u15 Reports 2011
7 August - Lilleshall v Condover (Away)
The first Sunday in August saw Lilleshall travelling in convoy to Condover in excellent dry conditions but with the veiled threat of rain later in the afternoon. Captain Jack Pierce lost the toss but was asked to bat first – a welcome decision – as the wicket looked to have plenty of runs in it, as the sun beat down for the start of the match.
Jack Pierce and Thomas Mackriel opened the batting for Lilleshall and both players immediately looked in good touch as the runs flowed and the ball flew off the bat to all corners of the ground. Following an initial scare when he lofted the ball into a gap between the fielders, Jack played with authority as he forced the pace as the run rate began to rise as both batsmen took the fight to the Condover bowling attack and as the partnership began to build, Lilleshall got off to a commanding start. At a rate of in excess of 7 runs per over the batsmen began to apply significant pressure on the fielding side and boundaries came thick and fast from both batsmen.
As expected, Jack Pierce took the lead role with some excellent shots and not content with hitting boundaries the pair also pushed hard for quick singles and two’s when only singles looked on. There were so many memorable shots from both Jack and Thomas to make it difficult to mention any specifically, but both players hit huge sixes – one over square leg and the other over deep cover and both batsmen found the boundary rope with regularity and it wasn’t long before first Jack and then Thomas celebrated getting to their half centuries in style.
The runs continued to flow and it wasn’t long before Jack Pierce finally retired unbeaten with exactly 100 runs to his name in the 21st over, following a memorable opening partnership of 174 runs with Thomas Mackriel. Jack’s century included one six and fifteen boundaries and the standing ovation he received from the watching spectators was well deserved. Following Jack’s retirement, Thomas was joined at the crease by Rory Cattermull and Lilleshall continued to press home their advantage with the attack now being led by Thomas Mackriel.
It wasn’t long before he too retired not out to join his opening partner in the pavilion as Thomas also reached his century with another impressive boundary after a well composed innings; which included a huge six struck out of the middle of the bat, as well as fifteen boundaries in a mature and confident knock during which he never looked troubled and was always in control. Thomas walked off to another standing ovation for an excellent performance which, in conjunction with Jack, had laid the foundations for a challenging score.
Thomas was replaced by Matt Evans and runs continued to flow although the rate began to slow a little as the new batsmen settled in however, just as Rory Cattermull was looking in good touch, he was bowled in the 32nd over for an excellent 23 runs including four boundaries. That wicket bought Charlie Walsh to the crease and he played himself in and kept the score board ticking over. Matt Evans was the next wicket to fall in the 35th over as he too was bowled for 16 runs including three boundaries. The next Lilleshall batsman was James Gant who defended well but lost his wicket without scoring in the 38th over as he was clean bowled by Condover.
Charlie Walsh continued to offer stout resistance and George Smailes came into bat but was soon on his way back to the pavilion without scoring after a close fielder for Condover took an excellent reflex catch as George pushed a ball forward and was caught out. Chris Hine joined Charlie in the middle to conclude the final two overs of the innings, however having hit his first ball for four he was caught out going for another big shot which bought Ryan Ball in to face the last over. Ryan scored a single off the last ball to finish not out, and Charlie Walsh also batted well finishing unbeaten on 15 runs; giving Lilleshall a total of 278 for 5 wickets of their 40 overs.
So far the rain promised in the afternoon had missed and sailed past without affecting the game, and after taking tea, Condover came out to bat facing a daunting total to chase; but they set about their task well as the opening pair continued the trend of scoring well as Charlie Walsh and James Gant opened the bowling for Lilleshall. Indeed it wasn’t until the fourteenth over that the first wicket fell with the home team’s score on 62, as Chris Hine clean bowled the Condover opening batsman with an excellent straight delivery. Chris quickly followed this initial break-through with a second wicket in the 16th over when he also bowled the Condover No.3. Chris Hine struck again in the 20th over with the score on 77 during a devastating spell when he claimed the wicket of the other opening batsman who hit the ball in the air to mid-on where Matthew Hornby took an excellent catch.  In the 24th over, the Condover batsman called for a run but stopped half-way down the wicket only for James Gant to run in and throw into the hands of Matt Evans keeping wicket to remove the bails for a run out.
With the score on 106 runs in the 27th over George Smailes struck twice in a single over when Jack Pierce took a low catch in close and then George took a smart catch off his own bowling to conclude a successful over as the pressure on the Condover batsmen began to show. The seventh wicket fell on 115 when Ryan Ball clean bowled the Condover No 6 and an early victory looked likely for Lilleshall in the 30th over when James Gant came on for his second spell and struck in his first over of the spell when he clean bowled the Condover No.8. However at this point the threatened rain arrived, the heavens opened and rain began to fall. Unfortunately, the rain was very heavy and prolonged so after due deliberation the game was abandoned with Condover finishing with 123 runs for 8 wickets off 30.1 overs.
From Lilleshall’s perspective this was an unfortunate way to end the game, but there was no doubt it was the right decision with several areas of standing water on the playing surface. Lilleshall bowling figures were as follows: Charlie Walsh bowled 5 overs, no maidens, no wickets for 27 runs; James Gant bowled 5 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 13 runs; Chris Hine was the pick of the bowlers with 6 overs, 2 maidens, 3 wickets for 15 runs; Rory Cattermull bowled 5 overs, no maidens, no wickets for 20 runs; George Smailes bowled 5 overs, no maidens, 2 wickets for 26 runs; Matthew Hornby bowled 2 overs, no maidens, no wickets for 9 runs; and finally Ryan Ball bowled 2 overs, no maidens, 1 wicket for 11 runs.
Overall this was an excellent display of batting, fielding and bowling and we undoubtedly deserved the win, however as the weather intervened the whole team should take pride in the excellent team performance. There is no doubt however about the man of the match award which this week was shared by the opening pair of Jack Pierce and Thomas Mackriel for two excellent centuries.
31 July – Lilleshall v Wolverhampton (Home)
On an overcast but muggy day, Lilleshall could only assemble ten players to take on Wolverhampton due to holidays and other commitments. Regular u15 skipper Jack Pierce lost the toss and Wolverhampton opted to bat first on a good strip. Wolverhampton started steadily with both openers coping well with the opening bowling of Gant and Walsh and it was almost an hour before the first wicket fell on 62 when Newman was trapped lbw by Pierce on 18 in his third over, the incoming batsman Grewal was then clean bowled by the next and final ball of Pierce’s over – 62 for 2. Just 10 more were added before new batsman Conn was also back in the hutch on 7, clean bowled by a snorter of a delivery from Siverns, quickly followed by K Patel (0) and A Singh (38) both clean bowled by Ahmad in his fourth over – a double wicket maiden. This left Wolverhampton in slight trouble on 74-5 but a fine partnership followed between Sudera (38) and Jose (15); luck was on the side of Sudera early in his innings surviving a rare dropped catch by Gant fielding at square leg. He was eventually caught by Ahmad off the bowling of Pierce and Gant went on to bowl out Jose, but Wolverhampton were in much better shape at 123-6 and then 160-7 as they began to accelerate in the final few overs. An excellent late innings from J Gill (23), after A Patel was caught behind by Smailes off Pierce, helped Wolverhampton to a total of 193 for 9 off their 40 overs. Ball put a temporary brake on the scoring for Lilleshall in a short spell of 2 overs for just 3 off the bat but, after he was taken off, Wolverhampton thumped 14 off the final over.
Final mention must go to the youngest member of the Wolverhampton side, V Patel, who did an excellent job of defending his wicket to ensure that his side batted their full overs denying Lilleshall the final wicket.  With a four wicket haul for 36 runs off 8 overs, Pierce was the pick of the Lilleshall bowlers but well supported by Ahmad with 5 overs, 2 maidens and 2 wickets for just 17 runs. Good work in the field by Lilleshall chasing down and saving several possible boundaries and some sharp stops.
Extras were 12 byes, 3 leg byes, 9 wides and 5 no balls, so we still need to work on our bowling consistency.
At the turn, Lilleshall opened with Pierce and Walsh but Wolverhampton got amongst the wickets early as Pierce fell caught behind to one that stayed low and clipped his bat on the way through to the keeper off the bowling of Gill. Smailes and Walsh quickly followed Pierce back to the hutch; Smailes bowled by A Singh after a lifter gave him a nasty blow on the hand and Walsh run out – clearly troubled by a recurrent knee injury - failing to make ground on what would have normally been a comfortable single. Lilleshall were in trouble at 9 for 3 and worse was to come as Gant was caught by Jose off the bowling of A Singh for just 4 and Siverns was beaten by a ball from K Patel that deceived him in the flight and hit the stumps without pitching which left Lilleshall reeling at 25-5. At the other end, Evans was looking well set for Lilleshall and was joined by Ball. A gritty partnership followed with Evans playing some fine shots to top score for Lilleshall on 36, including five boundaries off 48 balls. He was well supported by Ball, who faced 51 deliveries for his 17 runs including two boundaries. It looked as though Lilleshall might possibly save a losing draw but Evans eventually fell lbw to Gill (who had returned to the attack too early after his initial spell) but Lilleshall were restored to some respectability at 82-6. Hornby added a further 11 runs in partnership with Ball before the latter holed out to Mid-On as he looked to push for runs – 93 for 7.
With a ten-man side the result now looked inevitable and when both Hornby (5) and Li (1) were clean bowled by Conn it was all over; leaving Ahmad on 4 not out from a neatly timed leg glance off his first ball that rocketed away for a boundary. Lilleshall finished on 98-9 (all out) off 33.1 overs; extras were 1 leg bye, 17 wides and 3 no balls.
Pick of the Wolverhampton bowlers was Gill with 8 overs, 3 maidens and 2 wickets for just 11 runs and Conn with 2 overs, 0 maidens and 2 wickets for 5 runs.
Congratulations to Wolverhampton on a well-crafted win and some good performances by the Lilleshall lads. Man of the Match this week is Matt Evans for a very solid knock of 38 to steady the Lilleshall innings.
17th July – Lilleshall v Cannock (Away)
After last week’s cancellation against Whitchurch, Lilleshall visited Cannock for their next outing. Unfortunately the weather proved the victor in this rain-affected match which ended in a draw.
Ziyad was Skipper for Lilleshall and lost the toss – it was a bad one to lose and it condemned Lilleshall to 40 overs of toil in the field in less than perfect conditions.  A strong wind and almost continual light rain made for difficult conditions. Dan Siverns and James Gant opened the bowling for Lilleshall, Dan was agressive but he was also inconsistent offering plenty of scoring opportunities off short pitched bowling. James Gant bowled four immaculate overs that really pinned down the Cannock batsmen assisted by some sharp work in the field from Thomas Mackriel in particular. After 15 overs, Cannock were scoring steadily but with wickets in hand they were putting themselves in a good position to accelerate. After the drinks break at 20 overs this is exactly what they did with some excellent batting as Lilleshall lost their early discipline in the field and some of the bowling became ragged. Highlights included an excellent 7 overs from Ryan Dawes who mesmerised batsmen who were in the groove and restricted their scoring, only a couple of his overs went for any number of runs. Lilleshall missed a couple of catches that in better heart and in better weather they would normally have taken comfortably. Lilleshall took a few late wickets by way of compensation but were left chasing 193 off 40 overs in deteriorating conditions.
During tea the rain fell heavier and the umpires decided that they would attempt to get the game underway. After the first over of quick and accurate bowling the rain became heavier and the players left the field. The umpires reduced the match to 30 overs and resumed briefly for a further 4 overs which saw James Hudson fall victim lbw to one that skidded off a, by now, wet strip and thudded into his pad well below the knee roll. Shortly afterwards the rain returned and looked set for the day and with a playing surface that presented health and safety risks for both sides; the umpires took the decision to abandon the match.
Lilleshall man of the match this week goes to Ryan Dawes for a masterclass in leg spin despite some very difficult bowling conditions.
3rd July – Lilleshall v Shrewsbury (Home)
The weather was warm and humid with little or no wind as the sun made another welcome return for the start of play, but without the fierce sun shine to make it uncomfortable. Captain for the day was Callum Haskew making a welcome return after his exams and he duly won the toss and elected to bat first.
Thomas Mackriel and Jacob Williams opened the batting but disaster struck with the first ball as Mackriel was bowled by the Shrewsbury opening bowler. That early loss bought Isaac Pollard to the crease however in only the third over he chipped the ball up and was caught without scoring. Next to bat was Matt Evans who continued his good run of form batting positively to ‘steady’ the Lilleshall ship.
This new batting partnership was very successful with both batsmen scoring freely until the 14th over when Matt Evans was caught after making another excellent contribution of 30 runs including 6 boundaries. Skipper Callum Haskew was next at the crease and he quickly made an impact with some aggressive strokes scoring boundaries and making life difficult for the Shrewsbury bowlers. The next wicket to fall was Jacob Williams after a fine innings which showed great patience and composure to occupy one end while the batsmen at the other were scoring freely. Jacob was bowled in the 20th over for a resilient 22 runs including 2 boundaries but had batted for half of the innings having opened the batting.
Jacob’s dismissal bought Chris Hine to the crease and he made an instant impression hitting his first ball for 4 with one bounce. This opening salvo seemed to indicate his intention from the start to take on the bowlers as he settled into a fine demonstration of aggressive and powerful hitting. In the 23rd over Callum Haskew took the aerial route and was caught having scored an impressive 26 runs with only 7 scoring shots including one 6 and 4 boundaries. Next to bat was Hayley McCafferty who instantly settled in to a supporting role similar to Jacob’s as the batsman at the other end of the wicket did all the damage. Chris Hine continued to hit boundaries with aggressive intent as cricket balls rained down on the club house roof and at least one ball was lost in the trees behind the club house.
Hayley McCafferty was eventually dismissed LBW in the 28th over for 4 runs but she had done her job to partner Chris as he was in such good form. Andrew Li was next to bat and he also played a key role by occupying the crease as Chris Hine continued to score freely. Eventually, Chris was caught going for one big shot too many as he was dismissed for an excellent 89 runs in the 34th over including 5 sixes and 11 boundaries in an impressive performance with the bat.
Next to bat was Dan Siverns who made a confident start and looked in control, as he continued to push for runs supported by Andrew Li. Andrew was dismissed LBW in the 37th over having scored 5 runs but again had showed excellent resilience to stay at the crease. Ryan Dawes was the next batsman who had been promoted to number 10 having batted so well at number 11 against Brewood last week and once again he didn’t disappoint scoring 6 runs including an excellent boundary off his legs before being caught and bowled by the Shrewsbury bowler in the 38th over. That dismissal bought Matthew Hornby to the crease at number eleven to see out the last two overs scoring 3 runs and remaining unbeaten. Dan Siverns also remained not out on 10 runs including 2 boundaries with Lilleshall finishing with a superb 243 for 9 wickets from their 40 overs.
After tea, Shrewsbury began their reply with Dan Siverns and Chris Hine opening the bowling for Lilleshall. Shrewsbury also got off to a poor start with the first wicket falling in only the second over as Chris Hine struck with only his fifth ball having the batsman caught by Matt Evans who ran and made a diving catch.
Lilleshall struck again soon after as Dan Siverns bowling with venom and pace struck in the third over as the new batsman was caught by wicket keeper Matt Evans. Things went from bad to worse for Shrewsbury when in only the 4th over as Dan Siverns struck again this time clean bowling the Shrewsbury batsman in a devastating opening spell of pace bowling.
Turning to spin, skipper Callum Haskew brought on Ryan Dawes who gave the ball plenty of air, and got the ball to turn on a good track. Hayley McCafferty bowled in tandem with Ryan and between them both, they pinned Shrewsbury down with some good accurate bowling. The spinner made the break through in the 11th over when the Shrewsbury No.5 was caught by Chris Hine completing a wicket maiden for Ryan. That dismissal was quickly followed by another wicket maiden over when Ryan floated a ball past the opening batsman to have him stumped by Matt Evans.
Dan Siverns returned to haunt Shrewsbury again when in the 23rd over bowling only his third over he had the Shrewsbury batsman caught behind by wicket keeper Matt Evans with his third catch of the match. Dan finished with excellent figures of 3 overs, 3 wickets for 17 runs. Chris Hine followed an excellent performance with the bat with great bowling figures of 6 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 14 runs.
Skipper Callum Haskew decided to bring himself on to bowl and unusually decided to bowl spin rather than pace, however bowling a good line and length bought almost instant success when in his second over he clean bowled the Shrewsbury No.7 and quickly followed this up with another wicket in his third over as the Shrewsbury No.8 was caught by Andrew Li at Mid On. Callum finished with bowling figures of 5 overs, 1 maiden, 2 wickets for 9 runs. Other bowling stats included Andrew Li who bowled 4 overs for 18 runs, and Hayley McCafferty who bowled 5 overs including 1 maiden for 21 runs. Ryan Dawes finished with excellent figures of 8 overs, 2 maidens, 2 wickets for 28 runs in an impressive display of spin bowling.
In the 29th over Lilleshall struck again when the Shrewsbury batsman called for two runs and Thomas Mackriel fielded the ball and returned an accurate throw over the stumps for Matt Evans to remove the bails. The final Shrewsbury wicket fell in the 31st over with the score on 130 runs when Matthew Hornby trapped the Shrewsbury No.11 LBW in his only over of the match to finish the game with figures of 1 over, 1 wicket for 3 runs.
Lilleshall therefore won the match by 113 runs. Congratulations to everyone involved who all played their part, but with a destructive 89 runs and bowling figures of 1 for 14 off 6 overs the man of the match award has to go to Chris Hine. The coaches were particularly pleased with Lilleshall’s work in the field and with the determination we showed as a team to bat for 40 overs.
26th June – Brewood U15Â v Lilleshall (way)
The weather was hot with blue skies and the powerful rays of the sun were beating down making for tough conditions for both sides whether batting or fielding but especially for anyone wearing a helmet. Lilleshall were skippered by Ziyad Azam and having won the toss elected to field first.
Brewood made a positive start and it soon became obvious that the fielding side were in for a tough afternoon in the baking hot sun. Charlie Walsh and Chris Hine opened the bowling and the score raced along at almost 6 runs an over. In the 7th over Chris Hine struck to take the first wicket when the Brewood No.1 was caught at square leg by Maxwell Jones. It wasn’t until the 25th over that Lilleshall took their second wicket as the Brewood No.3 was caught at Mid On by Jacob Williams.
The third and final wicket was taken in the final over by Ziyad Azam who clean bowled the Brewood No.5 in the 40th over. A special mention should go to L. Evans for Brewood who hit an unbeaten 101 before retiring in an excellent batting display in which he never looked troubled. Brewood scored 248 runs for 3 wickets off their 40 overs and as a result bowling was tough. Chris Hine finished with figures of 8 overs, 2 wickets for 59 runs. Charlie Walsh only bowled one spell due to a recurring back problem but finished with figures of 4 overs no wicket for 22 runs.
Hayley McCafferty bowled well finishing with figures of 8 overs, 1 maiden for 40 runs, and Ziyad Azam also bowled 8 overs taking 1 wicket for 52 runs. Andrew Li bowled 4 overs for 27 runs, and Ryan Ball bowled 6 overs for 36 runs; and finally, Ryan Dawes bowled 2 overs for 9 runs.
After taking tea, Lilleshall commenced the run chase but were instantly on the back foot as Thomas Mackriel was bowled in the second over having scored only 1 run. Thomas’s opening partner Jacob Williams soon followed as he was also dismissed in the second over without scoring, as Lilleshall got off to the worst possible start, and when new batsman Maxwell Jones was also dismissed stumped without scoring in only the fourth over with the score on just 5 runs, things looked very bleak for Lilleshall.
Matt Evans batting at No.4 offered some resistance, along with Charlie Walsh as the pair looked to ‘steady the ship’, but in the 9th over Charlie was caught when playing a lofted drive having scored 8 valuable runs.  Matt Evans continued to show great determination and was joined at the crease by Chris Hine batting at No.6 who played in his usually aggressive style and scored 6 runs relatively quickly including a boundary until the 13th over when he was bowled playing across the line.
Captain Ziyad Azam joined Matt Evans in the middle and he also showed a lot of patience and began to build an innings until the 19th over when he was also bowled having scored 10 runs including 2 boundaries. Next to join Matt Evans was fellow Wrekinian Andrew Li, however after 2 overs he was also bowled for 2 runs as wickets continued to fall on a regular basis. More wickets followed in quick succession as both Hayley McCafferty and Ryan Ball were both dismissed without scoring, with Hayley being bowled and Ryan being run out.
The last batsman for Lilleshall was Ryan Dawes who joined Matt Evans at the crease for a final flourish and no one expected what happened next. Matt continued to score well, coping with everything that Brewood could throw at him, and as the overs ticked by and after a shocking start the score began to build.
In a partnership worth 57 runs, the pair finished the innings on a positive note for Lilleshall after a disappointing day, but unfortunately although Ryan scored 12 runs including one boundary and played extremely well to keep the innings going for 11 overs, he was finally bowled bringing the Lilleshall innings to an end on 122 all out. This left Matt Evans on 47 not out, just short of his first fifty, having scored 9 boundaries in an excellent innings.
Overall, this match started badly for Lilleshall and went ‘down hill’ from there, but on the positive side to score 122 runs after such an awful start was a brilliant effort. The performance of Ryan Dawes with the bat was very impressive having batted for 11 overs, but man of the match for Lilleshall was Matt Evans who played the pivotal role in batting for 28 overs and holding the entire innings together. Much to improve on so lots of hard work ahead of us after a disappointing display.
29th May – Lilleshall vs St Georges (Home)
The weekend weather was not looking great according to the forecast, but at least the Sunday morning brought cloudy skies but no further rain. The second game of the U15 season saw Lilleshall at home to St Georges, and although the game got underway, there was always the threat of rain. As the game went on conditions improved towards the end of the match, but temperatures were low for those spectators who braved the conditions.
Thomas Mackriel was asked to fill in again as acting Captain of another inexperienced team due to exam commitments for senior players, and after winning the toss, he elected to put St Georges in to bat. Charlie Walsh and Dan Siverns (making his debut) opened the bowling for Lilleshall and made a very good start with a maiden first over from Charlie which he quickly followed up with the first wicket falling in the fifth over of the match, as he clean bowled the opening batsman with 19 runs on the scoreboard.
In the 7th over Charlie was unlucky not to take his second wicket as the new batsman top edged a high ball into the slips area where the usually dependable Chris Hine dropped a catch. Charlie Walsh bowled 8 overs in total and finished with figures of 8 overs, 1 maiden; 1 wicket for 22 runs during an impressive display. Dan Siverns finished with figures of 6 overs; 0 wickets for 57 runs.
The first bowling change saw Chris Hine and James Gant taking on the St Georges batsmen, and in only his second over, Chris trapped the St Georges No.3 LBW playing back in front of his stumps to one that kept low, with the score on 76. During an excellent spell of accurate bowling, Chris and James made it very difficult for St Georges to score with James Gant bowling a maiden in his third over. James’ persistence saw him take a wicket in his second spell when he clean bowled the St Georges No.5 as he finished with figures of 7 overs, 1 maiden; 1 wicket for 41 runs. Chris Hine bowled extremely well, bowling a maiden over and a double wicket maiden late on in the match, in which he finished with figures of 7 overs, 2 maidens; 3 wickets for 22 runs. The two wickets at the end for Chris included an excellent take behind the stumps by George Smailes off an edge, and his final victim was clean bowled.
Ryan Ball and Hayley McCafferty completed Lilleshall’s attack with mixed fortunes. Ryan bowled within himself without his usual pace, and conceded 31 runs off his 5 overs. Hayley bowled six overs and took 4 wickets in an impressive display of attacking bowling, with her first wicket coming when she bowled the St Georges No.6 in the 30th over. She quickly followed this dismissal with a second in the 32nd over when she got a ball to move across the batsman who edged the ball into the slips where Charlie Walsh took an excellent catch low down at second slip. In the 36th over she took another wicket when Dan Siverns took an outstanding catch back-pedalling at mid-off. Hayley McCafferty finished with figures of 6 overs; 4 wickets for 27 runs. The St Georges innings ended in the 39th over with nine wickets down after one of their batsmen had earlier retired hurt not long after he was hit by a ball that lifted off a good length trapping him on the finger.
Overall this was an improved performance with the ball on a pitch that assisted the bowlers due to variable bounce, but there were around ten dropped catches and even more chances in the slips, and if these had been taken and fielding had been tighter, the score of 221 for 9 could have been considerably less; 54 runs out of that total were given away in extras.
Following tea, Lilleshall replied to the St Georges total with Charlie Walsh and Isaac Pollard opening the batting and almost immediately Lilleshall were in trouble as Charlie was given out LBW on only the fifth ball of the first over for 0. That bought Thomas Mackriel in to bat and in only the third over Isaac Pollard was bowled having scored 1 run with the score on only 4 as the wickets continued to fall for Lilleshall. James Gant replaced Isaac at the crease but having scored just 7 runs, Thomas was also bowled in an impressive display by the St Georges opening bowler.
That dismissal brought Christian Hine to the crease and he and James Gant put on 21 runs before the next wicket fell. Chris scored 10 runs including 2 boundaries before being bowled with the Lilleshall score on 40. After her impressive bowling display, Hayley McCafferty came out to bat and put on 15 runs with James until she too was bowled having scored 2 runs as the wickets continued to fall. Next to bat was Dan Siverns but he too was dismissed for 0 when he was bowled by a ball that kept low.
Ryan Ball then joined James Gant who was continuing to play very sensibly and the pair added to the score with Ryan scoring 6 singles in a resolute innings before he was caught out just as he was looking to push on. George Smailes batting at No.9 then joined James Gant and the pair both contributed well as they put on 52 runs until James Gant was finally dismissed when he was bowled having scored 23 runs including 1 boundary. This was a very mature innings which showed a lot of determination and high levels of concentration during difficult circumstances.
George Smailes now assumed the leading role as he scored a series of boundaries in a well judged innings which pushed the score on at a crucial time in the innings. Maxwell Jones was run-out for a duck during an unfortunate mix-up at the bowler’s end, but Ryan Dawes came in at No.11 and hit a quick fire 8 runs, including a boundary, before George Smailes was bowled in the 38th over having scored 33 runs including 5 boundaries which brought the innings to a close with 130 runs on the scoreboard.
After a disastrous start to the innings, Lilleshall were unlikely to get near the total posted by St Georges but there were plenty of positives to take from the game which was an entertaining spectacle for those hardy spectators who braved the cold wind. The game was played in a good spirit by all and having batted well and bowled with menace, St Georges deserved their victory but performances from Charlie Walsh, Chris Hine and Hayley McCafferty with the ball; and James Gant and George Smailes with the bat were all very encouraging. All in all, this was a much better performance than our first match at Fordhouses, but still plenty to work at and improve. Man of the Match this week is Hayley McCafferty for an excellent display of well-controlled and accurate bowling and a four wicket haul.
7th May – Lilleshall vs Fordhouses (Away)
Just when you thought the early summer weather would never end the 2011 cricket season started and down came the rain right on queue. However, under cloudy skies after much discussion and contemplation the U15’s first match of the season got underway against Fordhouses Cricket Club in Wolverhampton on the artificial pitch, although from the outset it proved to be a difficult ‘baptism of fire’ for a very young and inexperienced Lilleshall team.
Thomas Mackriel was acting Captain, and with a call of tails won the toss and elected to bat first, and so Thomas and George Smailes looked to get Lilleshall off to the best possible start. After, a quiet first over George hit a six off the first ball of the second over but was dismissed 2 balls later when he was clean bowled by an excellent ball. That brought Matt Evans to the crease and he started confidently playing some excellent shots including a boundary in a partnership with Thomas which began to take shape. Mackriel also hit two boundaries including an excellent straight drive; until in the seventh over when going for a second run, Thomas was run out for 14 by a very accurate throw from Fordhouses.
Next to bat for Lilleshall was James Gant, who batted with great care and skill as he took some time to play himself in, however just when Matt Evans was looking in good touch he too was also bowled as the wickets began to tumble. Next to bat was Chris Hine who was run out without facing a ball, and he was quickly followed by Isaac Pollard who scored a single and was then caught out when the ball looped up into the air. Wickets tumbled fast now in a complete batting collapse with the exception of James Gant who continued to score well.
Charlie Walsh was next to bat although his innings was also short lived as he was dismissed for 1 run as he was caught out at mid-off. Ziyad Azam was next at the crease, but he was bowled for a duck, and Talal Ahmad also found batting tough when he was bowled having scored just 2 runs. Batting at number 10 and 11 respectively, Ryan Ball and Andrew Li were both dismissed caught, without scoring, as Lilleshall were all out in twenty overs of a forty over match for only 64 runs.
James Gant was the only batsman to offer any lasting resistance as he finished on a top score of 19 not out including 2 boundaries. This was not the start we were looking for and everyone was very disappointed with the batting performance.
Fordhouses began their 40 overs in confident style, as Charlie Walsh opened the bowling but conceded 5 runs in the first over. James Gant bowled the second over including 4 wides but on his last ball of the over he produced an accurate delivery to dismiss the Fordhouses opening batsman. Unfortunately, this was to be the only highlight of the bowling display and with such a small total to chase, Fordhouses scored the required number of runs in only 11 overs. Bowling figures were as follows:- Charlie Walsh (4 overs 0 wickets for 15 runs); James Gant (3 overs 1 wicket for 16 runs); George Smailes (2 overs 0 wickets for 5 runs); and Ziyad Azam (2 overs 0 wickets for 30 runs).
Not a great start to the season and definitely one to forget which also means plenty of work to be done at training on Tuesday, but well done to James Gant who was Lilleshall’s man of the match for batting with composure and top scoring as well as for taking the only wicket with the ball.
