Thongsbridge Under 13 The season so far!!
The Under 13s have had a super season (so far), getting to the semi finals of the cup competition narrowly losing by one run to the eventual cup winners and currently joint top of the league with three other clubs.
Meltham - Won
The season started at Meltham and this was our first taste of the 11 a side game, having been in the 8 a side section in previous seasons. We batted first posting a total of 91 for 7 from our 20 overs. Out of our top order Max Berry hit a very stylish 19 but our score was boosted by fine performances from our number 8 and 9 batters, Leo Berry, who retired on 26 not out and Edward Heald who was 14 not out.
Meltham set off like a train and were cruising at 40 for 1 when Thomas Lodge came on, bowling superbly to take 4 wickets for 2 runs. Two smart stumpings from wicket keeper Richard Marshall. Tight bowling from the other boys restricted Meltham to 73
Holmfirth Won
Again batting first we put in an excellent performance. Cameron Sanderson 25, Max Berry 27 and Richard Marshall 25 all retired with David Wagstaff 15 not out getting us to a very good total of 112 for 4.
Holmfirth replied with 46 for 8 in their 20 overs with tight bowling throughout the team. Leo Berry was the pick of our bowlers with 3 for 4with Josh Garlick and Jack Myall both picking up a wicket. Excellent fielding throughout the team put pressure on the opponents and produced 2 run outs.
Delph and Dobcross Cup Won
To the first round of the cup the Thongsbridge convoy headed over the Pennines for Delph. Batting first, runs were not easy to come by and at the 13th over we had only scored 36 for the loss of 4 wickets. Max Berry came in and scored a quick fire 26 with too sixes and one four in his innings, when only one other boundry was hit during this game.
Delph were restricted to 18 for 7 from their 20 overs with Jack Atkinson, Jack Myall and David Wagstaff picking up a couple of wickets apiece.
This was the game we discovered our top scorer Melissa Atkinson. Melissa was keen to learn how to score and she has done a brilliant job ever since. If there is a prize for the neatest scorebook then we will definitely be top of the league. Thanks and well done Melissa.
Broad Oak Lost
The pre-season favourites Broad Oak were next to visit Thongsbridge. This was our first experience of batting second and chasing a total. Broad Oak batted first and made a total of 95 for 9 with David Wagstaff producing outstanding bowling figures of 5 wickets for 1 run, including Hat Trick and clean bowling 4 batsmen.
At 25 for 0 from 5 overs and 35 for 1 from 8 overs our reply was going really well. Unfortunately the runs dried up with some tight bowling for Broad Oak restricting us to just 7 runs from the next 5 overs. However retirements at 25 from Max Berry and 28 from brother Leo who produced a brilliant innings late on to get us right back on track ably supported by Tom Parr 12 not out. Unfortunately we fell just 12 runs short finishing on 83 for 4.
Unfortunately our Mr Motivator Barry Marshall was away this day had Barry been around he may just have made the difference in the middle of our innings.
Kirkheaton Cup Won
The second round of the cup saw last years Under 11 cup winners Kirkheaton coming to Thongsbridge. We batted first and posted our highest score of the season to date, 122 for the loss of 6 wickets. For the forth match in succession Max Berry retired on 25 with Richard Marshall top scoring on 29 and Leo Berry 28.
An excellent all round performance in the field restricted Kirkheaton to 88 for 9 in 19 overs (they had one retirement). Wickets were shared around this day and again a couple of run outs underpinning the quality of our fielding display.
Thurstonland Won
93 for 5 was the score we posted having batting first. Jack Atkinson hit his first 25 of the season and once again Mr Consistency Max got another 25 under his belt.
Playing his first game of the season following injury, Billy Prady burst back onto the scene with excellent figures of 3 wickets for 1 run. Jack Atkinson also had a return of 2 wickets for 7 runs and a wicket apiece from Cameron Sanderson, Thomas Lodge, Edward Heald. It was nice to see Luke Beaumont playing in his first game of the season taking a wicket. Thurstonland were very chatty in this game, but our boys let the cricket do the talking!!
Kirkburton Lost
A visit to Kirburton on the artificial wicket was next up for the team. Kirkburton batted first and their top order had some big lads who could all strike the ball very hard. The first three batters all retired on 25, 26 and 28 respectively. Number 6 also made 25 and with two others into the teens they made by far the biggest total scored against us of 153 for 4 wickets.
A big ask to chase 153 but we made a very spirited reply. We got pretty close considering this is one of the strongest teams in the league making 123 for 5 with Cameron Sanderson retiring on 25, Richard Marshall making 24. Once again Max Berry retired on 28 this is the 6th consecutive innings Max has hit 25 (come on Mr Barnard, what does he have to do to stake a claim for a place in the Lords Taverners team!!)
All round there was some excellent batting in this game and the ball was struck so hard by players on both sides just ask Adel Garlick she took a direct hit on the ankle from a 6.
Armitage Bridge Won
Having lost our last league game it was back to winning ways when we hosted Armitage Bridge. Armitage Bridge batted first and made a total of 75 for 5. Max Berry finished with bowling figures of 2 wickets for 8 runs with Billy Prady, Jack Atkinson and Luke Beaumont all taking a wicket each.
Chasing this modest total, our batters knocked off the target in 15 overs with Richard Marshall retiring on 27 and Billy Prady scoring 23.
Augustinians Cup Won
We arrived at Laund Hill on the Friday evening one week later than the scheduled date for this cup game. The ground was very wet and the wicket was equally squelchy following the torrential rain of previous days. However the sun was shining and it was game on and a big game at that being only one game away from the prestigious semi/finals day. We batted first and hit a very creditable score of 98 for 4. Due to the wet conditions, runs and particularly boundaries werent easy to come by, however, our batsmen ran well between the wickets picking up all the available singles and twos. The bulk of our runs came from Cameron Sanderson 25, Richard Marshall 24 and Max Berry finishing his knock with a big 6 to retire on 30.
Augustinians reply fell well short on 42 all out. Tom Parr 2 for 6, Josh Garlick 2 for 3 and a wicket each for Jack Myall, Jack Atkinson and David Wagstaff. However the heart of the Augustinians innings was ripped out with a fine spell of leg spin bowling from Thomas Lodge who had a return of 3 wickets for 2 runs. A great win and we are in the semi final.
Kirkheaton Won
Up to Kirkheaton after another Saturday night of heavy rain. Whilst the Kirkheaton officials are preparing a wicket, one of our boys (who will remain nameless) warming up in the nets hits a ball straight through the rear windscreen of Julian Garlicks car. The U13 wicket was unfit so the decision was taken to play on the U11 wicket. As the U11s only play on a 20 yard strip, it was agreed to bowl from one end. This worked fine once the umpires got the hang of changing ends after each over. We batted first and made our target score of 100 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Max Berry got his 25 with good contributions from Cameron Sanderson 23, Richard Marshall and Leo Berry both scoring 15.
Kirkheaton made a spirited reply but were never really on target due to tight bowling and good fielding. Leo took 2 wickets with single wicket contributions from Jack Atkinson and Jack Myall along with Josh Garlick, Tom Lodge and Max Berry.
Another 3 points in the bag, or so we thought! - unfortunately, not enough games in our section were completed for this result to count.
Almondbury Wes - Cup Semi Final
9.00am at Kirkburton was the plan for meeting on this big occasion. The crowds were gathering and supporters were out in force from both sides. Our team photo was taken and the neutral umpires were in place when skipper Cameron won the toss and put the opposition into bat. The team back in the dressing room took final pep talks from Barry and Andrew and out we went into the semi final. What a game this turned out to be. Almondbury Wes scored 95 for 6 (a score at half time the two Thongsbridge coaches were fairly happy with). Jack Atkinson took 2 for 7, Josh Garlick, Jack Myall, Cameron Sanderson and Max Berry all taking a wicket. Not surprisingly nerves and a new ball which swung like mad resulted in us bowling 13 wides in the innings.
We came into bat knowing that the Wes would bowl and field tight and that runs would not be easy to get. Playing in the centre of a big field boundaries would also not be easy to come by. Taking the singles, twos etc was vital with good backing up and calling critical. Max Berry made 25 (again Mr Barnard present) with great support from all the other batters including Leo (20) and Jack Atkinson (15). Nerves and a new ball equally affected the Almondbury Wes bowlers as they also bowled 13 wides in the innings. This match could have gone either way and we needed 5 to win off the last over. Credit to the bowler who held his nerve under such pressure we suffered three wickets in the final over and fell one run short of the target.
What a shame - so close yet so far! A brilliant performance and losing to the eventual winners our boys were a credit to the club.
Almondbury Wes Won
Four days on from the semi final defeat it was our league fixture re-arranged from the previous Sunday. Once again the Wes batted first and posted a score of 90 for 2 with Josh Garlick getting our two wickets. Our reply was solid and with 25 from Max Berry, 24 from Cameron Sanderson, 12 from Richard Marshall and not out batsmen Leo Berry 17 and Jack Atkinson 9 we passed their total reaching 92 for 2 in the 19th over. This was a sweet and well deserved victory after the disappointment of Sunday. This also took Thongsbridge above Almondbury Wes in the league.
Denby Dale Won
Away at Denby Dale we arrived early and surveyed the ground from the main road the wicket looked so wet. On entering the changing rooms we were met with a picture of the ground taken from the BBC website a couple of weeks earlier and the ground was a lake completely under water. We started on time and batted first. Scoring was not easy and the wicket was very unpredictable some popping up off a length and others keeping low. We made 78 for 9 with Max top scoring on 18 and good support late on in the innings from David Wagstaff (9) and Edward Heald (10).
The wet pitch got even wetter in the second innings. Throughout the innings Denby Dale e on the run rate of 4 an over. As the morning wore on the rain got heavier making it difficult for all players. The ball was slippery yet Jack Atkinson took three good catches but a match winning performance of 4 wickets for 4 runs from David Wagstaff including his second hat trick of the season was enough to finish off the gutsy reply from Denby Dale. Home for a hot bath with three more points in the bag. Oh for summer we so look forward to playing in shirtsleeves, sunshine and on hard wickets.