U15s retain South West regional crown, and qualify for the national finals at Kibworth CC for a second consecutive season
U15 are regional champions in the NatWest U15 National Club Championship after 6 wicket victories over Sidmouth and Bristol
They now travel to Kibworth on Wednesday 24th August for finals day. More details to follow.
Semi Final v Sidmouth (Devon):
The Devon side won the toss on a damp morning at Weston-Super-Mare and elected to bat. Yateley had the better of the start with and early run out courtesy of some great fielding from Tom Nicholls. A couple more wickets followed as Yateley dominated the first 10 overs, with Sidmouth on 37-3. Yateley continued to apply pressure with some superb fielding, and tidy keeping from James Wilson with 3 stumpings. This left Sidmouth on 70-9. Bowling figures: Oli Dodd 4-0-12-0, Tom Nicholls 4-0-11-2, Jacob Vincent 4-0-23-1, Sam Kennet 2-0-8-0, Oliver Soames 4-0-8-3 and Liam Roper 2-0-3-2.
In response Yateley started poorly losing Liam Roper and James Wilson in the first over. However, a composed innings by Oliver Soames (38*) batting through the innings with valuable supporting knocks from Christian King (9), Tom Nichols (12) and Jacob Vincent (5*) saw us to victory in the 15th over. A highly tense win against a side containing 5 Devon county players saw the team book a place in the afternoons final against Bristol.
Final v Bristol (Somerset):
Bristol won the toss and elected to bat first, on an uneven track. Just like the semi-final, Yateley started superbly through some excellent bowling and fielding with Bristol reaching just 26-1 off 10 overs. Thanks to outstanding opening bowling from Oliver Dodd and Tom Nichols. Disciplined bowling and excellent fielding throughout the innings saw a consistent fall of wickets as Bristol were restricted to just 85-9. Skipper, Liam Roper set a fine bowling example taking 4 wickets ably supported by Oliver Soames with 3 dismissals, both benefited from taking the pace off the ball and hitting the seam on a low track. James Wilson had another purple patch with 3 stumpings and a wonderful diving one handed catch to his right to dismiss the dangerous Oldfield off Jacob Vincent. Bowling figures: Oliver Dodd 4-0-10-0, Tom Nichols 4-1-5-1, Jacob Vincent 4-0-23-1, Oliver Soames 4-0-15-3, Liam Roper 4-0-13-4 and Christian King 1-0-9-0.
Having learnt how to bat on Weston’s tricky pitch Yateley’s innings got off to a perfect start as openers Roper (21) and Soames (22) raced to 46-0 off 7 overs. Our reply once again got nervy as 4 wickets of Liam Roper, Oliver Soames, James Wilson and Christian King fell within two overs. This time solid batting from Tom Nichols (26*) and Jacob Vincent (7*) gradually steadied the ship thereby easing supporters’ and coaches’ blood pressure. This pair took us home in the 16th over to a second 6 wicket win, the Regional title and a place in the national finals and last 4 in the country out of 1600 teams on 24 August.
Coaches Note:
Scorecards do not always reflect the true value of an entire team. The key difference between Yateley and two very strong U15 teams, both unbeaten this season was our fielding and cricketing intensity. We simply overwhelmed them in the field. Each and every player contributed to this result. You have made the coaching team and Yateley CC very proud. Well done.
The Regional Champions squad comprised: Liam Roper (Capt), Oliver Soames, James Wilson (W/K), Christian King, Tom Nichols, Jacob Vincent, Isaac Cowdrill, Armand Bosch, Adam Handcock, Sam Kennett, Oliver Dodd, Harry Wheeler, Mark Tucker.