5th May 2013

U13 Border League Division 1

First game of the season saw an excellent all-round team performance which resulted in a comfortable win for Bidborough. Holmesdale won the toss and decided to bat first, but were regretting that decision when Myles Lindley and Ben Morley took four early wickets to peg the away side back. They were never really able to recover and good bowling coupled with enthusiastic fielding restricted their total to 82 for 7 wickets. Will Thorne took 2 wickets in one over which were both caught by Fergus McIntosh. Equally good spells from Todd Horton, Matt Jennings and Jack Tawney all helped the Bidborough cause.

A strong opening partnership from Myles Lindley and Harry Dix-Perkin put us on the road to victory. Myles decided that he wanted to end it quickly by smashing five sixes into the tennis courts in an innings of 52 retired. Will Thorne stroked some pleasant shots through the off-side and there was still time for Duncan Ibbotson to be run out off his first ball and Ben Morley to win the game from his first ball.

Having worked on fielding in a session with Jon Langley on Thursday night, it was very encouraging to see one instance where five players were backing up. It just goes to show that a strong catching and fielding performance, helped by having a quality wicketkeeper in Mark Mingard, can ensure this Bidborough side will be competitive in every game.