Sutton U11 vs Oxted & L (
June 01, 2010)
EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY - NORMAL SERVICE RESUMED AS U11s WIN
Sutton U11 134
for 5 (24 overs)
Oxted & Limpsfield 62 all out (15 overs)
Sutton
Win By 72 runs
An early start for the U11s longest away trip into rural
Surrey proved to be well worth the bother as a pleasant Sunday morning yielded a
ruthless display and victory by 72 runs. It was good to welcome back several
players for this game including "12th man" Lola who got things off to an
auspicious start with a quick pitch inspection and 2 early deposits at midwicket
on arrival. Bangladeshi batsmen insist on blessing the pitch with a kiss and a
prayer - we do it a little differently at Sutton!
High Priest Peter examined
the evidence and declared the portents were good, and with all 11 Sutton players
arriving and warming up before any of the home team made an appearance, then
proceeding to win the toss and elect to bat ("just for a change" according to
tactical genius Cap'n Pat) that proved to be so.
The decision to bat proved to
be a wise one as openers Neale-Smith and Jordan compiled an opening stand of 56
at a run a ball with some crisp hitting and mature running. Patrick fell first
for a good 28 and Harry continued to retirement on a solid 31no. Both played
well on a pitch as sticky as a baby's rattle and a slower than expected outfield.
Josh Blake maintained the momentum with an efficient 22, ably supported by
Marcus, Ayrton and Jack in the middle order who all made good contributions and
kept the scoreboard ticking to take us to a excellent 134 for 5. All batsmen
played good
team
innings - sensible and aggressive in equal
measure.
As ever the boys were dispatched with the predictable "good fielding
not big totals win games" mantra ringing in their ears and it very much proved
to be the case. On a tricky surface potmarked in equal measure by rabbit scrapes
and Lola's scorchmarks, Sutton bowled and fielded like pros needing only 15
overs to roll O&L over.
Harry N-S took an excellent career best (I'm
guessing) 4 for 5 with some accurate medium pace that showed the benefit of
bowling straight and grunting manfully in delivery stride. Jack Hopper chipped
in with 2 fine wickets courtsesy of an exhibition of catching and athleticism by
Lekan at midwicket which broke the home resolve. Lekan himself picked up a
wicket, and Sam G and Ayrton polished off the tail with one apiece too.
However,
it was the overall fielding display that was the biggest plus; Ayrton also took
a good catch, and Jack swooped like a stealth fighter to smartly run a batsman
out backing up and seemingly totally oblivious not just to Jack but to the game
in general. Josh and the ubiquitous Harry, were efficient behind the stumps, the
former picking up a good stumping. However it was Marcus' unassuming but telling
shift at deep backward square that was the highlight. Not a glamorous position
but a very important one in youth cricket and he is making it his own with safe
hands, a good arm and never a moan even when his captain moves him after every
ball. Top lad.
So with fielding as sharp as a tack and tight bowling yielding
only 14 extras, Sutton deservedly prevailed on a day when we were well looked
after by our hosts in lovely surroundings. The team is starting to gel again and
understand the demands of conventional cricket where individuals may not bat or
bowl or indeed play in every game.
Like last year this will be a squad effort
with another seven or eight players on top of this X1 pushing to play at some
point. Let's make those selection decisons as difficult as possible for the
manager by continuing to produce performances like this.
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