Actonians Cricket Club

Scorecard

Richmond v Actonians Cricket Club Under 14's Girls on Thu 20 May 2021 at 6.00pm
Actonians Cricket Club Won by 1 run

Match report Players Report
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As the wind picked up on a dull Thursday afternoon, Old Actonians under 14’s prepared to face Richmond. After driving for half an hour and arriving in the freezing cold the team started warming up. Calla brought the blankets and we set up camp. Only for it to be blown away…..so we re-made it with the cricket bags forming a barrier around the edges.

Calla won the toss? We batted first after Ria reassuring us it was the best decision and who wouldn’t listen to Ria? We sent out Maisie who got a few boundaries and Calla to bat first and then it was Ria in! Calla came out and we proceeded to eat a whole can of pringles, whilst discussing our DM’s on Instagram. After about half and hour we were informed that the next two batters were in because Ria was 1 run away from retirement, and so in sent the nobel Sienna and Helly – who smacked a few quick runs! At the end of the innings we had scored 108 runs! Quadrupling our score against Ealing. After reassuring ourselves that it was an unbeatable score we went out to field.

Maisie and Ria opened the bowling and the wind wasn’t really on our side folks. It kept on blowing the ball wide! Mia and CJ were introduced into the attack by our fantastic captain. Mia was bowling when CJ held onto a loopy catch - first wicket down, next ball clean bowled! Mia was now on 2 wickets… Then it was CJ’s turn and she had a caught and bowled – and get this ladies and gentlemen it was Megan and CJ batting and Megan CJ bowling. Marina and Calla then went in to bowl a few overs. A catch was dropped : Calla then put Maisie and Helly on for an over and suddenly it was the 19th over and they were on 98, Ria was bowling and she did an amazing job but they needed 4 off the final over. Calla had no one to turn to but…….CJ. Urgh we were bound to loose. Apparently not, four dot balls then it was 4 off 2. Next ball was hit to Maisie and she managed to get it back in time for them to only get 1 run. Last ball, 3 runs…smacked to Helly…… thrown it to Siena…..OUT!

And there you have it. We were just too good and we won the match! Amazing batting and bowling from everyone and altogether a great team effort and a fantastic victory! Go girls!

From the sidelines
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Last Thursday the under 14 girls were due to play away at Richmond in the picturesque Marble Hill ground by the river Thames in TW1. The previous weeks of Octoberesque weather had us anxiously watching the sky and checking weather forecast : on the day itself the rain fell persistently until three, paused for a break and then returned for a short but intense shower at about five. The rain paused until the early hours of the morning and the game went ahead, but the weather was to still to have an influence on the pattern of the game.

The officials got together to agree some ground rules, in particular that all overs should be bowled from the same end to save bowlers from having to bowl into the wind. Actonians won the toss and, not wanting to chase any sort of total in the post 8.00pm gloom, Calla chose to bat. Your author settled down to score next to my Richmond counterpart and gratefully accepted the offer of a picnic seat from the Richmond manager. It was an eight a side game, with both teams having players who could hit the ball, but the recent rain meant the outfield was like a stodgy pudding and boundaries would be hard to come by. On several occasions my fellow scorer and I had our pencils poised to mark a four only for the ball to be sucked into the grass a few yards short of the rope.

Actonians were fielding a strong side but, but we knew from last year’s under-13 game that Richmond had a side who could quickly take a game away from you. In our first match this year we had been bowled out for 23, so the pre-match team talk emphasised steady scoring and the importance of not losing quick wickets . It was pleasing to see the team follow this plan with the opening partnership taking us to 14 in the fifth over before Calla was run out. Riya and Maisie increased the momentum, taking the score to 71 before they were both dismissed in the 14th over. Some sharp running by Hellie and Siena kept the score ticking over and the innings closed on 108 after 20 overs. Given the unyielding drag of the outfield and overcast conditions this counted as a good, although not unbeatable total.

As the Richmond innings unfolded the tension began to rise and the game started to take on the shape of a classic. Drama on the pitch was matched both by the weather and events on the sidelines. A couple of glimpses of the sun were forgotten as the cloud cover darkened and quickened, and with the wind was gusting at 40 mph and the umpires had to replace the bails on several occasions. The Actonians scorer shivering in his improvised scoring chair gratefully accepted the generous offer of an orange Richmond fleece. For a few minutes the rain returned and Ana (our first aid official) kindly provided umbrella cover to protect the precious scoring sheets. On the pitch Richmond opened with aplomb and reached 43 for no loss after eight overs, Actonians kept their shape in the field and their bowling discipline and were rewarded with three quick wickets. In the 9th over Meghan caught a lobbed shot of Mia’s bowling who then rattled the wickets of the incoming batter for 0. In the next over Meghan took a sharp catch off her own bowling and Actonians were now ahead on points.

On the sidelines the scorers were now actively shivering as the Richmond 4th wicket partnership rebuilt the innings. Sharp running and a couple of boundaries kept them well in the game, but Actonians kept the pressure on and conceded just 7 runs in the 14th to 16th overs. By this stage Richmond needed more than eight an over and Actonians were probably one wicket away from getting on top. But the next two overs saw Richmond score 23 and they now they needed 10 off two overs. The pendulum seemed to have swung on their direction and the pressure was telling on the parents in the ground, with Simon 11111 sending over by over updates to the ‘whatsapp’ audience watching anxiously at home.
At this stage there was a really important incident which encapsulated how Actonians had approached the game. Several of the girls quickly gathered to discuss who should bowl the final two overs, and this illustrated the togetherness they had shown in the field and a willingness to take responsibility for the game. However the situation was still looking poor for the team as they were just a couple of big hits or misfields from losing : Riya bowled the 19th over and kept us in the game, conceding just six runs. This over could have been even better when on the 4th ball, a dramatic mix-up between the Richmond batters saw them both at the bowlers end a foot away from a fielder who had the ball in hand. A simple lob to the wicketkeeper would have seen a critical run-out but, perhaps not quite registering the opportunity which had opened up, Actonians responded with a mix-up of their own and the chance was gone.

For the final over, bowled by Meghan, Simon upped the whatsapp tempo to ball-by-ball updates. Meghan bowled nervelessly with four brilliant balls just outside the offstump with Siena collecting them all (one feature of the game was that Actonians conceded considerably fewer byes). On the fifth ball Richmond found a gap and got a single, but sharp fielding prevented a second run and it was now three for Richmond to win off the final ball. Meghan came in again and the batter turned the ball round the corner, and Hellie raced in and calmly gathered at deep-square leg. Her throw was well-directed as the Richmond batters turned for the second, and Siena gathered and whipped off the bails to complete a runout. Actonians won by one run.

In conditions of unrelenting gloom, cold and wind the girls put in an energetic and resilient performance against a determined and skilful opposition. It was great to see the sensible approach to their batting and the way they encouraged each other in the field and started to take on responsibility for the game. There is still more work to do (isn’t there always) but this really was a stand-out game which made scoring in the teeth-chattering cold worthwhile.
There are a few important thank yous. Richmond were excellent opponents and welcoming hosts. I’m particularly grateful for the loan of the chair and the fleece. Raj deserves a special shoutout for coming , fresh from his exams, to umpire : he also took the team through the pre-match warm-up while the team manager had some full and frank discussions with the parking meter in the car park. Ana turned up to make sure we had first aid cover, and several parents performed important transport duties. A shout-out to Simon for keeping the home audience gripped with the WhatsApp updates.

Thank you all and well done.

Chris - Team Manager


Actonians Cricket Club Under 14's Girls Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
34w 23b 1lb 
for 3 wickets
58
108		        
Calla Richardson Run out  5
Maisie Moxon b Emily 10
Riya Patadia Run out  24
Siena Tracey Not Out  5
Helena Von Roon Not Out  6 1
Marina Collings   2
Megan Cripps-Juster  
Mia Frost  

Richmond Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Emily4.01717.001.75
CJ3.001400.004.67
Abbi3.001600.005.33
Izzy3.00900.003.00
Evie4.002500.006.25
Meghan3.001300.004.33

Richmond Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 25w 4b  
for 4 wickets
31
107 (2.0 overs)		     
CJ ct Meghan 9
Lucy ct Mia 19
Emily b Mia 0
Meghan run out Hellie 27
Catherine Not Out  21
   
   
   

Actonians Cricket Club Under 14's Girls Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Riya Patadia4.001600.004.00
Maisie Moxon4.001700.004.25
Mia Frost3.0028214.009.33
Megan Cripps-Juster4.001000.002.50
Marina Collings2.001300.006.50
Calla Richardson2.00600.003.00
Helena Von Roon1.001300.0013.00

  • Umpire :
    Raj Patadia
  • Scorer :
    Natasha Kirkham