Emma Cowdrill reports
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Following a disastrous week of cancelled matches, the ladies were able to sneak in a final friendly against an accomplished and experienced Aldershot side (3 county girls no less!) We opted to field first and took some great wickets, including 2 run outs, to give the Aldershot ladies pause for thought. Our fielding was impressive and there were notable performances with the ball from Rachel McGowan, Chris Kemp, Emma R (the baby of the side at only 13!) & Leo Hanson. This was particularly richly deserved for Chris & Rachel as they have worked so hard over the last few months to master the art of bowling. Liz Halson kept magnificently behind the stumps and prevented many byes.

Our U15 skipper Emma V and Liz Halson opened our batting. After an unfortunate run out, Sue Dowell dug in and produced some fine shots before losing patience and getting caught. Laura, Rachel & Chris then held the fort for almost the remainder of the match, showing great perseverance against some very accurate bowling. Sadly this wasn't witnessed by our band of supporters (aged 11 and under), who disappeared to the playground for the entire match.

All in all a good match against a friendly and welcoming side.

Wendy Knighton reports

The historic day had finally arrived when the first ever Yateley ladies XI walked out to the crease, thanksd to the hard work & perseverance of captain Emma Cowdrill.

Yateley were put into bat first, with the very brave opening pair of Sandra Handcock and Sue Dowell. They faced severe pressure from the Wokingham County bowler. Although they were dismissed to the club house early, they allowed the second pairing of Wendy Knighton & Liz Halson to capitalise on the weaker bowlers. Liz made an impressive 17, hitting 3 boundaries and Wendy made 10, although caught by her daughter, Ellen (helping out the opposition.) Another successful pairing, being Jane Vincent & Jane Dow, who hit a 6 a piece, bringing the Yateley total to 51.

The ladies have been working very hard on their bowling, and it certainly showed when Sandra Handcock took a wicket, caught and bowled! There was also some lovely bowling from Chris Kemp & Sue Dowell.

We were lucky to have support from our U15 girls, Emma Vincent, Ellen Knighton & Chloe Micklethwaite. They all bowled fantastically well, and held the opposition at bay.

Our wicket keeper, Jane Vincent, did a sterling job in keeping the wide balls in check.

Jane Dow was very consistent with her long barrier, demonstrating a lovely action. Sue & Chris were also very strong in the field.

The final mention must go to Laura, who made a spectacular dive on the boundary, flicking the ball to safety.

Although the final result was not in our favour, we gave a very good account of ourselves against a strong opposition. We are now looking forward to our next match on 30 June.

Emma Cowdrill reports

First hard ball match for the Yorkers was played in the friendly environment of our home ground, against the relatively friendly U15 girls (plus 2 U11 lads - Chris & Dan) some of whom were also playing in their first hard ball match.

As some of the Yorkers were still putting tea on the table at the start time (and we lost the toss!) the U15's fielded first. (Nervously) Confidently, our opening pair of Liz Halson & Sandra Handcock strapped on their son's pads and strode out to face the demon bowling of Leo Hanson & Ellen Knighton. Some great strikes from both ladies including 2 sixes from Liz (I think we lost 4 balls during her innings!) meant that we had reached the dizzying total of 39 off our first 4 overs. Sue Dowell & Wendy Knighton then came to the crease and with some quick running put on another 17 runs. Jane Vincent and Laura Binstead and Sarah Tucker and Jane Dow kept the runs flowing - no mean feat given the swiftness of the U15's in the field - and our tail end of Rachel (and Joe) McGowan & Georgina Bird added18 runs bringing our total to a pleasing 92.

Particular mention must go to the excellent bowling from the U15 team, Georgina had a great first over, Emma V & Chloe both took 2 wickets, Chris, Emma R, Jess & Kayleigh were very economical & Dan Pennicott bowled a super double wicket maiden.

After a much needed sugar surge we enthusiastically took to the field determined to show the girls that age is no barrier to athleticism when fielding. We responded well to the professional batting from the girls with some impressive if somewhat painful stops. All the ladies took the opportunity to bowl, with wickets from Laura, Jane V (see you can do it!) & Joe; Sandra, Wendy, Sue & Rachel our most economical bowlers and there was some courageous bowling from Jane D, Sarah & Georgina. Not easy to bowl against such accomplished batting.

A good result for the ladies, who were just pipped at the post by the U15's (what's 6 overs between friends/daughters/nieces?!)

We now look forward to our fixture against the scarily named Reading Warriors.