U14 A v Bishop's Stortford College

Result: Won by 4 wickets
Review: BSC 149-3 (30 overs), Felsted 150-6 (26.2 overs).

A quick drying ground and a small window of sun allowed the U14 A’s their first outing of the season away at Bishops Stortford College. Winning the toss the Felsted captain, Henry Hoare, unsurprisingly invited the opposition to bat on what looked a slow, green wicket.

Ashleigh Cox opened the bowling with excellent accuracy, putting the batsmen under early pressure. To their credit the BSC batters played watchfully, punishing anything short of a length. The lack of match practice showed as the rest of the pace attack provided too many scoring opportunities which allowed BSC to race to fifty off 9 overs. The game changed as spinners Henry Hoare and Alex Gilham were brought on in tandem putting the pressure back on the College batsmen. The tight spell produced two quick wickets as BSC attempted to up the tempo against the ‘spin-twins’. Although only one more wicket was to fall, both bowling and fielding remained disciplined to limit BSC to 149-3 (30 overs).

Albeit slow, the wicket was playing better than expected. This gave our batters confidence in chasing down the competitive target. The instruction was to be positive and James Lennon did not disappoint, dispatching the ball to all parts for a breezy 31. When his wicket fell with the score on 50 a more considered approach was taken by the more experienced players. Henry Hoare and Ashleigh Cox moved the score onto 94 before the latter was dismissed by a superb catch. The BSC fielder is probably still icing his hand!  

This partnership put Felsted into a winning position, needing just 56 off the final 15 overs with 8 wickets in hand. Some lusty blows by Alex Jackson and John Brodie in the middle order brought the victory within touching distance. Henry Hoare then proceeded to nurse the nervy lower-middle order over the line, carrying his bat for 60*. A very positive start to the season and with any luck the rain will stay away long enough for us to build on the victory.

Player of the match: Henry Hoare