Actonians Cricket Club

Scorecard

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls v Shepherds Bush on Wed 25 May 2022 at 6.00pm
Actonians Cricket Club Won by 59 runs

Match report Match report – Actonians v Shepherds Bush (under 15 girls) – 25 May 2022

*** Pre-amble ***

With this game against Shepherds Bush the u15s season started to get into its stride . It was the team’s second game in a week, and several members of the team had participated in wins for the ladies and under 13s over the weekend.

This was the first year in which Shepherds Bush have played in u15 hardball, although players with long memories may recall playing them in an door tournament in 2019. They had a squad of ten players which suggests they are well on top of their recruitment and organisational game. One of their players had turned up slightly after 5.30 and I heard their parent explain they had gone to the wrong ground as they hadn’t realised they were playing at Old Actonians. They emphasised the Old in Old Actonians which got me pondering the potential existence of a New Actonians, a plain Actonians or maybe even an Ancient Actonians – perhaps these teams played in an alternate timeline which brushed shoulders with ours, or maybe they were a haunting memory of a lost and mythical past.

Still, there was no time for pondering as there was a game to organise and start. A front of wet weather had arrived in the afternoon but passed through by about 4.50, so we knew we were clear to play. The weather could best be described as ‘fresh’ and the temperature dropped several degrees over the course of the game : at least one of the umpires had to acquire an extra layer of clothing to see them through the second innings.

Over the course of the game, a large crowd gathered on the patio, probably larger than we are used to for mid-week games. In particular it was great to see such a good turnout from the Canadian branch of the Old Actonians fan club.

Megan was missing due to exam revision, so we had just four of our squad of u15s i.e Riya, Siena, Calla and Maisie. From the younger age groups, Leah, Hannah, Freya and Alice joined the team. For three of them this was the first hardball under 15 game, but they came into the team on the back of a number of impressive wins in the under 11s and 13s.

*** The Match ***

Shepherds Bush won the toss and elected to bowl. Maisie and Calla opened, and Maisie seemed keen to build on the good form she showed in last week’s Richmond match. She was first out in the 4th over, but not before she had hit a quartet of fours in a total of 17. While 5 lower than her total against Richmond last week, it was scored at a considerably quicker pace and helped get our innings off to a speedy start. Riya came in and was quickly striking fours on both sides of the wicket. After a cautious start Calla hit a couple of fours before being bowled for 11 with the score on 67.

Siena came in at No 4 and was soon demonstrating her trademark quick running. She has had a series of low scores in her last few games, but a couple of quick singles settled her and she began to build a dangerous partnership with Riya. The score went past 100 in the 11th over before Riya was bowled just four short of retirement on 50. By now Siena was striking the ball powerfully into the gaps and reached 32 before she was bowled by the Bush’s strongest bowler (Kyra).

As we moved into the later part of the innings the younger girls kept the score ticking over. Leah anchored these later stages with some smart running and good hitting. Alice looked to have settled in quickly, but was unfortunate to be run out by a brilliant direct hit, while attempting a single to mid-off. Hannah was bowled for 1, also by the strongest bowler, and Freya saw out three balls before Leah was out for 12 in the last over.

The final score of 154 was our biggest in hardball for a couple of years. The Shepherds Bush bowling was steady and accurate and is the sort of bowling we have, in the past, struggled against. So it was great to see us reach such a good score. The older girls drove us to over 100 in just over 11 overs while the younger girls settled in quickly when their turn came, and it was great to see them keeping the innings going in the last few overs.

I have to be honest and admit that the size of our total made me a little complacent. Surely Shepherds Bush wouldn’t come close to that total if we bowled close to what we are capable off. When Kyra hit the first ball for four the complacency scuttled off into his hiding place, pausing only to remind me of some important lessons about hubris. SB’s opening partnership was impressive and took them to 50 runs in the 7th over. Their best batter was on 23 by this point, and while she would have to retire on 50, they probably only needed one other decent innings to bring our total within reach. However Alice got the crucial breakthrough in the 8th over, bowling Kyra for 23. Straightaway the balance of the game shifted as our younger bowlers exerted some control on the scoring. The SB batters were controlled and disciplined, but they were no longer getting the boundaries they needed to keep our total in sight. 60 was reached in the 11th over and 75 in the 15th. As the light started to fade, the game came to an end with Bush on 95-4 at the end of the 20th.

*** In the Final Analysis ***

This was a good performance. The SB side were mainly under 13s but they bowled intelligently and knew how to look after their wickets. A poorer performance by us could have seen us struggle to win this one. The under 13/11s bowled all but 4 of the overs and put in a really effective performance. We gave away 25 in wides/no balls, and while this is still more than we would like it was less than in the Richmond game. Alice was probably the standout bowler with 2 wickets for 17 runs, but Leah was the most economical with 1 wicket for 13. Both Calla and Hannah had expensive first overs as Kyra attacked from the start, but they both responded really well with Hannah conceding just 6 runs off her final three overs. Freya was consistent throughout with 1 for 15.

There were a number of personal bests in the batting. Siena’s 32 was her highest score for Actonians, and I suspect Riya’s 46 might be as well (my records don’t go back to the start of Riya’s career). Leah’s 12 was her highest score in this oldest age group, while Maisie’s 17 was just 5 shirt of the personal best she achieved last week. The younger girls carried the good form they have shown for the age groups teams into the later stages of our innings.

The running and fielding, while still needing work, were better than last week. There were more misfields than we would have liked, but some of them came from players running into field the ball : a mistake coming out of a desire to do well is always better than one coming from a lack of energy.

So well done girls.

A big thank you - to the umpire Keely Juster and the scoring tag-team of Karina and Tracy Ashby, and to Kate who helped out at a crucial stage of the pre-match preparations.
Player of the Match - This is actually quite tricky, as everybody made good contribution. However I am going to go for Siena, as did really well to come off a run of lowish scores to get her highest ever score for Actonians.

Next game – we have the Actonians pitch booked on the 9th, and we will confirm the opposition nearer the date. We also have a game on Sunday 12th June (10.00am) against Harrow at Actonians.

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
5nb 25w 2b  
for 7 wickets
32
154		        
Maisie Moxon ct Bowled Queenie 17 13 4 130.77
Calla Richardson b Salima 11 17 2 64.71
Riya Patadia b Salima 46 25 10 184.00 1
Siena Tracey b Kyra 32 25 5 128.00
Leah Basu Roy b Kyra 12 23 52.17
Alice Stone Run out  2 3 66.67
Hannah Winter b Kyra 1 2 50.0
Freya Cornish Not Out  0 3 0

Shepherds Bush Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Queenie3.0026126.008.67
Beth3.001900.006.33
Kyra4.002137.005.25
Olivia1.00800.008.00
May1.001200.0012.00
Salima3.0024212.008.00
Sophie2.0014114.007.00
Martha1.001100.0011.00
Bethany2.001500.007.50

Shepherds Bush Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 21w 4b 1lb 
for 4 wickets
30
95 (20.0 overs)		     
Kyra b Alice 23 3
Queenie ct Riya Bld Freya 15 1
Olivia b Alice 3
Beth Not Out  18 1
May b Leah 0
Salima Not Out  6
   
   

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Calla Richardson4.002100.005.25
Leah Basu Roy4.0013113.003.25
Alice Stone4.001728.504.25
Hannah Winter4.002200.005.50
Freya Cornish4.0015115.003.75

  • Umpire :
  • Scorer :
    Karina Lo Dico