded feed back on their achievement and development.

I will be watching the next Yateley performance closely, having had a whole week of coaching, the technical brilliance shoule be amazing!! Seriously, it was great to see the youngsters having such a great, time and I think the coaches enjoyed it too.

Chris Roper reports:
Our U11B team concluded their league campaign with a fine victory at Holybourne on Tuesday night. The win was particularly pleasing as our team was made up of a number of U9s in their first hard ball league game, all of whom made very valuable contributions.

Batting first we made a positive start courtesy of 3 of our senior players fresh from their 15/15 cup final win with the U 11As: Peter Phillips (15 from 13 balls), Jaques Pienaar (11 n.o from 18 balls) and Liam Roper (7 from 6 balls). Valuable knocks from Emma Vincent, Jamie Innes and Freddie Gould helped build the innings. A winning total of 90 was made possible by confident batting at the end from 2 of our youngest players, Tom Halson (8 n.o) and Ben Gray (2 n.o). Tom is to be congratulated on the shot of the match, a cover drive his elder brother would be proud of.

In the field we produced our best bowling performance of the season. Early Holyboune stroke play threatened to take the game away from us as they raced to 25 without loss in 3 overs. Peter Phillips then produced a gem to remove Cameron Wicks their skipper and U11 District player, which proved to be the turning point in our favour. To our credit we used 11 bowlers, all of whom bowled very well. The wicket takers were: Peter Phillips (1 for 7 from 3), Adam Hancock (2 for 4 from 2), Liam Roper (1 for 5 from 3), Tom Halson (1 for 2 from 2), Jonathon Henry (3 for 3 from 2), Christian King (1 for 5 from 1), Freddy Gould (1 for 1 from 1) and Ben Gray who followed a text book high catch with a wicket maiden. Jamie Innes, Emma Vincent and Jaques Pienaar also bowled tidy spells. Jack Cusden and Adam Hancock shared the wicketkeepng duties ably supporting the bowlers in difficult conditions.

A good all round display that confirmed the U 9s on duty are ready for a full season of hard ball next year. Well done all, based on this display we have an exciting U11 season ahead next year!!

Bowling award – Jonathon Henry 3 for 3 from 3 overs.
Batting award – Peter Phillips 15 not out.
Man of the Match – Joint: 3 outstanding U9s Tom Halson/Ben Gray/Adam Hancock.

Stuart Hill reports:
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In the first game, Yateley got off to a flying start, Emma Vincent and Chloe Micklethwaite quickly knocking 42 runs from the first 4 overs. Emma was then caught and Chloe retired after scoring 15. Alice Micklethwaite quickly got in to her stride but was then caught. Emma Roper and Jessica Hill quickly followed with Yateley's score gradually creeping to respectability. Georghia Binstead and Georgina Henry saw out the last over and Yateley finished on 75 runs but importantly Hook started on +12 for Yateley's four dismissals. Hook Norton's catching and fielding was an important factor in them taking four wickets and keeping Yateley's score down.

Yateley knew that they needed wickets to keep Hook Norton at bay and stand a chance of going 1 game up in the best of three final. Yateley took two wickets which pushed their score up to 81 but couldn't break through. Hook Norton seeing out the last over to finish on 86 runs to wing by 5. Good bowling by all of Yateley's four bowlers ably supported by the girls in the field.

After lunch Yateley went in to the second game with a lot more pizzazz, knowing that they were a bit quiet and needed to up their game. Yateley fielded first, maybe this would be to their benefit. Emma Vincent took a great one handed catch, Emma - two hands please my heart can't take it, and their were further wickets for Chloe Micklethwaite, twice clean bowling Hook Norton's batsman. Yateley's fielding was greatly improved and the general encouragement was tweaked up to keep everyone on their toes. Hook Norton finished on 70 but with Yateley taking 3 wickets, their innings started on 9.

Alice M and Emma V opened the innings and quickly put Hook onto the back foot before Emma V was run out. This brought Chloe to the wicket who rapidly smashed her way to 15 and retired. Emma Roper and Jessica Hill also fell to run outs adding another 6 runs to Hook's score. Alice was quietly accumulating her 15 before she had to retire. Georghia and Lotte also fell to accurate bowling. This brought Chloe back to the crease with Yateley needing 15 runs from the last over, 5 were scored from the first 3 balls then Chloe smashed a 4 but then crucially could only manage a single , meaning Yateley's innings finished on 80 to lose by 5 runs.

Girls, you can take great pride in the progress you have all made this year in what hasbeen as a team your first season of competitive cricket, you have given all of your coaches a lot of fun, keep it up. Also many, many thanks to all of the parents who have supported the team in transport to far flung places and for scoring and umpiring.

Looking forward to next season.

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Emma Cowdrill reports
We were fortunate to be able to take 2 teams to the 3rd annual Basingstoke tournament. Yateley won in 2004 and were finalists in 2005 and as 3 of the lads have brothers who were in the 2004 team, sibling rivalry meant the pressure was on for another victory. Unfortunately however, we were down to one coach and just as I was about to play spin the bottle to choose a mum to help, Jon Halson arrived after last minute change of plans. Despite being dressed in flip flops, Jon agreed to take a team, to audible sighs of relief from all the mums!
It was a phenomenal win for the U9 A's in exceptionally difficult conditions - they played all day in the sun from 11am until 7.30pm with only an hours break at 1pm -  and despite our best efforts some of the children did end up in a bit of a state with heat exhaustion. All credit to Jon for managing the team and keeping the boys spirits up through such a long day.
All the photos are from Liz Halson.

Under 9A's

Jon Halson reports:
Another great day for Yateley CC at an U9’s tournament – we came away champions after a very long day on the field.

Once again the boys were a credit to the club, every one of them gave a lot on a very long and hot day.

We started the day with a close fought match, losing to Tichbourne.  We tried some new pairings, Matthew Shakespeare and Ben Gray giving us a good start, followed by James Dinsdale and Paddy Finch who ran well between the stumps. But, we kept giving away 5 runs as a number of quick wickets fell.  However, after this, each match got better and better. All the boys upped their game especially in the batting ‘department’.  We went on to defeat Hambledon B and Fleet to come through second in our group.

In the quarter-final we faced a strong Andover side who had beaten other notable teams during their group matches.  We batted first setting them a good target which they approached slowly as our bowling line really started to kick in, with Tom Halson and Adam Handcock keeping the score low at the start of the innings. Then a couple of their batsmen came in and started hitting sixes, one even went over the grand scoring box!! The final over was a  joy to watch as Matthew Shakespeare pinned them down by bowling a great line and length to secure the game for us.

So we progressed to the semi final. This saw us up against Hambledon A who had won their own tournament back in May, they were very confident.  But again we came on and batted very sensibly, our pairings were really starting to work well. Joseph McGowan and Cameron Hughes proved again that two left-handers can be a ‘force to be reckoned with’.  Then all the boys bowled their single overs with dedication and control to really stop the opposition getting into their stride. The notable performance in this match was the mixture of pace and a few balls of spin from Ben Gray.  We ended comfortable winners.

As you can imagine the boys were really starting to enjoy each win with a louder celebration each time.  The crowd was growing as more parents turned up to support – I have to thank all parents during the day for providing support to both the boys and I. And a big thank you to Rachel McGowan for scoring all day long, making sure that I counted every over correctly and for running the match data back to the organisers after each match.

So, onto the final against Trojans, which we had to start with a ‘mini’ sub, Guy Finch covered for James Dinsdale, who had given his all  throughout the day but had to retire with heat exhaustion.  The team was determined to go out and win this final match which would prove to be a nail ‘biting’ end to the day.  Our batting started slowly but 4’s came and some very quick singles, with Adam who had captained admirably all day and Tom pushing the total to 241.   We bowled tightly to start with,  but the Trojans middle order started scoring confidently hitting boundaries with ease.  It all started to feel like they had the better of us, but then our last over ‘expert’ Matthew came out to take two wickets leaving the Trojans last pair with 6 to score off the last ball.  So down to a ‘scary’ finish for all those watching, but the boys only allowed 1 run with some tidy fielding.

The celebrations started, the boys continued as they had all day to raise three cheers for the opposition who were distraught given they had been ahead toward the end of their innings. Followed by much cheering and finished off by our ‘Man of the day’ and captain Adam Handcock proudly lifting the trophy from Hampshire 2nd Xl Mitchell Stokes (Basingstoke junior).

Under 9B's
The B's, led ably by skipper Joe Grimmett, went into their first match - v last years winners! - with much trepidation. They held their heads high though and can be proud of the way they played, with a superb catch by Elliott Mitchell and tight bowling by Charlotte Eldridge, Matthew Everett & Colin Phillips. Following a short break to watch our A team win their match, we then faced a very strong team. Again Yateley went into the match with a positive attitude and they fielded beautifully. Good batting came from Geezer Finch & Matthew Eldridge and the pairing of Charlotte Eldridge and P Cowdrill, who had to cope with bouncers from the big, fast lads but stood their ground and only gave away 1 wicket, well done girls.
Our final match  was a more even contest, although by this time the heat was starting to affect the players and the fielding wasn't quite as tight. Ben Everett did well to run between the wickets in his flip flops (obviously a new Yateley trend!) and we finished with excellent bowling from Elliott Mitchell and Matthew Eldridge.
Whilst it was disappointing to lose all our matches, we can be very proud of the determination that we showed and the the positive team spirit.

Man of the Tournament - Joseph Grimmett

Our first match of the day was against local rivals Eversley; we lost the toss and went in to bat first. Chloe (17) and Emma V (18) opened the batting with both of them retiring along with Alice (18). The two batsmen left at the end of the innings were Emma R (8) and Jess (3). Our final score was 91, only losing one wicket. Leo was the opening bowler and bowled well with only 13 runs off 3 overs, Emma V and Chloe also bowled well. We got two run outs and Eversley finished on 68.

In the second match, Yateley played Liphook. Yateley batted first with both Chloe (16) and Alice (17) retiring again with a few fours and sixes hit! We conceded 2 wickets; Emma R and Jess not out at the end. Yateley’s overall total was 71. This was our tightest match as it was all down to the last ball. We managed to get a run out off Chloe’s bowling, well done Alice, which bought our total to 74 causing us to win by two runs!

The second half after lunch started with Yateley against Hursley Park! The girls played extremely well. Yateley again batted first with the opening pair of Chloe Micklethwaite and Emma Vincent. Chloe retired after smashing a well fired 20 runs. Thank you Chloe! Emma V also retired after an excellent knock of 15 runs. After 5 overs Yateley had scored 62. Leo Hanson scored 5 runs. Good work! Alice Micklethwaite scored 18 runs and also retired - good job! Also Emma Roper and Addie Macgregor scored no runs and got out, but tried their best - good effort girls. Georghia Binstead got 2 runs and didn’t get out. Well done Georghia! Jessica Hill also scored 2 runs and didn’t get out. Well done Jessica! After our 10 overs our score was 100 and that was the end of our batting. Well done! Good batting girls!!!

Now it was Hursley Park’s turn to bat. Yateley’s 4 bowlers all bowled with accuracy so as not to concede too man extras. Chloe Micklethwaite being the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 overs, 1 wicket for 12 runs. Chloe was ably supported by Emma V with 3 overs for 22 runs, Leo Hanson with 3 overs for 25 runs and Emma Roped 1 over for 17 runs. Hursley Park finished on 85 but giving 3 runs bonus to Yateley, meaning that Yateley won by 18 runs. Yateley were now sitting at the top of the league with 3 wins out of 3 games.

In the final game of the league format, Yateley came up against Aldershot. Aldershot were keen to do well as they knew that a win would see them through to the final, probably against Yateley.

Yateley again batted first, with our opening pair Chloe Micklethwaite and Emma Vincent. Emma V retired after 18 smashing runs. Good job! Chloe M also retired after 15 excellent runs. Well done! Leo Hanson scored 8 runs - well done. After 6 overs our score was 60. Well done Yateley girls. Alice Micklethwaite also retired after 15 tremendous runs. Emma Roper did superbly well by retiring after a 6, 4, 4 and then a single. Do you know what she said when she came off the pitch…? “I didn’t know I could do that!!!” Excellent job Emma!!! Georghia Binstead scored 4 runs and didn’t get out, and the same with Addie Macgregor. Well done girls! Jessica Hill did not bat. After our 10 overs our score was 98, only losing 1 wicket, giving Aldershot a bonus of 3 runs to their score, which was the end of Yateley’s innings. Excellent job Yateley girls!!!

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Jon Halson reports:
A home match for us on another hot July evening.  We lost the toss and were put into field.  Holybourne opened and scored slowly at first but their second pair came on to score 30 runs. They finished on a total of 261 thanks to our ‘loose’ bowling and fielding which saw us forgetting how to back up, so we gifted the opposition 39 extras. Notable bowling figures were Adam Handcock 2 overs 1 for 3 runs  and Tom Halson 2 overs 1 for 7 runs .

Then we batted,  which saw us of the mark with brothers Matthew and Ben Everett , followed by Joseph Mcgowan and James Dinsdale adding a few more runs.  Ben Gray and Cameron Hughes added a couple more to take us to 220. Holybourne were very much in control at this point after some very good bowling and fielding above their years.  This left us in a very tricky situation requiring our last pair to score over 40 runs to win.

Mark Handcock, who umpired, and I couldn’t quite believe what we had witnessed, Mark felt very nervous during the last 4 overs and I wasn’t even sure we had enough runs at the last ball (I thought we needed 266) – thanks Rachel for scoring and clearing my confusion at the end.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
A grudge match between the Ladies and the Girls. The ladies had suffered much heckling prior to this match, but undaunted they took to the field determined to improve on their last performance. All the hard work at the last training session showed, with more accurate bowling and some impressive fielding from new girl Liz Halson, who took a superb catch on the boundary. All the ladies bowled, with particularly good spells from Sue Dowell, Sandra Handcock, Laura Binstead & Rachel McGowan. The girls were keen to punish our bowling and Chloe Micklethwaite did just that, banishing 2 of her coaches balls to the rough. Emma V, Alice M, Georghia & Jessica also batted well (and just as importantly ran well) and there were good innings from Alice Reynolds and Kayleigh Fraser playing in their first ever match.
The girls youth showed in their fielding. Whilst the ladies used their feet to stop the ball - bending down is far too hard - the girls excelled in getting their whites dirty and showing their mums how it is really done! The girls bowling kept us on our toes, especially that of Leo (I'm really glad I didn't have to face her!) Hanson, Georgina Henry, Emma R and Addi McGregor. However, the new blood in the ladies team - Mandy Cusden, Sue Henry, Julie Micklethwaite & Debbie Hill - soon had the ball flying over the boundary, whilst the stalwarts - JaneVincent & Val Hanson continued the good work, giving the ladies their first win.

Special mention to Hannah Cusden who hopefully enjoyed making up the numbers for the girls - thank-you Hannah.

Many thanks to Duncan McGregor for setting up and umpiring

Emma Cowdrill reports:
A tough match to finish the season with in form Cove looking for a win to take the league title.
Yateley batted first, with Alice M & Leo forcing the pace early on. The middle order found it very difficult to score runs though and the accurate bowling of Cove soon had us on the back foot. Emma V tried in vain to rescue the situation (she loves the challenge of batting at the tail end!) with a fine knock of 11, but we slumped to our smallest total this season, 222.
Undeterred (these girls never give up) we went into field still expecting to salvage something from the game. Alice bowled particularly well - 2 wickets - with excellent spells from Georgina, Georghia and Emma V.
Unfortunately though, the combination of impressive Cove batting and a heat induced torpor in the field, meant that Cove stormed to victory by 53 runs.

Best Bowlers - Georghia Binstead & Georgina Henry
Best Batsman - Emma Vincent
MoM - Alice Micklethwaite

Chris Roper reports:
Our U11B side came up against an extremely good bowling attack in Hook in our penultimate league game at YCC on Monday night. Batting first we struggled against accurate opening bowling that reduced us to 3 for 3 in the third over. Our cause was also not helped by indifferent calling resulting in 3 run outs. It was thanks to Chloe Micklethwaite (8), Jonathon Henry (9), Jack Cusden (8 n.o) and Tom Troughton (8 n.o) that our score reached 55 from 20 overs. All 4 batters hit fine boundaries demonstrating that with application runs could be scored at a decent rate.

In the field Yateley put in a much improved all round display forcing Hook to fight for every run. A disciplined spell of opening bowling by Jacques Pienaar and Liam Roper in which Jacques took 3 for 12 from 4 overs prevented Hook claiming a run away victory. Chloe then produced a speedy spell down the hill and was unlucky not to get a wicket. Paddy Finch also enjoyed a good 3 over spell claiming one wicket. Our final bowler was Ben Kill, who on debut immediately found a good line and length showing he will be a handy asset next season. In the end our total was probably 20 runs short and Hook deservedly claimed victory in the15th over.

Bowling award – Jacques Pienaar 3 for 13 from 4 overs.
Batting award – Joint Jonathon Henry/Chloe Micklethwaite/Jack Cusden/Tom Troughton

Emma Vincent reports:
We won the toss and chose to field first. We bowled and fielded well, especially Alisha who was our bowler of the match with a wicket. Emma Roper fielded well with a brilliant run out. Leonora & Jessica both bowled well. Even with one of our best fielding performances, we could not help Cove getting 310 runs.

The opening batting, Leonora & Jessica showed a great example. Leonora getting 16 runs without getting out was our batter of the match. Addi & Alisha batted well as a pair. Unfortunately they were both out once.

They defended some brilliant balls. Zoe batted well, only getting out once, which was really good for their bowling. Georghia was a good partner for Zoe. The two Emmas came in with a massive score to get. They tried their best, with both Emmas hitting 3 fours. We could not quite get their score, ending up on 254.

MoM Emma Roper - 1 wicket, 3 fours & a run out
Batsman - Leonora Hanson 16 runs
Bowler - Alisha Bhanot - 2 wickets

Emma Cowdrill reports:
Yateley lost by 7 runs.
A needle match for the girls saw them play Eversley B's for the second time in a week. An unpleasant day to play cricket - fine drizzle and a sharp wind - however the girls were undaunted and went out to field in an upbeat mood.

Leo Hanson, Emma Roper and Emma Vincent bowled superbly, with Emma R and Jessica Hill bowling with new style & accuracy having worked very hard in training. Our fielding was as tight as could be expected - most of the girls were shivering! - and Eversley closed on 277.

A muted batting performance from Yateley. Addi McGregor and Charlotte Eldridge the only unbeaten pair. Emma Roper scored her highest runs this season with a great 10 no. We could only counter with 270 though, giving Eversley B their first win.

Best Bowler - Emma Vincent
Best Batsmen - Addi McGregor & Charlotte Eldridge

Graham Gardner reports:
Yateley lost by 49 runs
Good quick bowling from Odiham enabled them to take more wickets. A lot of air shots from YCC. Good all round fielding from both sides – a couple of very close runouts which went in the favour of the batsmen. Some missed catches but Matthew was the only one to hang on!

MOM - Matthew Eldridge – took a fantastic catch that was going quite fast but he managed to hang on to it.
Best Batsman – Sam Williams – 14 runs
Best Bowler – T Gould W3 – NB0 – M0 – Runs 5 – Wkts 1

Emma Cowdrill reports:
Yateley won the toss and captain Daniel Pennicott put us into bat. Ben Gray got us off to a storming start with 2 fours and Matthew Eldridge and Harry Cusden both hit fours in their innings. P Cowdrill and Florence Phillips put in another good defensive display and have yet to lose their wickets this season. Poor calling in the last innings and tight fielding from Overton meant our run rate was kept low and Overton's target was 267.

Overton showed their superiority with the bat early on, punishing our opening bowlers and running on any extras. There were lots of highlights though - wickets from Matthew Eldridge (2 to show his watching grandparents,) Ben Gray, Geezer Finch, Ben Everett and Jake Binstead. A superb fielding performance from Ben Gray earnt him MoM and P Cowdrill and Harry Cusden combined for a run out.

MoM - Ben Gray
Best Bowler - Jake Binstead

Emma Roper reports:
On Friday 30th June Yateley girls played the mums in a friendly but competitive match. There was an all round good performance but the girls thrashed the mums! The girls went in to bat first with Leo and Georgina making a good start as the first pair. All of the other pairs gained lots more runs for the team with a lovely six by Chloe. There was some great bowling by the mums, with only a few wides, ending up with the girls losing some wickets! The second innings was just as exciting as the first, with the mums getting off to a storming start. All of the pairs hit some fours but there were no sixes. Everyone bowled well as the mums lost some good wickets by Ellen, Chloe and Emma V, bringing the total down. Overall everyone played well but the girls were the better side winning by 40 runs!

Paul Finch reports:
This game perhaps should have been the final, as both Yateley and Hartley Witney have performed very well over this summer both winning a game against each other in the league.

The cup is different though and the stage was set for a semi final of the highest quality. Yateley batted first and Ryan and Jack W got off to a good start, with some very steady and precise scoring from Jack.

Yateley did not have it all our own way in the early exchanges, as Ryan who had settled in nicely and kept it straight, chased a wide outside the off stump and was caught trying to hit back past the bowler.

Adam cam out next and continued the good work with Jack, playing sensibly and scoring regularly. Jack retired and Adam was joined by James W and the pair looked comfortable until Adam went for a quick single and got stranded when James sent him back. The next ball, saw James take on a quick single himself and the player you would bet on making a single in a tight call was run out without facing, unlucky Jack S. Many teams might have buckled under the pressure of loosing two quick wicket, but James recovered his composure and hit three or four fabulous shots before being caught behind.

We needed someone now to step up and give us a performance to post a total that would win the game, and cometh the hour cometh the men as both Peter H and Miles who by their standards have struggled with the bat this season came in and took the Hartley Wintney middle bowling order to peices, crashing fantastic boundries and really looking as if they had been scoring fifty's all season.

Both players retired having injected a huge increase in the run rate. Jacob came in next and got stumped on three as he tried to force the runs, whilst Jacques was caught behind first ball. With our openners returning, Jack and Miles, put the pressure on Hartley Wintney again and Miles looked back to his old self with some fantastic cover drives and in the run in was out scoring Jack, who finished with a very well earned fifty. We finished on 177, and whilst we did not have it all our own way, we kept to the task in hand. The impressive thing, was that when we had the little wobble in the middle of our batting when two wickets went down to run outs in quick succession, our heads never dropped and we held our nerve.

If our batting had been impressive, our bowling was superb, with Hartley Wintney loosing five of their six wickets lost to being bowled. I had not told the lads beforehand that the pitch we were playing on was a yard longer than usual as the groundsman had prepared the U13 strip by mistake. Such was our focus that this did not seem to be noticed as dot ball after dot ball restricted Hartley Wintney. Trying to force the run rate to keep up with Yateley, it was inevttable that Hartley Wintney would start to take risks and after Jack W removed one of the openers, Jack S hit twice more with a fantastic spell of bowling. Jacques then changed the pace with his line and length, just tying down his end and getting his man leg before, whislt Peter H full of confidance from his batting polished off two more very economically in his two overs with an impressive performance with the ball.

Adam, was unlucky not to take a wicket, whist the innings from the pavillion end was finished off by James and Jacob. If our bowling and batting had been of the highest standard in cup cricket, perhaps a deciding factor between the two sides was the fielding. On a fast outfield, Yateley seemed to turn what had been fours in our innigs into ones and twos, with both Jack S and Adam putting in exceptional performances, in what was probaly our best overall fielding display of the season. Behind the stumps, Ryan took control and looked in real form and between him and Miles, the team were kept in constant focus, with very few byes or over throws.

Effort of the match went to Jack W for a hard earned 50 and setting the standard with his bowling, whilst man of the match went to Miles, for his 42, which came at a crucial point in the game and turmed it in favour of Yateley, when Hartley Wintney might have got on top.

Fantastic win lads

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley on a high from the two previous outings against Rowledge set about the Cove bowling attack with clinical vigour. Both Ryan and James H seemed to be able to hit the ball at will, but kept their shot making straight and resisted the cross batted swipe. James possibly batted the best I have seen and U11 player perform this season. Just timing the ball and keeping it simple and on the ground, it was as if he had a wand. Ryan too crashed several fours on the off shide with spectacular timing and power.It was fantastic to see our openers in such comanding control.

Good scores and shot making, followed from Adam and James W and the innings was finished off with some excellent batting by Jacob who's return to form was long over due, well done Jacob, it must be that new grip!!! . Cove had no answer to our run making machine and Ryan returned to make 36, whilst James H disapointinly got caught for 22, playing across the line. when he had looked so good playing straight!!

Again our bowling attack looked impressive with Peter P, Jacques, Adam and Peter H bowling very economically. Adams double wicket maiden snuffed out any glimmer of a hope that Cove could challenge our score and Cove mustered 75 against our 173.

Well done lads, keep the winning streak running.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley were in devastating form against Rowledge, having clocked up 187 in the cup against them the Sunday before.

Both teams though had their U11 county players missing and the game did not look as if we could get anywhere near that total, when Ryan went for 19, having scored a blistering 50 not out in the cup game.

Yateley are growing stronger as the season goes on though and runs by James W, Jack S and Adam F put us well on our way to another big total. Our middle order collapsed, and the innings was finished off by Ike and the returning openers.

If we had batted with a little more composure, we might have had even more runs and there are still some lessons to be learned.

If our batting was not quite up to the mark, our bowling was as every bowled their two overs with only six no balls and wides between them. Every bowler completed their overs giving away less that 8 runs and Peter P topped the figures with 2 wickets for no runs. A clinical display with everyone focused and in the zone.

Well done lads.

Chris Roper reports:
A young U11 B team made up of 9 players who are under 10 defeated Bagshot in a 12 a side game of pairs cricket on Sunday. The margin of victory bodes well for next season with some fine performances from our 9 year olds who displayed plenty of confidence with and against the hard ball.

Having won the toss and decided to bat our two most experienced batsmen Jacob Vincent (18 n.o) and Liam Roper (12 n.o) set a fine example with a terrific opening 4 overs. They ran really well between the wickets and punished the bad ball. After taking 14 from the first over, they took the total to 42 without loss from 4 overs. Jordan Foley (18 n.o) and Freddie Goold (3 n.o) maintained the run rate adding 37, with Jordan’s fine attacking shots ably supported by Freddy’s keen running. Two Under 9s Adam Hancock (11 n.o) and Mathew Shakespeare (12 for 2) then enjoyed their time at the crease with some good hitting contributing 24. Their score would have been even better had they followed the running and calling example of the older boys. Paddy Finch (4 n.o) and Tom Troughton (4 n.o) then put together a steady undefeated partnership of 21. Our next pair, Jo Aspell Beaumont ( for 2) and Anthony McGowan (2 n.o) found scoring hard to come by against much improved Bagshot bowling. The final partnership of George Masters (2 for 1) and Jack Cusden (6 n.o) steadied the ship by adding 11 runs and taking our final score from 24 overs to 328.

An inexperienced Bagshot bating line up struggled throughout against accurate Yateley bowling and keen fielding. All 12 players bowled, including wicket keeper Jack who took 2 wickets from 2 balls and starts his next bowling spell on a hatrick! In fact Liam completed ‘a team hatrick’ by taking a wicket with the next ball to finish with 2 wickets as well. The leading wicket taker was Tom who thrived when opening the bowling to take 3 for 4 from his 2 overs. Other wicket takers were Paddy and Adam with one a piece. A special mention for Jordan and Mathew who both produced accurate pace down the hill and only conceded 1 run each off the bat from 2 overs. Adam also deserves credit for some very good wicket keeping in the last 6 overs which bodes well for next year.

Well done boys for restricting Bagshot’s net score to 237, a win by 91 runs.

Bowling award – Tom Troughton 3 for 4 from 2 overs
Batting award – Jacob Vincent and Jordan Foley both 18 n.o
Man of the Match – Adam Handcock, 11 n.o, 1 for 2 from 2 overs and very good keeping

Emma Cowdrill reports:
Yateley lost the toss and were put into bat. Leonora Hanson showed that the Yateley girls meant business with a 6 and 4 in quick succession. Jessica Hill and Emma Vincent also hit big sixes, but the piéce de resistance came from Chloe Micklethwaite with a mighty 34 runs - top score this season. Emma V and Chloe showed great maturity in their innings, refusing to be lured into foolish shots by some poor bowling. A great example from the skipper & vice-captain to the younger girls. Mention too must be made of Zoe Philpot, dragged out of bed by her uncle Stuart Hill because we were one short (Eversley remember?!) who, never having trained let alone played, defended her wicket beautifully in the searing heat.

309 was a huge score for Eversley to beat, but they are a plucky side and a couple of early fours from their opener helped us to focus and tighten up our fielding. Our 3 opening bowlers all performed well, with Leo's quick bowling keeping Eversley on the defensive. Wickets were taken by Chloe (3), Emma V and Alisha Bhanot - this included a superb caught behind by Chloe. Emma Roper and Jessica bowled their best yet, with Jessica bowling a lovely maiden. The intense heat did impact slightly on the quality of our fielding, but Georghia was up to her usual standard and Zoe learnt quickly and walked in with every ball. Watch & learn girls!

A fine win for the girls by 57 runs.
Bowling award - Jessica Hill & Emma Roper
Man of the Match - Chloe Micklethwaite
Effort award - Zoe Philpot

Mark Handcock reports:
On a fine Sunday morning, Basingstoke won the toss and elected to bat first. The Yateley bowling was not quite up to it’s usual high standard and we ended up conceding 55 runs in extras, out of a total score of 269. Having said that, several bowlers, including Adam Handcock, Colin Phillips and Matthew Shakespeare bowled well, but the bowling performance of the day was provided by Cameron Hughes, who took 3 wickets for 10 runs in 2 overs and at one point was on a hatrick.

The fielding as always, could have been better and we will need to work on our concentration, but Paddy Finch deserves a mention for his fine catch on the boundary,  Chris Hartland for some great fielding in the covers and Tom Halson for his magnificent diving effort to take a catch, which he could not quite hang onto.

With 69 runs to get, the batting could not have started any better, with Matthew Shakespeare and Joe McGowan putting on 31 runs for the loss of just one wicket, which proved to be the highest partnership of any batting pair in the match. Matthew, who had the lion’s share of the bowling, was hitting the ball well and finished his knock with a big six. From a solid platform, the rest of the team batted well, with good scores from Tom Halson, Colin Phillips and Paddy Finch, leaving us on a score of  317, which was a terrific effort from all of the boys – well done.

Yateley won by 48 runs.
Bowling award - Cameron Hughes
Batting award - Matthew Shakespeare & Joe McGowan
Fielding award - Chris Hartland

Paul Finch reports:
Having convincingly beat Rowledge last week in the 15/15 and scoring 187 in the process, Yateley had it all to do again on a scorching July morning. James Wilson opened with Ryan and the pair put on 38 for the first four overs with Ryan notching up 19 and James supporting well. Adam moved up the order following his recent form and batted next with Jack S. The two put on 34 after a slow start with Adam scoring well again in the later overs with 21.

Miles, Jordon, Peter all went cheaply as we chased the runs, mindful that we needed to make a big score and Jacques was unlucky getting out LBW after he had played a nice sweep shot for four.

Apart from a gritty 10 from Isaac, our tail end did not wag and it was left to the openers to come back in and score the runs. This was tailor made for Ryan, but he came to the wicket and faced R Jaggo who was on his hatrick ball having just bowled Jacob and Liam.

Bowling down the slope, he bowled Ryan and suddenly the innings looked to be falling apart. James and Jack however steadied the ship and pilled on the runs in the remaining overs with Jack finishing on 35 and James on 26 with some good running and shot making. 172 was not a bad run, but not what we perhaps should have scored with the start we had and the potential for Ryan to score on an excellent wicket and fast outfield.

In the field, Yateley started with a spurt as Adam and Jack bowled efficiently, with Adam bowling one of the openers.

Peter Phillips bowled next and put in a performance to remember. Two wicket maidens. Miles bowled down the hill and took a wicket whilst everyone bowled well, economically, with Ryan a constant threat and irritant to the batsman behind the stumps.

Liam mopped up at the end and took two wickets to make up for his disappointment with the bat.

The win never looked in doubt, Ryan will be very disappointed at missing the chance to make a really big total, but got back on his feet with a good display behind the stumps. Adam Jack and James, batted strongly, whilst the whole team bowled exceptionally well.

My only gripe was the odd over throw as the heat got to us and concentration levels fell towards the end.

Well done lads, keep setting the standards higher and learn from every match.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
A stellar performance from a young B team. Batting first we knuckled down and produced our best performance yet, only losing 2 wickets in the whole of our innings. Matthew Everett and Harry Cusden were a strong opening pair with Matthew hitting a lovely 6 to end his overs. Ben Everett and Matthew Eldridge continued to build our score with some fine fours and Sam Williams added 9 runs to give us our highest total this season - 271.

Every player gave 100% after tea, with a fantastic fielding display from all players, but especially by Geezer Finch with his accurate throwing, P Cowdrill chasing hard & saving fours, and the champagne moment a great catch by Ben Everett to give P her first wicket of the season. Geezer and Sam Williams bowled maidens to keep HW in check and Jake Binstead and Ben Everett had their best ever bowling spells. However the bowling award must go to Harry Cusden with his brilliant 4 wicket haul.

Best Batsman - Sam Williams
Best Bowler - Harry Cusden
MoM - Providence Cowdrill & Ben Everett

With grateful thanks to Paddy Finch for standing in twice this week for the U9 B's.

Chris Roper reports:
Our girls maintained their good league form with a convincing win at Aldershot. The victory was based on an excellent team performance with all players making a telling contribution. Aldershot batted first and made a good start with some fine shots and good running. The turning point in the home side’s innings proved to be a wonderful pick up and throw from Georghia Binstead that resulted in run out and our first wicket. From then on our girls assumed control. A second run out to Emma Roper and tight bowling, especially from Alisha Bhanot (3 runs from 2 overs) restricted Aldershot to 268 form 16 overs.

Our reply was aggressive with Leonora Hanson setting the tone by hitting the first ball of the innings for 4. Her partner Georgina Covers was equally impressive and together they put on an impressive undefeated 39 runs in 4 overs. Our second pair Emma Roper and Alisha Bhanot were also undefeated and took the score to 254. Georghia Binstead and Addi MacGregor then followed and took the score beyond Aldershot’s total after 12 overs with the help of a couple of fine boundaries from Georghia. A special mention here to Addi who was undefeated in her first ever innings for the team. For once our strongest pair, Emma Vincent and Chloe Micklethwaite did not have to chase a total merely remain undefeated. Despite a few early scares, including a run out and a hit wicket from Emma, the girls soon found their usual batting form adding 31 taking the score to an impressive 306.

Bowling award – Alisha Bhanot 2 overs for 3 runs.
Batting award – Chloe Micklethwaite for 25 runs and once out.
Player of the match – Georghia Binstead for a great run out and fine batting

Chris Roper reports:
An extremely close contest but disappointing result saw our boys go down by 2 runs chasing 117 at Odiham on Monday. Having won the toss we invited Odiham to bat. Jordan Foley made the first break through bowling their opener during a fast spell. Liam Roper then contributed 2 wickets before an aggressive third wicket stand between Poole and Merrison added 48 runs in 6 overs. The home side maintained almost 6 an over on a fast artificial track and lightening quick outfield. Once again over throws and indifferent ground fielding resulted in needless runs for the opposition. Odiham scored 117 for 7 from 20 overs. Our other wicket takers were Jaques Pienaar (1) who produced his usual accurate spell, Jacob Exton (2) demonstrating how much his bowling has developed this season and Freddie Goold (1).

In reply the top order batted sensibly with 5 of the top 6 being forced to retire. Wayward Odiham bowling made scoring runs off the bat difficult, especially in fading light. However the constant supply of wides allowed our score to approach the home team’s total. In a tight finish we needed 14 to win off the last over with Anthony McGowan at Number 11 and Jaques back at the crease. The boys almost pulled it off managing a creditable 12 runs thus falling 2 short.

Bowling award – Jacob Exton 2 for 7 from 2 overs.
Batting award – Jaques Pienaar 7.
Man of the Match – Liam Roper 2 for 18 from 4 overs and 5 not out.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
A massive win for Eversley in this match - by over 100 runs - however lots of positives to take away for this very young and inexperienced team. Thomas Goold made his mark as an encouraging captain and all the players demonstrated how hard work and listening in training pays off.

Paddy Finch was our overall top scorer with the bat - 21 runs - but there were also good innings from Daniel Pennicott and Paul Cushing. A super 6 from Thomas Gardner and 4 from Ben Everett lifted team moral after a flurry of fallen wickets.

Alisha Bhanot shone after tea with her 2 wickets, with wickets too from Paddy Finch & Thomas Goold. Angus Aughterson, Paul Cushing, Daniel Pennicott and Ben Everett were particularly good in the field, but our bowling really let us down and we must concentrate on improving this.

Best Batsman - Paddy Finch
Best Bowler - Alisha Bhanot
MoM - Thomas Gould

Emma Cowdrill reports:
An exciting match that ran right to the wire. Yateley were put into bat and struggled to score due to the massive boundary and some hesitant running. Our batting has matured considerably and we lost our wicket on only 5 occasions - 3 times less than in our previous match! Top scorer Cameron Hughes played his best innings yet and both he and Joseph McGowan placed some super shots into Eversleys fielding gaps. Our total of 246 made up from singles and extras was not a world beater, but a positive attitude from the boys meant they came out fighting after tea.

Our opening partnership of T Halson & Paddy Finch saw 3 Eversley wickets fall in quick succession. Excellent running between the wickets from Eversley meant they were within grasp of our total, until wicket keeper Adam Handcock stepped up to bowl. Obviously sleepovers prior to matches are a good thing, for this was the best I have seen Adam bowl in 3 seasons. An awesome performance that saw him take 4 wickets - 3 in one over. With just 4 overs to go it looked as though it would be a Yateley win, especially when T Halson (who was on fire for the whole match) bowled his final over taking 2 wickets. Unfortunately despite some good fielding from Yateley, with 3 potential run outs, the Eversley running proved too good and we lost by 5 runs in the last over. A much improved performance from the A's.

Best Batsman - Cameron Hughes
Best Bowler - Adam Handcock
MoM - T Halson

Congratulations to James Halson for scoring 108no for Hampshire under 11s in their first county game of the season. He won the man of the match award and, not content with that, won the 'star moment' award for a terrific one handed catch above his head when the county fielded. Brilliant work. James - well played.

Colin Justice

Chris Roper reports:
Our strongest batting performance of the season saw the U11Bs return to winning ways in the league in a game dominated by the bat at Aldershot on Friday. Having lost the toss we were asked to bat first, another first in the league this year. Openers Jaques Pienaar (14) and Jamie Innes (4 not out) got the innings off to a flying start by punishing the bad ball and taking advantage of extras. Liam Roper (9 not out) and Christian King (4 not out) maintained the momentum taking the score to 48 from 8 overs. For the second game in a row it was pleasing to see our top 4 batsmen all undefeated.

The latter part of the innings was dominated by another confident not out from Henry Aughterson (5 not out) and a marvellous display of clean hitting from Johnathon Henry. Johnathon smashed 22 runs from 12 balls, including 5 boundaries and retired ahead of his 4 overs. Assisted by a large extras total our innings closed at 123 for 5.

Our early bowlers put Aldershot under pressure from the start through Jordan Foley’s pace and Jaques and Liam’s accuracy. However a combination of poor fielding and some less accurate bowling allowed Aldershot’s score to accelerate in mid innings and after 10 overs they had reached 57 and the run chase was on. Tight overs from Josh Grimmett and wickets from Freddie Goold (1), Paddy Finch (1) and Henry Aughterson (3) ably assisted by 3 caught behinds from wicket keeper Jack Cusden pegged Aldershot back They reached 106 for 8 from their 20 overs. Congratulations to the team on a good victory. We must however improve our fielding, notably throwing in and backing up as well as cut down the number of wides bowled. These skills will form the basis of our next training session.

Bowling Award – Henry Aghterson 3 for 13 from 2 overs.
Batting Award – Jonathon Henry 22 not out.
Man of the Match – Jaques Pienaar 4 runs and 1 for 10 from 3 overs.

Chris Roper reports:
Our girls took revenge for last week’s cup defeat with an outstanding league victory over Eversley A team at Yateley on Monday night. Having been invited to bat first Yateley got off to a solid start with a confident opening stand between Leo Hanson and Alice Mickletwaite that yielded 15 runs. Jessica Hill and Georgia Binstead maintained progress by adding 7 runs in their 4 overs against some tight Eversley bowling. A change to the girls’ usual batting order, as a result of being one player short, saw Emma Vincent and Chloe Micklethwaite come to the crease as the third pair. This partnership continued their run of form and set about the Eversley bowling with numerous aggressive shots resulting in 6 boundaries and a partnership of 43 with no dismissals. Emma Roper and Leo Hanson, who Eversley very kindly allowed to bat again as our eighth batter, batted very sensibly to ensure 11 runs were added to take the total to 274. A top all round batting performance with only 4 wickets conceded.

In reply, Eversley were never able to match the required run rate against some disciplined bowling and commanding fielding. All the girls bowled well, with the wickets being taken by Chloe with 2, and Emma Vincent, Georgia Binstead and Jessica Hill with 1 each and a run out from Emma Roper. Eversley’s innings closed 34 runs short. The girls (and sibling substitute fielders) are to be congratulated on a great team performance based on discipline and cricket awareness that was a fine example for our more experienced junior cricketers.

Player of the Match – Chloe Micklethwaite for top scoring with 26 runs and taking 2 wickets.
Effort of the Match – Alice Micklethwaite for bowling the only maiden over of the match.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley got off to an indifferent start as Peter H found it hard going bowling down the hill on the St Neots ground and was unable to make the impact he has with his bowling in recent games.
Jacques bowled his steady line and length up the hill and bowled well until the Hartley Wintney batsman got the measure of him in his third over and the home side looked comfortably in charge.
Peter P was first change bowling up the hill in only his second game and still needs to settle in and show the promise he has demonstrated in coaching. So far Yateley had not looked like taking a wicket and although Hartley Wintney were not running away with it, the break through did not look on the cards.

When it came though the game seemed to turn Yateley's way and Paddy's fine run out from square leg, picking up cleanly and getting a direct hit on the stumps with only one to aim at lifted the team and our general performance. Not to be out done his older brother took the bowling next and in a devastating spell of three overs put in figures of 3 for 4, bowling two with the third coming via Ryan's classy stumping. Suddenly Hartley Wintney were on the back foot and struggled against the combination of Adam bowling down the hill and James H bowling spin up the hill. This was a crucial period in Yateley's bowling, as James frustrated and with growing confidence tossed the ball up and got it to turn taking two wickets himself. If Hartley Wintney thought they had weathered the storm, Miles took the ball from Adam and continued where he had left off, bowling some accurate pace, removing both openers, who had returned looking to push Hartley Wintney's total on. The last over fell to Jack who had Harley Wintney's top scorer Ben caught at mid wicket by Miles and the Hartley Wintney innings finished on 93.

Yateley had in the main bowled well, but we had still given away 31 in extras and needed the competitive bowling spells from Adam, James and Miles to take the game to Hartley Wintney who beat us convincingly in our first encounter. Ryan was allot more water tight behind the stumps with only 5 byes getting past him, with the rest of the extras coming in no balls and wides, with only Jacques and Adam keeping it tight and avoiding the blemish on their bowling figures. We still have some work here to do, but considering we were without two of our most economical bowlers, Isaac and James W we have got to be pleased overall with our performance in the field against a good side in Hartley Wintney.

With the batting, we had been working hard recently on shot selection and playing straight, and Ryan and James new psychologically how important it would be to give us a good base to work from. Both players did not disappoint and played the determined Hartley Wintney bowling attack well, with Ryan punishing the poor ball with some of his trade mark fours. Both batted out their four overs and handed over to Peter H and Miles, Peter was out LBW before he could get his innings going and Miles and Jack were both caught giving their wickets away when what was called for was sensible shot making. Suddenly the initiative was back with the home side and we needed an innings from some where to seize the upper hand once more.

Adam came to the square next and as with his bowling, put in a focused display, punishing the poor ball but defending his wicket well when required and in twelve balls notched up 22 to retire. The pendulum had swung back in our favour and with plenty of overs and only thirty or so runs required, all we needed was some steady batting to see us home. Jacob batted next and succumb to trying to hit a good delivery, getting caught and the spring was back in the Hartley Wintney step. Paddy came to the wicket next and batted credibly, almost retiring before being bowled in his forth over by a wicked delivery for four runs. Liam was next and again got caught when his usual brand of dependable straight batting was all that was required and Hartley Wintney once more had the wind in there sales.

Yateley edged closer to the target that just a few overs before looked like a formality and Jacques and Peter P struggled to get the upper had against the bowling before Jacques was caught, Peter did well to retire and the game looked ours when Ryan and James H returned to resume their innings. Having signalled their intent with a fours a piece, both players collided taking a quick single and James was run out unable to recover the lost ground. Return Peter P, and now the match was on a knife's edge, with just one wicket from Hartley Wintney or a four from Ryan separating the two sides.

Ryan once more went for the quick single and with Peter facing out the last over and only two runs required for victory, the game was handed to Yateley with two byes down the leg side for a very close finish that could have gone either way. Having almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, perhaps the coaching message is to work on our shot selection and be more patient with our batting approach in future. Without the solid start given to us by Ryan and James and Adams runs, we would have struggled to get close to the moderate target set by Hartley Wintney.

The match though needed a match winner and Adams bowling and batting display was just enough to give us victory and earn him man of the match. Effort of the match went to Ryan for a good display behind the stumps and a mature innings, when it was required.

Well done lads on an exciting win.

Darryel Botting reports:
A beautiful, sunny morning perfect for cricket. Yateley won the toss and elected to bat. With one player short Sam Williams, younger brother of Luke was recruited as our 11th man. Emma Vincent opened the bowling, with a very tidy maiden. The 3rd over saw Yateley’s 1st wicket, a fine caught and bowled by Emma with the score on 5. Wickets proved difficult to get. Tom Halson and Jamie Innes made their mark with the ball, the 2nd and 3rd wickets coming in the 7th and 9th overs while restricting the home side to 35 runs. Fleet continued to steadily accumulate runs through a combination of assured batting and some inconsistent bowling by Yateley. It wasn’t until the penultimate over that Adam Handcock struck with his 1st over taking 2 wickets with consecutive balls. Unfortunately, Fleet reached a commanding total of 99 from their allotted 20 overs.

Yateley were confident of being able to reach the target set by Fleet. However, the loss of an early wicket in the 1st over started the rot. Fleet bowled consistently straight taking wickets at regular intervals. Yateley were unable to establish any batting partnerships. Josh Grimmett looked most likely to cause the bowlers problems with some powerful strokes but succumbed to the straight ball. With batting partners running out, a rear guard action by Anthony McGowan, looked like saving the day. Anthony was ably supported by both Reece Welch and Sam Williams, our last minute stand in. With just 4 overs remaining Yateley’s last wicket fall, with the score on 71.

Anthony gets Man of the Match for his gritty batting and the only Yateley batsman to complete 4 batting overs and return for a 2nd stint. Yateley will be looking to reverse the result in the return fixture later this month. Well done to everyone.

Chris Roper reports:
An excellent batting track and lightening fast outfield produced our highest scoring league game of the season. Unfortunately the visitors made slightly better use of the conditions to secure a win. However I can report that our boys put in their best batting performance to date and at one point were well placed to chase down a large Dogmersfield total.

Dogmersfield’s innings got off to a cracking start. Their opening pair put on 27 in 4 overs and at the halfway point with the visitors on 70, we were facing down the barrel of a daunting total. A mid innings huddle and some strong words from the coach and skipper saw a much improved fielding performance in the final 10 overs. Jordan Foley with accurate pace bowling finishing with 1 for 18 from 4 overs on club debut and Freddie Gould with 2 for 2 from 2 overs succeeded in reducing the run rate and Dogmersfield’s innings closed on 116.

In reply our batters applied the lessons from their previous game by playing straight and occupying the crease. It was really pleasing to see that 5 of our first 7 players had to retire. A new opening partnership of Jamie Innes and Christian King got the innings off to a good start with some keen running and fine shots. This was followed by fine batting from Liam Roper, Paddy Finch, Jordan Foley and Henry Aughterson. With these 4 batters and Jamie retired and poised to return, we were in with a good chance of reaching our target. The visitors had other plans and despite aggressive batting from Josh Grimmett, Jonathon Henry, Jack Cusden and Luke Williams, Dogmersfield held their nerve ensuring the run rate was beyond our reach in the final over. We closed on 91.

Well done boys for a top effort and contributing to an excellent game of cricket. Bowling Award to Freddie for his 2 for 2 and Batting Award to Liam for a very good 17. Effort of the Match to Henry who scored 8 not out including a wonderful pull for 4 in his first league innings and Man of the Match to Jordan who followed his fine bowling with 5 not out.

Chris Roper reports:
A tight finish in fading light saw our U11 B Team suffer their first league defeat of the season. Hartley Wintney were asked to bat first and found early runs difficult to come by against some tight bowling and energetic fielding. Our strength this season is bowling and in this match 10 bowlers were used. We restricted the visitors to 70 for 7 from their 20 overs, a total that would have been 10 runs fewer but for the odd lapse of concentration in the field. The pick of the bowlers was Liam Roper who claimed 3 wickets for 1 run from 2 overs. Other wicket takers were Jamie Innes, George Masters, Paddy Finch and Christian King all with one victim each.

In reply Yateley struggled against accurate swing bowling that punished our tendancy to play across the line. At one point we were facing the prospect of a heavy defeat and an early finish. However, mature batting from Freddie Gould, who faced a total of 30 balls and George Masters on his league debut who successfully defended 21 balls took the team within 9 runs of victory. Freddie and George set an excellent example on how runs can be accumulated whilst playing sensibly with a straight bat!

In the end a deserved victory for Hartley Wintney and a lesson to Yateley in the importance of concentration whilst fielding and batting. Best Bowler to Liam Roper, Effort of the Match to George Masters for fine spin bowling and courageous batting and Man of the Match to Freddie Gould for so nearly winning the game.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
Another close match for the girls, this time in the Cup. Yateley batted first and got off to a strong start with Chloe retiring on 23 and Emma V and Leo with 8 a piece. We then lost 3 quick wickets before our youngest player Georghia came in and did just what the manager asked. A strong defensive performance meant that we managed to bat out our overs and gave Chloe time to return and complete her innings - 29 no. Well done Georghia and Chloe.

Our bowling was a lot tighter than Eversleys, with a couple of particularly good overs from Alice and Leo. Chloe took 2 wickets and the two Emmas and Alice a wicket each. The Micklethwaite sisters excelled behind the stumps and Leo took a superb catch in the field. On the whole though a decidedly sluggish fielding performance, due in part perhaps to the 2 missed weeks of training. Eversley were the eventual winners, but the Yateley girls will be back!

Best Batsman - Georghia Binstead
Best Bowler - Chloe Micklethwaite
MoM - Alice Micklethwaite

Emma Cowdrill reports:
Despite being 3 players down (one forgot and Rowledge mistakenly brought 10 lads!) Yateley got off to a cracking start with some very accurate bowling. Paddy Finch had tremendous figures - 3 overs 3 maidens for 1 wicket - with wicket maidens also coming from Cameron Hughes & Matthew Shakespeare. Joseph McGowan took 2 wickets with a spell of bowling that earned him the Rowledge Man of the Match award! Some tight fielding, particularly behind the stumps, restricted Rowledge to 214.

Paddy & Matthew (2 sixes) notched up a good 34 runs to start us off, with Cameron adding a tidy 8 runs. The middle order defended well, but the tail end let us down with a couple of daft run outs when we really didn't need to push for runs. A much closer finish therefore than was strictly necessary. All in all though an excellent performance from the A's.

MoM - Paddy Finch
Best Batsman - Matthew Shakespeare
Best Bowler - Paddy Finch

Paul Finch reports: Click here for Photos
Yateley were put into bat and those who had them opted to change into spikes, for the early start meant that the morning dew had not yet dried off.

James W opened with Ryan who was really looking forward to this fixture, so it was no surprise when he crashed his first delivery straight back past the Eversley opening bowler for 4 runs. This was despite the pre match lecture to be patient, however having got the big shot off his chest, Ryan did knuckle down and he and James notched up a respectable 31 for the first four overs, even if it did include a few sixes!!!!.

Peter H and Miles took the batting next with Peter looking assured and playing some nice strokes as they pushed the score along before Miles was trapped LBW. James W came to the wicket next, but before he could make his mark was run out when perhaps the call wait was needed, but Peter had asserted him self and was down the track calling yes and left James with too much ground to make up.

Adam came in next and signalled his intent with a powerfully driven four off his first over. Peter retired and Isaac joined Adam, the pair put on a burst of singles, before Adam ran Isaac out, when again the call wait or some really good backing up was needed to make the strikers end. Isaac almost made it, but returned to the club house with just 5 to his name.

Adam retired with 8 having battered a little more conservatively and was followed by Jacob and Liam who played nicely, although a little more urgency between the stumps would have increased their return for some steady shot making. Jacques followed and made a great impact taking two fours in his first over, before being caught behind. Peter P making his debut went the same way the next over when he was also caught behind with his mind on other things!!

Ryan and James H returned to the crease and took the total to a respectable 120, with Ryan loosing his wicket with a rain maker in the penultimate over. All in all this was a good display with the openers doing their job and consistency coming from the team against a strong bowling attack which saw Eversley give three bowlers maximum use of the ball and use only six out of the ten players available to bowl.

Taking the field, James W and Isaac gave us a great start, Isaac really impressing with two overs 1 wicket for 1 , James also took a wicket maiden in his second over to signal Yateley's intent and looked really in form bowling from the bottom end. Peter P bowled next and showed glimpses of what he is capable of, perhaps trying a little too hard and will certainly be one for the future. Peter H then put in a spell which really tightened the screws bowling 2 for 4 runs to stop Eversley seizing the initiative, whilst Adam put the lid on tight following up Peter with two well bowled maidens and the game had all but slipped away from Eversley.

James H bowled some nice spin a part of his game he looks to really be enjoying and with only 43 runs after 12 overs, Eversley had to chase and this was always going to be tough with two steady accurate medium pace bowlers in Liam and Jacque to try and get away next. The Captain Miles finished off with a tidy spell and Yateley were home comfortably for the win. The impressive statistic, was that Eversley only scored 38 off the bat which on a small boundary meant that we had bowled extremely well. However the extras total of 48 signals that we need to work on our discipline and focus in the field, one good knock from an Eversley batsman and it might have been a little more nail biting at the end.

Overall though, you could put at least some of the extras down to the competitive spirit within our side and the fact that we never really looked in danger of letting this one slip away, it has been noted though and will be worked on in training next week. Man of the match went to Ryan, for his fantastic hitting and some excellent keeping, although we will need to work on making him less leaky if he is to take the roll on more permanently. Effort of the match was shared by Peter H and Adam who batted and bowled in particular very well.

Great win lads

Jon Halson reports:
'Wow' what a day, wind, rain, sun and hailstones. Enormous hailstones arrived mid innings when we were batting against Andover in our 2nd round robin match - the batsmen were heard shouting 'it really hurts get me off'. And so we came off for our first major interruption to the day. But by the time we left after narrowly losing to Wield in the Quarter-finals the sun was shinning again.

The boys played some great cricket especially in the field, where they bowled well and kept their fielding tight. And it’s the fielding that yielded the ‘Man of the Day’ – Joseph McGowan, who fielded the ball on the boundary many times and returned the ball back to the stumps with great accuracy. He bowled some tidy overs, limiting the opposition each time and then batted for many runs include several fours. Another point of note was backing up from Paddy Finch, T Halson and Chris Hartland. Adam Hancock kept wicket with a very secure pair of hands.

Other notable performances in the field saw T Halson on a hat-trick which he narrowly missed and Joe Grimmett, Chris Hartland, Matthew Shakespeare and Paddy Finch bowl some very straight deliveries that kept other sides at bay.

The boys batted particularly well in their first 2 matches with the new partnership of Chris Hartland/James Dinsdale running and calling well together. We lost our way a little in our third match, but still managed to progress to the Quarter Finals.

The Quarter Final was a closely fought match against Wield, but some great bowling from their final bowler claimed 2 wickets which put the match beyond our reach.

Oh and don’t forget the parents on a day like today, early start, cold wind, wet seats and cold children. Which brings me onto the skill in reaching the picturesque ground of Hambledon. Most found it easily and I smiled when I heard one other team had lost a child in Hambledon, Surrey until I heard that we would be one short for our first match because one of our Mum’s had found Hambleden CC near Henley, Oxfordshire!!! She recovered from the initial detour and made the second match just in time for her son to leap from the car and join his partner on the pitch batting as third pair. James despite his many hours journeying was quick between the wickets and scored well.

Many Thanks to all the parents for supporting the team so ‘whole heartedly’ and encouraging all the boys through out the day. Particular thanks to Mark Hancock who really braved the elements and guided the team from the umpires position all day and to scorers Rachel McGown and Liz Halson.

Lastly I want to commend the boys on their sporting behaviour when congratulating each other after a wicket or boundary and their rousing three cheers for the opposition at the end of each match, they were a credit to Yateley CC..

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley and Cove both had a job to field their first eleven teams due to county and district commitments. Despite this and the weather that threatened to wash the fixture out, the game was played with John Parker putting in a great performance as groundsman, cutting a grass strip at the last minute when it had looked more likely that the game would be played on the artificial strip. Thanks John, you almost got man of the match!

Yateley batted first and faced some determined Cove bowling, Jack W and James were patient and built a steady partnership and foundation for our innings.

Ryan and Jack S paired next and quickened the run rate with some trade mark Bone fours mixed with lightning fast Jack S singles. Peter Hull and Miles continued the good work with Peter playing some lovely strokes frustrating Cove who were yet to get a break through.

Adam and Jacques then looked to up the tempo and Jacques became our first casualty with Adam following a few overs later, caught at mid wicket, but not before he had played several excellent shots the best a crashing four through the covers.

Liam and Paddy then continued the good work with some excellent running and stroke play especially from Liam, with his new Chase bat. Paddy was bowled by a wicked ball and was unable to repeat his form he displayed against Rowledge.

With the openers now coming back in and plenty of batting in hand, Jack W and James, set about the Cove bowling. Having got their eye in and the run rate pushed on, with over ten and over coming from the last three or four overs.it was excellent to see some real aggressive shot making and selection from this pair, James was run out backing up with a few balls left, but by then Yateley had build a fairly decent total.

In the field we started a little too confidently, and our fielding lacked discipline, However, Peter steadied the ship with some excellent bowling up the slope and took 2 wickets in two overs for the loss of two runs. Miles put in a decent spell down the hill when he found his length and the wickets fell at regular intervals as generally we put in far more consistency than we have in previous matches. Adam and James bowled a few loose balls but when they were more focused restricted the Cove batsman from scoring and James then took three wickets, much to his relief. Otherwise Tom his younger brother may never have let him live it down, as he bowled beautifully up the hill playing for the first time in hard ball cricket and filling in for the under 11s.

Other bowling displays of note was Paddy's who bowled very accurately against the Cove openers who were returning, taking one wicket and only giving away three runs outshining his elder brother with the ball this time! Jacques and Liam also demonstrated that Yateley have real talent right the way down the order and put in very good spells. Cove fought on bravely, but never really got their inning going and had to be content with avoiding a complete loss, their captain Sam showed real determination and should have got man of the match for Cove for his opening bowling spell.

Man of the match for Yateley CC went to Peter Hull for his excellent bowling and batting performance, whilst effort goes to Tom who filled in at the last minute and demonstrated what a fantastic talent and prospect he will be for the future of Yateley CC.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
A thrilling encounter at Chandlers Lane, against unbeaten, top of the league Aldershot.

Having lost the toss, we batted first. Despite losing some early wickets, Yateley still managed a very respectable 264, with some strong batting from Emma V, Georghia & Chloe.
Determined fielding and impressive all round bowling gave us the edge in the second innings. Our girls showed great teamwork and some cool heads in a tight finish, to pull off this important victory.

MoM - Emma Vincent for all round excellence & captaincy.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
An improved performance from the B's against an experienced and talented Wield side. Put into bat first, we were tempted again and again to hit out against deadly straight bowling. Bails flew left, right & centre as the first 3 pairs lost 15 wickets. Providence and Florence then calmed things down with a solid defensive performance, followed by some excellent batting from Daniel & Sam.

We knew we couldn't match the accurate bowling from the Wield lads, but our side can be proud of the way they bowled. To a boy (or girl) they listened to the coaches and worked very hard at putting the coaching into practice. Matthew bowled a super maiden over, with good overs from Harry, Daniel and P. Jake took his first wicket of the season and Alex P-J a remarkable 3 wickets. Our fielding was much tighter this match - no hands in pockets! - with particularly good efforts from Jake, Thomas and Ben.

MoM - Daniel
Best bowling - Matthew
Best batting - Florence

Paul Finch reports:
A good around performance by Yateley was just enough to beat Rowledge who put up a spirited effort at the Frensham heights ground. Excellent opening bowling displays by James W and Isaac set the early tone as Rowledge were restricted and lost their opening bat caught by James H off JamesW.

Yateley started with Ryan signaling his intent, punishing wayward Rowledge bowling early on and the home side were immediately on the back foot. The pendulum swung the other way when James was bowled off his pads and for a short moment Rowledge had hope.Jack and Peter put together some steady batting and this good work was continued by Isaac and James W both notching up respectable scores and retiring. As Yateley closed in the winning runs came from the unlikely bat of Paddy who filling in, looked like an old campaigner as he confidently stroked Charlie the Rowledge opening bowler back over his head for four runs. He kept his head and notched up 12 runs to see Yateley home to their first victory of the season.

Yateley man of the match, went to James W who's first two overs set the tone and mature batting put the match when it was still in the balance beyond Rowledge.Effort of the match had to go to Paddy for his nonchalance and the way he confidently set about the Rowledge opening bowlers taking us past the Rowledge total to victory.

Miles captained for the first time and showed tatical awareness and was well supported by Ryan and the other senior playser, all in all this was an excellent advert from both sides for North Hants under elevean cricket and we look forward t the return match against Rowledge. Well done lads, a much improved performance against a determined opposition.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
The Under 9 B's were put into bat first in their first match of the season. The bowling was very wide so it was difficult to hit the ball, but Angus Aughterson and Harry Cusden both hit cracking 4's and when the ball was straight we played some good defensive strokes, only losing 2 wickets.

Unfortunately our bowling, for the most part, was as wide as Fleets. An excellent spell from Alisha Bhanot saw her taking 2 wickets in an over, with Harry Cusden also taking a wicket. All 10 players bowled, and it is worth mentioning that 18 yds is a long way to bowl when you are just 6 or 7 years old! Geezer Finch bowled 4 super overs - the best I have seen him bowl - and there were good tight overs from Angus Aughterson and Matthew Eldridge at the end. Not enough however to win the match, which the Fleet coach later told me was against their A team!

We need to learn to be far more alert in the field, but otherwise lots of positives to take forward into our next match.

Chris Roper reports:
The Under 11 B Team continued their early season form with a fine victory against Alton Under 11 A Team. Alton batted first and made a steady start with their first 3 batsmen having to retire. The introduction of Liam Roper into the attack saw wickets start to fall during an excellent spell of seam bowling, he finished with 3 for 10 from 4 overs. Accurate late innings bowling form Adam Finch (2 for 8) and Jonathon Henry (1 for 8) and 3 run outs helped restrict Alton to 79 for 9. Alton’s innings concluded with our first ‘champagne moment’ of the season; a spectacular diving catch from Jonathon Henry.

Yateley made a positive reply with some aggressive batting from Jaques Pienaar (9 not out) and Adam Finch (19 not out). Confident batting on club debut from Christian King supported by Freddie Gould allowed Jack Cusden and Jacob Exton to reach the winning total with over 3 overs to spare. Well done to everyone for a great team performance.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley U11s crashed down to earth with a big wake up call at the hands of Hartley Wintney who we beat in the Cove six aside final on Monday.

Hartley Wintney won the toss and put Yateley into bat, perhaps some of Yateley's poor batting early on can be put down to preparation and the fact that half our team turned up late and had already played cricket at school. In reality though, I think Hartley Wintney were up to revenge their previous defeat and bowled with real focus, limiting Yateley's scoring chances.

Early on Yateley were over conservative and if you let the bowlers dominate and tie you up, then scoring becomes a real task and mistakes are forced. This is exactly what happened as Miles, Ryan and then Jack gave their wickets away trying to force some runs, making the wrong shot selection. Jack Wood got out before he could build his innings leg before wicket and so it was left to James Halson to steady the ship. Adam came in and injected some urgency and determination to force the total along and for a while he and Peter Hull forced the pace before Peter was run out.

Jacques went the same way as Peter a few balls later and Yateley were on the ropes. Josh and Liam put in a brave effort and when Adam and James returned to the batting the run rate picked up again, but only for a few overs as the last two wickets fell in quick succession with Adam and Josh being bowled.

All in all our batting lacked conviction and we made two many errors, I will certainly be looking for players to stand up and be counted when we next take the field. With only 81 to defend we got off to a bad start as Jack went for 9 off the first over, perhaps a little fortuitously as the edge did most of the damage. Miles bowled up the hill and perhaps in our eagerness to take the game to Hartley Wintney, our bowling lacked the control and direction required to defend the small target we had set. Jack Springgay and Adam also failed to find any consistency and perhaps our best overs were bowled by James Halson and Jacques, but by then it was too late and the game was lost.

We missed Ryan's bowling as he had to keep wicket for James who had injured his hand playing earlier and perhaps our lack of preparation and poor batting form led to a lack lustre performance, which we really need to pick our selves up from quickly. We will hope to put in a performance to match Harley Wintney's when we meet them next in the league and there will be lots of back to basis's when we train next Friday. Come on lads pull your socks up.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley under 11A retained the Cove six aside trophy on Bank holiday Monday narrowly beating Hartley Wintney in a thrilling final. The team started their defence of the competition they won last year by beating Holybourne and Cove A and C teams before meeting Alton in the semi final.Our bowling and fielding during the early rounds was of the highest standard as we restricted Holybourne and Cove A to one run and thirteen respectively. If our bowling was accurate, our batting was ruthless with quick singles and boundaries coming from everyone.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
A difficult start for the Yateley lads v eventual finalists Eversley. Heavy rain overnight meant the pitch was heavy and the ball dribbled along the pitch and didn't bounce. Things improved however and some great team spirit and a drier pitch saw them into the semi finals. Here they were beaten by Hartley Wintney (who went on to win the tournament) on wickets. A good start to the season though, with their hard work over the winter paying off. The pairs of Adam Handcock & Paddy Finch and the 2 left handers Cameron Hughes & Joseph McGowan batting well and Joseph Grimmett and Chris Hartland producing some great bowling.

Emma Cowdrill reports:
Our under 13 girls team played their first ever league match on Sunday against Eversley 'A' team and lost by an agonising 4 runs in a wonderful match which went to the last over. Highlights included 4 wickets from Emma Vincent (captain), wickets from Leo Hanson and Chloe Micklethwaite and a tight bowling spell from Emma Roper; impressive calling and running between the wickets from Georghia Binstead & Jessica Hill; excellent wicket keeping by Alice Micklethwaite and some good fielding from our youngest player, 8 year old Alisha Bhanot. However the last wicket partnership of 30 between Emma V and Chloe was brilliant and so nearly got us off to a winning start. Well played to all eight girls who represented us.

Chris Roper reports:
Our Under 11 B Team made a very encouraging start to the season away to Basingstoke. For a number of the team, comprising mainly Under 10 players, it was their first ever hard ball match. Having lost the toss, Basingstoke elected to bat and were restricted by some tight early bowling from Josh Grimmett, Liam Roper, Jaques Pienaar, and Jamie Innes. The pressure was maintained by Freddie Goold and Paddy Finch supported by Luke Williams and Stephane Crayton both of whom were making their debuts for the club. Special mention should also be made of Jack Cusden who put in a fine wicket keeping display that included a quick reaction catch. A good all round bowling performance restricted the home team to 68 for 5 off their 20 overs.
In reply Jaques, Jamie, Liam, Paddy, Freddie and Luke ensured that Yateley kept in touch with the required run rate. With the assistance of a number of extras in the latter half of the innings, the target of 68 was reached in the 18th over. The highlight was our bowling performance with all 8 bowlers maintaining a good line and length which is a reflection of the effort put in during winter training. To take our game to the next level, we must work on batting and running between the wickets with greater confidence.

Paul Finch reports:
Yateley Under 11 A team completed their indoor league fixtures last night, with another convincing victory to win the league, with an unbeaten record to equal the clubs under 11 team of last season. This has been a fantastic campaign with nine players being used to take part in the six aside league, which began last October.
Yateley have such depth and quality at under 10 and 11 age groups and the players continued the team spirit, which has seen them in earlier years win the Hambledon, Basingstoke and Cove tournaments. Captained by Ryan Bone the squad have developed their game over the winter at the Dummer Cricket Centre and the experience will be invaluable for the coming summer campaign. Of particular note were individual contributions with the bat by Ryan and James Halson who consistently knocked up 30s, 40s, and 50s, whilst probably the most spectacular feet for anyone who has played indoor cricket, was Jack Springgay's two maiden overs for one wicket. Jacob Vincent, Isaac Cowdrill and James Wilson under tens all contributed with valuable performances and demonstrated great promise ahead of this summer, whilst under 9 Alexander Finch our youngest player, filled in three times getting some valuable experience for the future and twice making scores with the bat having to retire. Adam Finch and Miles Covers both put in some excellent bowling and batting performances and what was impressive was the consistency of the team to compete over the season. There was always much encouragement during batting and in the field and perhaps the ingredient that brought most success, was the backing up and running between the wickets, which as the season developed, just got better and better.
The team always produced one or two match winning performances and it did not seem to matter who's shoulders the responsibility fell on, when asked everyone produced a bowling spell or innings which turned a match. The haul mark of a good team and perhaps a tribute to the excellent coaching that the lads have received over the past few seasons from Colin Justice. I am excited for the prospects for this team, and it is encouraging from a coaching point of view to see such young players encouraging each other to achieving higher and higher standards of play.
Certainly Yateley CC have got a great group of lads who hopefully will go on to have a great deal of fun this summer. 

Colin Justice reports:
The U13's went into their penultimate match against Basingstoke A believing their own press! - for having been applauded for their running between the wickets in recent matches they quickly lost 4 quick wickets to silly run outs to put themselves out of this match. Yateley were eventually all out for 50 in 8 overs, hence not batting the last 4 overs of their innings. Not good! Basingstoke scored the runs needed in just 7 overs, although 2 sharp pieces of fielding by Yateley did result in run outs.

The final match of the season was against Basingstoke B.
Although the running between the wickets was an improvement on the previous match, two fatal hesitations on achievable runs again took their toll. At 66 for 5 a poor total was in prospect but Jon Dow, batted sensibly to take his side to 86 but again Yateley crucially failed to bat their overs out. Our bowling was far too short and Basingstoke had little trouble passing the Yateley total. Basingstoke will present a strong challenge to our outdoor aspirations this summer.

The under 11 indoor league side are following in the footsteps of last year's unbeaten champions. They have nearly reached the half way stage of the competition and have so far managed to win all four of the games played, beating Andover, Titchbourne Park, Hook and Basingstoke.
The first three matches have been quite close with Jack Springgay turning a tense match against Hook with a remarkable double wicket maiden - virtually unheard of indoors.
The team have been finding it difficult to make many more than 100 runs in their 12 overs but a practice session at Dummer had the desired result as they ran up 154 for 2 in their latest game against Basingstoke. Ryan Bone made 44 and Miles Covers 36 and all the other four batsman, James Halson, Adam Finch, Jack Springgay and Paddy Finch (who was making his debut) all retired unbeaten as they ran numerous quick singles. They dismissed Basingstoke for 43 with an excellent bowling and fielding display
Well played lads - keep it up!!