Actonians Cricket Club

Scorecard

Ealing v Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls on Wed 28 Jun 2023 at 6.00pm
Actonians Cricket Club Won by 41 runs

Match report *** Match Report – Ealing (U15) – 28 June ***

On a grey but benign late-June evening, Actonians won this enthralling edition of the ‘Gunnersbury Drive Classic’ by 41 runs. The final margin gives a slightly misleading picture of the competitiveness of the game. Ealing were in a strong position for most of the game, but some dogged batting from the second half of our order, and a determined and aggressive performance by the bowling unit saw Actonians home.

*** The build-up and the game ***

The several weeks of warm weather meant that rain had stopped registering as a threat to our games, but at lunchtime we were slightly perturbed to see a slight sprinkling of rain. Thankfully, the rain didn’t take hold and come 5.00pm it was obvious that the game would be rain-free. The sky was overcast and there was a feeling amongst the crowd that the side bowling second would have a potential advantage the longer the game lasted.

Getting a side out has been a struggle for the under 15s this season. But we had a full complement of eight, and with four under 12s in the side we would have had an average age of about 13. They were clearly raring to go, and at 5.45 Riya won the toss and chose to bat first.

Ealing took the first initiative. Two LBWs in the first three overs meant both Riya and Abbie were back in the pavilion before we had scored 20 runs. Ealing always have a strong batting line-up and we knew we needed to post a big total, so this was a start we could have done without.

Valeria joined Emma at the crease, saw off several excellent deliveries and then hit a four and a three to give signs she might be in for a high-scoring innings. A new bowler came on who was slower than the openers and who had an unusual action which was (for older viewers) similar to that of Mike Proctor. This seemed to deceive Valeria and she was immediately bowled.
Alice came in and was determined to repeat the big hitting she which had been successful in earlier games against Richmond and Shepherds Bush. However she skied one to square leg which was calmly held by the fielder : with the score at 45-4, the side from the south end of the Drive were in danger of careering off the road.

Emma and Sienna steadied the ship, while also ensuring the innings didn’t lose momentum. They yielded comparatively few dot balls, made good use of the gaps and ran sharply. As the innings moved into its later stages, Emma hit three fours in quick succession and looked like she might achieve our first 50 of the season. However she was bowled as was Sienna a few balls later : so with the score at 100 Freja and Eydie came together for our last wicket partnership.

Eydie and Freja only scored 4 runs off the bat in these last four overs, but their stand was to prove to be of considerable significance. Ealing’s bowling and fielding lost some of its earlier sharpness and they conceded a glut of extras. Eydie persevered through a nasty bang on the leg and both players took the opportunity for quick runs whether on or off the bat. By the end of the innings this partnership had added nearly 30 runs to take our total to 128. This wasn’t a huge score, but it was enough for the odds to be roughly evens at the break.

The Ealing came out to bat at 7.30ish. Run-rate was rarely a problem for them, and as a result their innings posed a simple question : could they get to 129 runs before Actonians had taken all of their wickets? Actonians knew, from London Youth Games and Middlesex training, that Ealing had several good batters and that they would need to hold their nerve as (when expected) Ealing got above the required run rate.

Riya set the tone with a first over which yielded just one run, and Alice bowled one of the Ealing openers in the second. Ealing were 5 for 1 and Actonians had made the start they needed. Ealing rallied and the runs started to flow : Riya had conceded 9 off the first four balls of the 5th over but then found her sights to bowl the other opener. 30 for 2 after 5 overs.
Sienna came onto bowl and her speed meant no let-up for the batters. Valeria was second change and got a wicket with her first delivery, but a single then brought the Ealing No 3 on strike and she proceeded to use the pace of the ball to score three fours in a row. 53 for 3 off 7 overs.

Actonians continued to bowl aggressively and with vocal support from the field, but Ealing took the extras when they came and used the gaps as effectively as had Emma and Sienna. 70 for 3 off 10 overs.

The crucial moment came at this point. The No 3 was well set on 27 and looked capable of winning the game, when Emma drew her into a drive which was skied to mid-off. Riya was underneath it and Actonians held their breath and then whooped as the captain took a careful but comfortable catch. Actonians now had a 58 run cushion and needed three wickets, with all of the stronger batters back in the pavilion. Ealing did not go quietly and kept the ball moving, but they now found runs harder to come by as Actonians probed the stumps. Eydie marshalled the back-stop area and Abbie and Valeria combined sharply to get a runout. Valeria bowled the number 7 and with one wicket left, Ealing’s required run rate had crept back up to 6 an over with the light starting to fade. Alice bowled the 14th and, with the first ballof her over, knocked back the stumps. Actonians had won by 41 runs.

*** In the final analysis ***

Although the winning margin of 41 runs seems quite convincing, this really was a very close and exciting game. Two really good sides fought with determination and, it has to be said, in a good spirit. The balance shifted several times, and sometimes it swung back and forth within a handful of deliveries : Valeria’s first wicket seemed to have turned the game towards Actonians, but three fours later in the over swung it back to Ealing. From an umpiring point of view, the struggle between the Actonians bowlers and the top half of the Ealing batting order was top notch stuff, and a pleasure to watch.

Emma and Sienna’s calmness in playing us out of the perilous start deserves considerable praise, and is something to aspire to when we are in the same situation in the future. The determination and care of Eydie and Freja at the end deserves a big mention. Those extra 30 runs were a bonus which put Ealing under more pressure than seemed likely when we were 100-6.

The bowling attack conceded 21 extras, which was slightly higher than we would have liked, but well down on previous games. More importantly the whole unit bowled with real menace and aggression, and I think this was one of the best bowling performances I have seen by an Actonians girls side in the last 4 years. It was an excellent effort to have bowled out a side as good as Ealing for 87.

The fielding wasn’t perfect, but was sharper than I would have seen in the equivalent match a year ago. We had a catch, a run-out and a couple of near misses which is always good to see. The noise in the field deserves a mention. It always seems louder when you are umpiring, but it seemed particularly lively last night. Plus they managed to combine encouragement with constructive criticism when things didn’t always work out : well done.

*** Mentions ***

Emma for holding the innings together with an excellent 38.
Eydie and Freja – their dogged last wicket partnership added about 30 runs, which put us in a strong position going into the second innings.
The bowling unit – some extras, but quick and (mostly) accurate bowling put the opposition under enough pressure to give us the wickets we needed
Tracy Ashby for scoring
Kate for stepping in to run the team
The two teams for a competitive and friendly game

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls Batting
Player Name RunsMB4s6sSRCtStRo
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 44w 12b 3lb 
for 6 wickets
63
128		        
Riya Patadia lbw Gunmeet 0 1
Emma Weel b Siya 38 6
Abbie Winter lbw Gunmeet 1
Valeria Barrocas La Femina b Siya 7 1 1
Alice Stone ct Lilly Bld Roxanna 1
Sienna Walji b Hannah 14 1
Eydie Field Not Out  3
Freja Davies-Baker Not Out  1

Ealing Bowling

Player nameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Gunmeet3.00522.501.67
Lilly3.002100.007.00
Roxanna2.0014114.007.00
Siya3.001929.506.33
Lucy3.001400.004.67
Ahilya2.001500.007.50
Joanna2.001000.005.00
Hannah2.0015115.007.50

Ealing Batting
Player name RMB4s6sSR
extras
TOTAL :
4nb 17w 9b 3lb 
for 7 wickets
33
87 (13.1 overs)		     
Roxanna b Riya 7 1
Lilly lbw Alice 0
Gunmeet ct Riya, Bld Emma 27 5
Lucy lbw Valeria 7 1
Siya run out Valeria 2
Joanna Not Out  7
Hannah b Valeria 4 1
Ahilya lbw Alice 0

Actonians Cricket Club Under 15's Girls Bowling

Player NameOversMaidensRunsWicketsAverageEconomy
Riya Patadia4.0018118.004.50
Alice Stone2.101125.505.08
Sienna Walji2.001000.005.00
Valeria Barrocas La Femina3.0023211.507.67
Emma Weel2.0013113.006.50

  • Umpire :
    TBC
  • Scorer :
    TBC