~Sunday 17th May 2015~
Due to the inconvenience of the Football Club Car Boot sale, the U11s had to switch their home fixture to Brixworth’s fantastic new ground. Another bonus on arrival was the presence of former England fast bowler, Devon Malcolm, whose son was playing for Brixworth.
Last season’s contest suggested that this could be one of the matches the boys had a real chance of winning and having won the toss and electing to field first, the early overs were tightly bowled. Optimism in the crowd was rising.
However, whether through a lack of concentration or confidence, the wide and no-ball rate began to increase, plus some strong batting from the suspiciously looking over-aged player in the Brixworth ranks saw them reach a score of 81-2 [net 71]. The two wicket takers were Keelan Hone and Liam Morrissey, both bowled.
The interval team talk focused on the need to take all the runs on offer and to back up from the non-striker’s end. Having only lost one wicket the week before, a similar performance would be required.
Unfortunately, although there were some fantastic individual flashes in each pair’s innings, only Sam Tipler posted a positive net score of 2 runs, as regular wickets [including a hat-trick] left the Cogenhoe innings in tatters, posting a net score of 4.
It was a tough day for the team, one we need to learn from. After the previous week’s strong performance, this felt like coming down to earth with a bit of a bump. So we need to prepare well for the next fixture in two weeks.
Our focus will be on reducing the wides and no-balls, making sure the ‘long-barrier’ is consistently used and the forward defensive shot is applied [Yes, I know, pot and kettle comes to mind!].
My positives from the game were Keelan and Liam’s bowling, Spencer’s strong arm in the field, improved backing up when fielding and some of the big shots played to the boundary. Devon Malcolm spoke to me afterwards and praised some of the play, and said that he could see how hard everyone played and some of the individual flashes. Consistency is now the key.
Once again, thanks to Sid for scoring, Allan for umpiring and the parents for getting the boys to Brixworth on time [except John T who was fashionably late!]. There is no U11 fixture now until May 31st, away to Bugbrooke.