u11 Reports 2008
24th July - Home against Albrighton
Lilleshall Clinch Victory Over Albrighton In Last Over Thriller!
Mere words cannot describe the excitement generated by this latest victory for Lilleshall U11’s at home to Albrighton on the 24th July 2008, which had grown men near to tears watching from the boundary as the final throw of the dice in this, the closest of finishes, rolled Lilleshall’s way. An impressive performance by both teams in an excellent advertisement for the game on Thursday evening. There was a tremendous atmosphere and a good crowd to see an excellent game played in good spirits on a balmy summer evening which culminated in a final over to remember, with 2 balls remaining and the scores level as Albrighton looked favourites to come out on top!
The game started with Thomas Mackriel winning the toss again and electing to bat first on a perfect evening with the sun high overhead shining down over the Lilleshall monument. Alex Dillon and Jack Painter opened the batting but found the going tough with some excellent accurate bowling from Albrighton. Alex scored 5 and Jack 4 from their four overs – therefore straight away runs were hard to come by. The second pair of Ryan Ball and Ian Holdroyd also found the bowling to be very accurate, but Ryan played some excellent shots to score 8 in total include one boundary. The next pair in included 7 year old David Holdroyd and Matthew Roberts who was making his debut. Both boys batted well to keep Albrighton at bay but runs were coming slowly and another low score looked on the cards. The fourth pair of Thomas Mackriel and Matthew Hornby played well to move the score on with Thomas top scoring with 10 runs overall including one boundary. The final pair of Sam Garton and Ben Wassell did extremely well both scoring a single, to conclude Lilleshall’s innings having scored 55 runs (net) for the loss of only 2 wickets.
Again, defending a relatively small total would require a strong bowling and fielding performance from Lilleshall, however the opening pair for Albrighton made an impressive start with quick running between the wickets which moved their total on at a rapid early pace. But thanks to an amazing bowling performance from Alex Dillon who, for once, had under performed with the bat when compared to his usual high standard made up for it with a breath-taking display of fast bowling, to claim 4 wickets in consecutive balls including a hat-trick. Alex’s final hat trick wicket was a rare lbw decision but the batsman was correctly given out by the Albrighton umpire for padding up to a straight ball without playing a stroke. Not to be out-done, Matthew Hornby also chipped in with 4 wickets, and Jack Painter, Thomas Mackriel and Sam Garton also contributed one wicket each to knock the stuffing out of Albrighton during the middle phase of the match. Matthew Roberts made a fine contribution on his debut, bowling two very tidy overs and David Holdroyd played with enthusiasm again to contribute to a great overall team performance and Alex also ran out one of the opposition with a direct hit with an impressive piece of fielding to add to his bowling performance.
However, in the final over with Albrighton needing 6 to win, skipper Thomas Mackriel shouldered the responsibility to see out the match and proceeded to bowl a no ball with his first delivery to gift 2 runs to Albrighton plus an extra ball in the over. With quick running between the wickets, Albrigton pushed singles to level the score with one ball remaining in the final over plus the extra ball for the no ball at the start of the over. With tensions running high and some parents looking away in anguish, Thomas bowled a well aimed delivery which took an outside edge and looped over the wicket keeper into the safe hands of ‘man of the match’ Alex Dillon to dismiss the batsman and remove 5 runs from Albrighton’s score. Albrighton managed a single from the extra ball but Lilleshall celebrated an extraordinary victory which went down to the wire and was enjoyed by all who were lucky enough to witness it. Albrighton finished on 51 runs (net) and conceded 10 wickets in a thrilling encounter which will live long in the memory, so congratulations to the team for an excellent performance by all and commiserations to Albrighton who more than played their part in a game of the highest quality .
23rd July - Away against Wellington
Depleted Lilleshall Battle In Vain at Wellington
On Wednesday 23rd July 2008, a some what depleted Lilleshall U11’s side visited Wellington on a glorious summer evening with perfect conditions for a good game of cricket. Unfortunately, Lilleshall started the game with only 8 players due to holidays etc and 7 year old Hannah Maltby made her debut and 7 year old David Holdroyd started for the second match running. Lilleshall skipper, Thomas Mackriel, won the toss and elected to bat and the first pair of Alex Dillon and Jack Painter made an impressive start with Alex scoring net 13 runs (18 in total) including 3 boundaries. Jack also did well scoring 7 singles in an opening partnership worth 20 runs overall.
The second pair of Ben Wassell and David Holdroyd put on a brave performance to keep the Wellington attack at bay - David blocked everything Wellington could throw at him and finished with his wicket intact. The next pair in were Ian Holdroyd and Hannah Maltby who again battled well with Ian scoring a single. The final pairing of Thomas Mackriel and Matthew Hornby pushed the score on a little further to finish on 38 runs net having lost 6 wickets in total, with Thomas scoring 5 runs including one boundary and Matthew scoring 3 runs.
With such a small total to defend, Lilleshall would have to bowl accurately and take wickets which is exactly what they managed to do, thanks to an impressive bowling performance from Alex Dillon (3 wickets) who normally keeps wicket. Ian Holdroyd filled in behind the stumps and did well and everyone raised their game to push Wellington all the way to a close finish. Thomas Mackriel, Matthew Hornby, Jack Painter and Ben Wassell all took a single wicket but eventually Wellington came out on top scoring 42 runs (net) for the loss of 7 wickets. A very brave performance overall under the circumstances, and had it not been for four dropped catches it could have been a very different story, so catching practice for all concerned on Monday at training I think!
Particular mention must be made with regard to the conduct and effort shown by Hannah Maltby and David Holdroyd – who were both a credit to Lilleshall Cricket Club and we received many enthusiastic comments from Wellington coaching staff and parents as to their endeavours, so well done both of you and keep up the hard work!
16th July - Away against Madeley
Thanks to a Yr 6 play at Muxton school, Lilleshall were without their skipper and vice skipper - a number of other regulars were also otherwised engaged in matters of a dramatic nature. So it was down to Alex Dillon to lead the side and marshall an inexperienced Lilleshall team against Madeley in what promised to be a tight game.
Lilleshall lost the toss and bowled first, Alex Dillon - out from behind the stumps for a change – opened the bowling with Jack Painter and both bowled very economically without getting any wickets. Lilleshall’s young side fielded excellently and everyone bowled their best with Madeley scoring 287 for the loss of just one wicket (net 282) – a very challenging total.
When Lilleshall batted Alex Dillon opened with Conor Aaron and they scored an opening partnership of 28 with Alex scoring 17. All the rest of the batsmen did very well and Lilleshall’s score continued to creep up with the help of a lot of extras. The highlight of the evening was when little David Holdroyd played (aged 7). Madeley were extremely good in only bowling their young bowlers (thanks to Lol Woodall) and David looked a picture in all the cricket pads and helmet – he said this was the ‘best day of his life’. Most importantly, he didn’t get out which meant that Lilleshall won.
Congratulations to Alex and a very young side on another victory for the Lilleshall lads and particular credit must go to the Madeley u11 Manager Lol Woodhall for playing the game is such a wonderful spirit. An example to all of us who play and coach the game at every level.
9th July - Home against Forton
Match cancelled due to bad weather
1st July - Away against Shifnal
Lilleshall Victorious As Rain Almost Stops Play
Thomas Mackriel won the toss and elected to bat first as the clouds looked heavy and threatening, after what had been a glorious summer day.
In a rain affected match Alex Dillon and Talal Ahmad made an excellent start with an opening partnership of 34 runs, with Alex scoring 14 including three boundaries. Thomas Mackriel and Jack Painter contributed a further 11 runs to the cause, before Max Slade-Jones and George Osbourne chipped in with another five runs including an impressive first boundary for George. The next pair in, Ryan Ball and Matthew Hornby played extremely well putting on 21 runs in total, including a boundary for both Ryan and Matthew, with Matthew scoring 7 runs in total. Unfortunately, both teams only fielded 9 players, so the Lilleshall captain chose Alex Dillon to bat again with Ian Holdroyd to make up the final pairing, and Alex finished with a flurry scoring an excellent six and a boundary to finish on 10 runs.
In total Lilleshall scored 91 runs (net) from their 20 overs and, considering the number of stoppages due to rain, they played very well losing only 4 wickets during their innings.
Following a quick turnaround, Lilleshall bowled extremely well with opening bowlers Ryan Ball and Thomas Mackriel bowling with menacing intent. In only the second over Thomas had the opener caught behind only to have his appeal dismissed because he over-stepped the crease. He then repeated the dismissal with Alex Dillon taking the catch behind the stumps but this time the batsman was given out.
Matthew Hornby continued to bowl with great control only conceding runs from the bat in his third and final over. Ian Holdroyd also bowled well with good line and length, and George Osbourne also claimed a wicket in his first over with Alex Dillon whipping off the bails to stump the Shifnal batsman.
Talal Ahmad also bowled well and was impressive again in the field as he scored a direct hit on the stumps to dismiss one of the Shifnal batsman off the bowling of Thomas Mackriel. The man of the match award however, must go to Jack Painter for a truly amazing overall performance claiming 5 wickets in his allotted three overs, which included another stumping by Alex Dillon and a “caught and bowled” on the final ball of his second over. During the second over he was on a hat trick after dismissing two batsman with consecutive balls. In addition to his bowling display he fielded brilliantly too, saving several boundaries fielding at long stop.
Overall Shifnal scored only 30 runs (net) and were dismissed eight times so another convincing victory for Lilleshall. The coaches were particularly pleased at the attitude of all the players in difficult conditions and were extremely relieved to have been able to finish the match given the interruptions for rain during the evening.
Well done to all of the team for another excellent victory.
11th June - Away against Albrighton
Lilleshall Triumph in Tightest of Finishes
On a rather chilly evening at Albrighton with rain threatening, Lilleshall won the toss and decided to bat first to take advantage of the light. The first pair of Alex Dillon and Talal Ahmed made an excellent aggressive start with Alex continuing his good form with the bat scoring 10 runs including 2 fours; ably supported by Talal who scored one 4 to provide a solid opening partnership of 24 runs overall. The second pair of Thomas Mackriel and Jack Painter pushed the scoring on with Jack making 5 runs including one boundary. The next pair of Ryan Ball and Callum Leech also put up a brave fight with Ryan scoring 6 runs including one boundary. George Osbourne and Josh McCormick were the next pair in and they batted courageously to keep the Albrighton attack at bay. The final pair of Matthew Hornby and Ian Holdroyd played extremely well to put on 30 runs in their 4 overs with Matthew scoring 15 runs including two 4’s. Lilleshall’s score off their twenty overs was 295 runs (net) for the loss of only 3 wickets,which represented a good competitive total to defend. The highlight of the batting this week was undoubtedly the fact that Lilleshall only lost 3 wickets (15 runs) in their innings which was a big improvement over recent performances.
Ryan Ball opened the bowling for Lilleshall at the start of the Albrighton innings and it was evident from the start that the opposition had some very good attacking batsman with several boundaries being scored in an impressive opening. Thomas Mackriel opened the bowling down the slope for the second over and took a wicket with his third ball clean bowling the Albrighton batsman to keep them in check. In the seventh over, Matthew Hornby claimed two wickets, one with Alex Dillon catching the batsman behind the stumps and the other by clean bowling the batsman’s partner. Other notable bowling performances included Jack Painter and George Osborne who bowled a good line and length. In the fourteenth over with the game very close, Thomas Mackriel collected the ball twice in the field and ran out the batsman in two almost identical incidents and then in his third and last over with the ball, took two wickets both clean bowled to take his bowling tally to three wickets from three overs. With Albrighton on 284 runs (net) Matthew Hornby bowled the last over in which he conceded 10 runs (6 off the bat) to leave Albrighton 1 run short despite scoring a boundary of the very last ball of the innings! Lilleshall won by the narrowest of margins in a very tense and close finish.
The most important lesson to learn from this game is that, no matter how many runs the team score with the bat, if you lose too many wickets you make it very difficult to win. Albrighton scored a lot of runs with the bat, but because Lilleshall bowled well conceding less wides and no balls and by taking 7 wickets (equal to 35 runs) Albrighton’s batting power could not win them the match. The fielding was much improved this week overall, although there were two dropped catches and everybody worked hard for one another in an impressve team performance.
3rd June - Home against Forton
On Tuesday morning the rain looked likely to prevent the home match against Forton going ahead, but as the clouds moved away and the sun came out in the afternoon, thankfully the surface was dry enough to play.
Lilleshall lost the toss and were asked to bat first by the Forton skipper, so the first pair of Alex Dillon and Talal Amhed went out into the middle to face the first four overs. Alex Dillon was in excellent form again with the bat top scoring with an impressive 16 runs including a four and a six which cleared the boundary by some distance, narrowly missing the scorers sitting on the bench near the clubhouse. This provided an excellent platform to build on and the next pair of Thomas Mackriel and Jack Painter also played well to push the score on. Thomas Mackriel scored 11 runs including two impressive fours and Jack Painter scored one run as Lilleshall built a good total to defend. Other notable performances with the bat included four runs from Ryan Ball and two runs from Matthew Hornby. Overall Lilleshall posted a very good score of 310 runs but the loss of six wickets left them with 280 runs (net) from their twenty overs leaving Forton chasing 281 runs to win.
Lilleshall needed to get off to a good start and Ryan Ball bowled with pace and accuracy as he opened the bowling taking a wicket in his second over, clean bowling the Forton skipper who helped the ball on to his stumps. Other notable performances with the ball included four immaculate maiden overs, from Marc Marshall, Callum Leech, Talal Amhed and Ryan Ball. Despite these maidens, Lilleshall had taken only one wicket throughout the Forton innings and the scores were getting tight due to an increasing number of extras, until in the last three overs of the match when Talal Amhed and Thomas Mackriel both took wickets to restrict the Forton score to 65 for 3 off their twenty overs giving Lilleshall victory in the match by 15 runs.
Overall the bowling performance was inconsistent with too many wides and no balls conceded so plenty to think about and work on in practice on Monday. Forton were only able to score 13 runs off the bat yet they scored 65 runs thanks mainly to the wides and no balls which accounted for the rest. As a result this match was much closer than it should have been mainly due to Lilleshall’s bowling efforts, especially when we also bowled four maiden overs as part of the same bowling performance.
Well done to all the team and keep up the hard work. You can see video highlights of the match below.
Lilleshall vs Forton u11s from Andrew Ball on Vimeo.
21st May – Away against Wolverhampton
All good things must come to an end and Lilleshall’s away trip to – top of the league – Wolverhampton was always going to be tough! Things looked promising when captain Thomas Mackriel called tails and elected to bat first. Wolverhampton’s bowling was accurate and straight from the outset and the opening pair of Alex Dillion and Talal Ahmed found scoring difficult. Alex continued his good form with the bat scoring 9 runs, including two excellent boundaries, but unfortunately was out twice as Wolverhampton piled on the early pressure. The next pair of Thomas Mackriel and Jack Painter defended well against more accurate bowling, with Thomas top scoring for Lilleshall with 7 runs including one boundary without losing his wicket. One disastrous over for Lilleshall saw the Wolverhampton bowler Hiten, take 4 wickets consecutively and 7 in the innings. The last pair of Matthew Hornby and Ian Holdroyd batted extremely well to keep out the Wolverhampton attack with Matthew scoring 2 runs in the process. The innings yielded a score of 49 runs but unfortunately 15 wickets were taken by Wolverhampton leaving a net overall score of 174 off 20 overs.
In response, Wolverhampton showed they were confident and capable with the bat too, as they looked to attack the Lilleshall bowling from the outset, but in a fine first over – which yielded only one run for Wolverhampton – Alex Dillon stumped one of the openers off the bowling of Ryan Ball. Matthew Hornby and Jack Painter also took a wicket each in a brave bowling performance but Wolverhampton were a very strong team and were worthy winners on the night scoring 99 runs for the loss of only 3 wickets in their 20 overs which gave a net score of 284.
When put into context, Wolverhampton have over 30 boys from which to select their side every week and at least 5 of them play for the county so we must learn from this defeat and take heart from the fact that heads did not drop and Lilleshall competed for every run. Plenty to work on at training but we should put this one down to experience and look to improve our consistency with both bat and ball.
14th May – Home against Wellington B
The under 11 squad continued their excellent start to the season with their second victory at home to Wellington ‘B’ on a fine sunny evening on Wednesday. Lilleshall won the toss and elected to bat and the first pair of Alex Dillon and Thomas Mackriel strode out into the middle to face the first over. Alex Dillon played some fine shots and scored 11 runs from the opening four overs to get Lilleshall off to a flying start. As the innings progressed there were some brave performances but scoring proved difficult and wickets kept tumbling. At the end of the innings Lilleshall had set a target of 226 for Wellington ‘B’ to chase and it was now down to the bowlers to keep the runs down and take plenty of wickets.
On only his second appearance keeping wicket, Alex Dillon made a memorable contribution with a brave stop to a legside ball that the batsman clipped behind and a superb catch to dismiss one of the Wellington middle order off the bowling of Callum Leech, who was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets in total from three important overs. Skipper Thomas Mackriel took two wickets and also had a close call for lbw turned down; Matthew Hornby also claimed two wickets and took a great catch whilst fielding at extra cover. George Osborne, Ryan Ball and Ian Holdroyd all took a wicket each in a good team performance, Ryan Ball would have taken a wicket with only the third ball of the innings had it not been for a correctly called no-ball due to a wayward front foot. Things got very tense in the last two overs as Wellington ‘B’ moved within one run of the target set by the home side, but thanks to an excellent final over from Matthew Hornby, who produced a wicket maiden, Lilleshall maintained their unbeaten record for the season and claimed the victory by just seven runs.
Plenty of stuff from for the coaches to work on at practice on Monday, but an excellent performance overall which showed real fighting spirt to defend a modest total and come out on top. Lilleshall are currently second in the u11 B league and play leaders Wolverhampton next Wednesday away in what promises to be a competitive game.
Particular congratulations must go to Lilleshall who, after conceding 44 extras against Madeley last week, only conceded 14 against Wellington which is a considerable improvement. Well done to all concerned.
7th May – Home against Madeley
With a very playable surface, thanks to the efforts of Snr Coach Pete Maltby earlier in the day, and some warm Spring sunshine the u11s were able to get their season away to a fine start recording a nine wicket victory over Madeley. New Captain Thomas Mackriel lost the toss and Madeley elected to bat first. Madeley’s batting was tentative against Lilleshall’s opening strike partnership of Tom Mackriel and Ryan Ball. Madeley didn’t capitalise on their few scoring opportunities and some tight bowling kept the score pegged back. Mackriel ended his bowling spell with two wickets (both bowled) and figures of 2 wickets for just 8 runs from 3 overs and Ball took one wicket, with a deadly ball that left the bastman and just clipped the bails from the off stump, finishing with 1 wicket for 5 from 3 overs. Lilleshall kept up the pressure with some terrific bowling from Talal Ahmed who had the batsmen in all kinds of trouble and was unlucky to finish with no wicket for 8 off his three overs. Matthew Hornby meanwhile had a stunning spell with some accurate bowling to take top honours finishing with 4 wickets for 12 off his three overs and newcomer Callum Leech bowled very well in his first ever match to finish with 2 wickets for 9 off his three overs. The remaining Lilleshall bowlers (Jack Painter, Ian Holdroyd, Josh McCormick and George Osborne) also bowled with promise and – despite not taking any wickets – kept the scoring down.
Lilleshall fielded well with Painter reacting quickly at short third man to take a looping catch, a good first outing by Alex Dillon behind the sticks who looked very sharp and didn’t let too many past him despite some tricky takes. Most importantly everyone played well as a team with captain Mackriel well supported by vice captains Dillon and Ball in organising the field and keeping everyone alert.
Madeley had a difficult task defending a small adjusted target of just 217 as nine wickets cost them 45 runs off a total (with extras) of 262. Lilleshall set about their task despite the rapidly failing light with Ahmed (7) and Mackriel (6) opening with a partnership of 13 for no wicket, followed by Dillon (6) and Leech (2) adding a further 8 runs also without loss – Dillon despatching the ball through midwicket and just over the rope for four. Ball (6) and Hornby (4) added a further 10 runs with Ball cracking a wayward legside delivery for four; however a misjudged run that always going to be close resulted in a run out. Holdroyd (2) and McCormick (1) added a further 3 without loss as did the final pairing of Painter (2) and Osborne (1). It was crucial that Lilleshall defended their wickets as well as scoring runs and the defensive play was excellent right through the order. Scoring chances were limited due to some variable bowling from Madeley who accrued 63 extras against them sealing their fate in a comprehensive nine wicket victory for Lilleshall.
The game was played in an excellent spirit and congratulations to Lilleshall, commiserations to Madeley who have a large number of new players in their team but played their part in a well contested match.
30th April – Away against Forton
This game was postponed due to availability problems in the Forton side – we hope to replay this match later in the season.
23rd April – Home against Shifnal B
The u11 match for Wednesday 23rd April was postponed. We hope to replay this match later in the season.
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