The U9's played their third league game and it would seem the boys are getting a taste of victory with their second win in a row this time over joint league leaders, Welwyn Garden City.
Put into bat under cloudy skies, which offered something to the bowlers, WCC smacked a very impressive 325 for the loss of just two wickets with WGC doing well but falling short ending with 274 for 4.
William and Cameron opened the batting showing due care and attention, keeping their wicket intact and putting 25 runs on the board. Tom and Ethan followed in similar vein running well, scoring a few quick boundaries and putting on a further 26 runs. Ryan and Louis also got in on the act striking some lovely boundary bound shots moving the score on to 280 and we still one more pair to play.
The work done by his team mates meant that captain Joe and Jack (who that evening was due to collect a prize for rugby) were able to enjoy themselves. Joe's knock included 6 boundaries and with both of them running very well between the wickets this pair put on a whacking 45 runs to take the team score to a seasons best of 325 for 2.
Our bowlers and fielders then set about their task showing that the practice they have put in on Sunday mornings, around the house and in the garden was paying off very well. Our fielding was excellent - bodies behind the ball, chasing hard and backing up on overthrows - so much so you may have thought we had practised it the previous Sunday!
With Joe setting the field and encouraging his bowlers, William and Cameron opened the bowling kept the runs down and set the trend for the other bowlers. Ethan and Tom came in next and showed really quality bowling a good line and length. Ethan's first ball was banged straight back to him and with the batsman already in mid run, Ethan fielded well and whipped off the bails for our first wicket. With Tom's off spin working very well as always this pair restricted the batsmen to 13 runs.
Louis and Ryan followed and again accurate bowling meant extras were kept to a minimum and putting pressure on the batmen for runs. As the visitors tried to force the pace with quick singles this lead to a couple more run outs and put the visitors in a spot of trouble.
Joe and Jack then completed the bowling and on Joe's fourth bowl the accuracy that all the boys showed paid off with a fine wicket - hitting middle stump. The pair saw out the final few overs and WCC could celebrate with another fine victory.
Once again, thank you to the supporters who you could tell were really getting into it, cheering and encouraging all the way. Bottles of wine are apparently on order next time, which may make for an even more vocal support!