U10A Mixed Cricket against Fettes

Despite Rain and Ominous Forecast, Mixed Cricket was a Winner against Fettes

Despite an ominous forecast, driving through heavy showers and an unexpected tour around most of the Fettes campus, the mighty Belhaven Hill U10A Mixed Cricket X's much-anticipated fixture got underway in rather ‘humid’ conditions – typical Scottish cricket weather, really.

Belhaven were invited to bat first and Fergus and Maggie bravely volunteered to be the cannon fodder and open the innings. Maggie, despite saying later on, “Sorry, sir, I just wasn’t in the zone,” scored an impressive 13 runs and running aggressively with Fergus. Wendy and Noah were slightly more reserved in their running though not, in Noah’s case, shot selection and he paid the price for some wild swings. Ottilie and Bertie were solid, playing some good strokes then Tristan and Pom played some fantastic shots all around the ground but Pom was also bowled a couple of times and at –5 a go, that certainly dented their partnership. Tommy and Geordie finished up our innings in fine style, hitting some expansive shots and scoring well to drag our total to 272 after 15 overs (200 being the starting score).

And so to bowling. Geordie took the new ball (in a manner of speaking as it was actually quite an old one but those who watch cricket regularly will know what I mean) and, with adrenaline coursing through his body, attempted to bowl his first two balls at Brett Lee pace. When they were eventually recovered from the boundary, he settled down to a more rational line and length and bowled well. Tommy bowled very accurately for no real reward, followed by Maggie who got hit about a bit before Bertie joined the attack and took our first wicket – cue great celebrations and outpouring of joy. Not to be outdone, Noah bowled a lovely line and took two in a row; Fergus showed some consistency and a solid action and then Pom had an almost immaculate over, going for just one run. And so the pressure built on the Fettes batting.

The next six overs saw that pressure released as some class batsmen and women came out and belted the ball all over the park. A couple of lapses of concentration in the field saw some catches go down and some stops missed, allowing Fettes to creep ever closer to our total. With two overs remaining, they needed just 7 runs to win and I thought it was all over bar the shouting. I was wrong!

Tommy came along for his second spell and immediately took a wicket, docking 5 runs from their score and then another, three balls later! Brilliant! With one over to go, Fettes required 9 runs and it was still too tight to call. Maggie (now, presumably, in the zone) bowled our final over and managed to limit them to just 6 runs meaning Belhaven held out for a fantabulous 3 run victory – what a day!

Though a bit damp, I must commend all the children for their enthusiasm and determination and for playing in such a positive spirit. They also showed just how far they have already come this season and it was lovely to have boys and girls playing alongside each other – I am leaning ever more towards this becoming the template for future cricket seasons at Belhaven Hill.

Result: Match won by 3 runs.

MOTM: Tommy – batted well and took crucial wickets.

WT