U12 GCL v Leatherhead

This was a fine victory cliched by a magnificent 4 struck by Luke Pisa on the final ball of the match - and was the first ball he faced. We had thought it a draw on the day but the difference in wicket tally gives us the win I think.

It was a rather miserable Sunday morning weather-wise with more than half of the match played in light drizzle. Nonetheless, the boys kept their chins up and played well overall.

There was no toss, putting Leatherhead in to bat first to allow time for their final player to arrive - our last two players having arrived 35 minutes late! The boys know that a secret to success is really tight bowling (no wides or no-balls) and very tight fielding with good backing up. This latter point even more important at Headley where the field is not even and the ball can do strange things. Overall, the bowling was tighter and we gave away about half the extras we usually do - so big improvement there and well done. Noteworthy performances from a few: Luke Pisa for taking what must be one of the most spectacular catches all season - well done! Callum also made a solid catch - and both catches off the bowling of Dougal. Jed took a stunning 4 wickets and Amar took 2 - well done bowlers. The team let quite a number of byes through - so opportunity for sharper fielding and backing up. There was one runout by Amar so well done there.

The batting performance was good. Congratulations to Matthew who had to retire as he passed 30. I think all the boys batted well. They do need to think about getting a faster start to get the runs ticking up more quickly and consistently all the way through - 20 overs goes very quickly and crucial to get the run rate up from the start. There were plenty of running chances missed early on. If the boys had batted and run in the first 10 overs as they did in the second then we would have won the match quite comfortably.

Lastly, well done to Matthew for captaining very well. And massive congratulations to the whole team for your positive team spirit, excellent communication and support for your captain. Well done all!

Thanks to Simon for scoring and Annmarie for doing the drinks and biscuits. Also thanks to Jon as always for all your help.