Actonians Cricket Club

Scorecard

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls v Eastcote on Wed 20 Jul 2022 at 6.00pm
Actonians Cricket Club Won by 1 wicket

Match report On 20th July the under 15s played out their final league game of 2022 against Eastcote. The record-breaking heatwave of the previous week had broken to be replaced by low and gloomy cloud, with a constant threat of rain. Neither team was in the frame for the league play-offs, and so with nothing hanging on the outcome this promised to be fairly low-key affair.

But (*) there was a wider and slightly melancholy context, as this was final game in which we would see the all of the current under 15 cohort play together for Actonians juniors (**). For several years this group of players have been part of the fabric the junior section, playing in some great games along the way. While there are fewer of them than a couple of years ago there is no doubt this represents a major milestone for the club.

And the game itself responded and rose magnificently to the occasion, as the two teams played out a nerve-racking contest of high quality and drama. For tension it matched the 2021 ‘Mordor Match’ against Richmond and the ‘win in the dark’ at Bushy Park in 2020 (***), and will almost certainly be assigned ‘classic’ status (****). Eastcote batted first and played well to reach a solid but unspectacular target which left Actonians as slight favourites at the interval. Eastcote then defended this total tenaciously, skilfully and (at times) brilliantly : and as the clock moved towards 8.00pm and as the lights shone brightly on the Gunnersbury Drive, the side from the north-west (of London) seemed to be just a few minutes away from a well-deserved win. But the lower section of the Actonians batting order swung the game round with a menu of skill and determination laced with a couple of side-servings of good fortune : as the clocked moved towards 8.30 the score clicked through to 90 and Actonians had claimed an unforgettable and almost unbelievable win by 1 wicket.

The Eastcote innings was slow but steady throughout. A couple of early wickets saw them on 27-2 in the 7th and a couple more departures at this stage would have put Actonians well on top. The 3rd wicket added 50 runs and with four overs to go, and signs that Eastcote were starting to accelerate, a total of more than 100 looked on the cards. However the top-scorer was well caught by Leah off Emma and this kicked-off a rapid collapse as Actonians grabbed 6 wickets for just 12 runs in four overs. The Eastcote innings closed on 89 all out in 2o overs. The Actonians bowling was consistently good throughout the innings, and at times had a real threat, with no bowler conceding more than five an over. It was noteworthy and pleasing that we bowled only 6 wide/no ball deliveries : in some games this season we have bowled as many as 20, and this was to prove an important factor in the outcome. But the real standout feature of this innings was the fielding. Throughout the last couple of seasons this feature of our game has been variable in quality, the occasional spectacular catch and runout being offset by a lack of consistency and focus. It would be going too far so say that we hit the fielding heights this time around but we were definitely very, very good. Maisie set the ball rolling with a difficult high catch in the second over, and thereafter we applied most of the basic fielding disciplines (backing up and so on) and fielded with a genuine sense of purpose. Leah and Emma both also took catches and Valeria, Leah and Riya all achieved excellent runouts. Siena worked smartly with her fielders, and Leah came close to getting two more runouts to her name. Most pleasingly we saw plenty of energetic chasing of the shots hit to the boundary : Abbie and Valeria had a particularly impressive spell in the later stage of the innings where they cooperated to save a number of potential fours.

Morale was understandably high at the interval. We had a strong batting line-up and had already scored more than 89 on 4 out of six games this season. Although the cloud was casting a gloomy pall over the ground, we were looking well set. However Eastcote bowled with real purpose right from the off and it quickly became clear that achieving a target of 90 was going to be a real job of work. Valeria had her bails clipped by a straight one in the second over, while Siena hit a trademark four and was then bowled off her 4th delivery. Maise had opened and looked reasonably solid but was bowled in the 5th with the score on 32. Actonians were well ahead of the required run rate at this stage, but the tension continued to ratchet as it became apparent that Eastcote had decided to bring two of their strongest bowlers on as first and second change. Just 12 runs came from the next six overs and with Eastcote claiming two more wickets we were now 44-5 off 11. Abbie had been bowled shortly after Maisie, and Emma was then dramatically run out with the score on 35. The Eastcote bowlers were quick and could swing and cut the ball, and a quick glance at the bright lights on Gunnersbury Drive told us that the light was quickly ebbing and would only cause more problems for incoming batters. As a result Leah and Calla were playing and missing on a regular basis and the odds were quickly moving against us. But this partnership stemmed the flow of wickets and gradually brought us back into the game. The 12th over saw us gather 8 runs and the stranglehold eased ever so slightly. Leah was then bowled at the start of the 13th with the score on 52, bring Riya to the wicket. The captain’s first shot went high in the sky to deep-square leg putting Actonians hearts in mouths, but the ball fell wide of the fielder and two overs later we were 20 runs to the good with Riya on 14.

We now needed 18 runs off 6 overs which was a comfortable run rate, but having only two wickets left meant we had little room for error. Having found runs easy to come by Riya now found the gaps were disappearing as she hit three singles to the same fielder at deep mid-off. Calla was striking and missing in equal measure, a reflection of just how difficult the light had become: when she was bowled for 15 at the start of the 16th, having played a crucial role in bringing us back into the match, we were 12 runs short of the target with just one wicket left.

Megan was the last player in. Just over a year ago she bowled the final over which helped us claim a famous win at Richmond, and she was to play the final role this time round. A no-ball and three dot balls and then Megan got a four to third man. Six needed off four wickets, but still just one wicket. I’m not sure the coaching staff would have coped with the tension if we had had to use the full four overs, but a couple of no balls and quick singles and it was 90 for 7. Actonians, having seemed out of the game just half an hour before, had won.

*** Aftermath ***

As final games for a cohort go, this was as good as it could have been. We put in one of our best fielding performances and the bowling was consistently good. The opposition were sporting opponents and can count themselves unlucky not to have win, having batted sensibly and defended their total brilliantly. The later overs saw the tension hit almost unbearable levels as our batting rearguard fought wonderfully well, in demanding conditions, to rescue a game which seemed to be going away from us. Even the weather obliged, with the darkening cloud creating a sense of occasion while the rain kindly agreed to hold off until an hour or so after we had finished.

A roll-call of congratulations to each player:

Valeria – accurate bowling and energetic and decisive fielding in the deep
Maisie – a brilliant high catch
Siena - one of her best wicket-keeping performance, and contributed to three runouts
Emma – great catch and a wicket
Abbie – excellent fielding in the deep which deserved more reward in terms of catches/run-outs
Calla – got the wicket her accurate bowing deserved. Held the innings together in difficult conditions and helped set-up our final charge to the finish
Leah – a catch, a run-out, and helped Calla stem the flow of wicket
Riya – 3 wickets for 10 runs, and a match-winning innings
Megan – knowing that she couldn’t afford to lose her wicket, a nerveless innings saw us over the line.


Honour Board

A big thank you - to Tracy Ashby who scored, to Kevin Mahoney who umpired, and to the occasion as a whole;
Top Moments – too many to mention;
Player of the Match - Several players could have won it this time around. However the award goes to Calla for excellent bowling and for holding the innings together at a crucial stage.

Footnotes

* It isn’t good grammatical form to start sentences with a But, and I have done it four times in the report. But on some occasions, the drama of the occasion quite simply demands it.

** - There maybe some under 17 matches in the next couple of years. Although these will be closer to 'senior games in waiting''.

*** Match reports for these games are here
https://oldactonianscricket.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_761010/Under-14s-Girls-v-Richmond-20-May-2021.aspx
https://oldactonianscricket.hitssports.com/scorecard/fixtureID_747327/Under-14s-Girls-v-Bushy-Park-14-Aug-2020.aspx

**** The definition of a classic is inevitably rather subjective, but on any reasonable criteria I think this game can be assigned that status.


Eastcote Batting
Player name RunsMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
2nb 12w 1b 1lb 
for 8 wickets
16
89 (20.0 overs)		     
Mary ct  Mxon Bowled Richardson 1
Ayina b  Patadia 13
Tiana ct  Basu-Roy Bowled Weel 30
Shanaya Not Out  27
Shreya run out  (Barrocas La Femina) 0
Zara run out  (Patadia) 2
Suraya run out  (Basu-Roy) 0
Isha b  Patadia 0

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Leah Basu Roy4.002100.005.25
Calla Richardson4.0022122.005.50
Megan Cripps-Juster4.011600.004.00
Riya Patadia4.001033.332.50
Valeria Barrocas La Femina2.00800.004.00
Emma Weel2.0010110.005.00

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls Batting
Player Name RMB4s6sSRCatchesStumpingsRun outs
extras
TOTAL :
14nb 13w 3b 2lb 
for 6 wickets
32
90		        
Maisie Moxon b  Shreya 7 15 46.67 1
Valeria Barrocas La Femina b  Isha 1 2 50.0 1
Siena Tracey b  Tiana 4 4 1 100
Emma Weel run out  (Suraya) 7 18 1 38.89 1
Abbie Winter b  Shreya 0 3 0
Calla Richardson b  Isha 15 30 50.0
Leah Basu Roy b  Suraya 2 12 16.67 1 1
Riya Patadia Not Out  18 10 180.0 1

Eastcote Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Tiana3.4028128.007.64
Isha3.0022211.007.33
Shreya4.00522.501.25
Suraya3.0013113.004.33
Aanya2.001100.005.50
Shanaya1.00600.006.00

  • Umpire :
    Kevin Mahoney
  • Scorer :
    Tracy Ashby