U11s Report 9th May. (
May 10, 2010)
SUTTON U10 & U11 COALITION JUST FAILS TO DELIVER IN FIRST ROUND OF
CUP
Purley 256 for 9 wickets
Sutton 249 for 6 wickets (after
recount)
Sutton U11s first competitive foray of the season ended in a
close but encouraging defeat by a mere 7 runs to a more experienced and
game-hardened Purley side.
On yet another dreek early summer morning Sutton put
up a brave show given that many had not met before the game and some had limited
experience of hard ball cricket. Sutton won the toss and put Purley in to bat;
Sam Mannion and Jaimin Patel soon had the early Purley batsmen under pressure
taking 3 wickets and reducing them to a wobbly 192 after 4 overs. Sutton's
bowlers remained on top with Purley never really looking threatening until their
experienced 4th pair added 28 runs to take them to 247.
Despite the return of
Sutton's quicks and another 4 wicket haul in the last 4 overs (including a good
run-out by Ayrton) Purley managed to post a solid 256. Sutton's performance with
the ball was encouraging given the wet conditions, slippery ball and short
boundary. The ground fielding was good with all fielders quick on their toes and
Shanaal in particular bravely putting his body (literally) in the way of the
ball to prevent boundaries.
Make no mistake this can be a strong bowling and
fielding side when conditions permit. Jaimin Patel's hostile 3 for 14, Sam
Mannion's 3 for 27 (each bowling 4 overs) were the bowling highlights, with
Jonah Langley and Marcus Sotriou also bowling good spells and picking up a
wicket each. Spin twins Achal and Orla also bowled nice spells and were unlucky
not to pick up wickets.
After drinks and hypothermia treatment Suttons
batsmen set about knocking off the target. All pairs added decent totals helped
by Purley bowlers also suffering with the wet ball to bowl a lot of wayward
deliveries. Runs from the bat however were in short supply as batsmen remained a
little tentative in their ball striking and running - that will improve in time.
A challenging 21 to win from the last 4 overs proved a little too much for our
final pair who nevertheless batted stylishly in getting us to within 7.
Shanaal's 9 not out showed he is a real prospect and Jaimin's 11 proved he can
be an aggressive hitter who just needs to improve his shot selection to become a
real force. Marcus again proved dependable with an unbeaten 8 and Sam Griffin
captained the side and kept wicket with increasing confidence.
So the U11s
fell just a little short in terms of the result but exceeded expectations in
respect of performance and potential. There were signs everywhere that in time
this team will carry the expectations of the all conquering team of the last 3
years.
Tempted into a number of rash shots by a boundary shorter than Gordon
Brown's second term as PM, Sutton just gave away a few too many easy wickets and
conceeded too many extras (42) to come out on top - but just watch those stats
improve as the season progresses.
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