Under 9 match reports

[Administrator]

Post your under 9 match reports as replies to this topic.

[Administrator]

Match report from Nicky Buckland:

Rain didn't stop play and it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of the U9s for their first match, a friendly at Wendover. With the exception of a couple of boys this was the first match most of them had played in, and if their enthusiasm and excitiement can be matched by their skill on the pitch we should do well this season.

Due to continuing rainfall the game was shortened to one over each, with Wendover batting first. Our bowling was somewhat erratic in the slippery conditions with several wides and no balls, with the exception of some excellent accurate bowling by Jenson with a debut maiden over. Wendover scored 262 runs and lost two wickets bowled by Jack & Lawrence, leaving us with a total of 250 to chase. We scored a similar number of runs - 258, but lost six of our wickets leaving us with a net score of 222, losing by 28 runs. Sam N had the most notable innings, scoring runs rather than just acquiring them from wides.

Overall it was a very encouraging first match, giving Adrian plenty of ideas of where to focus in training and a useful friendly before the first league match against Bledlow on Wednesday. So well done to Ben, Jenson, Jack, James, Rhys, Oscar, Ollie, Lawrence, Aidan, Lewis, Sam N & Sam C for an enthusiastic start to the season.

[Administrator]

Match report from Nicky Buckland:

For the first league match at home against Bledlow the sun was shining and it resulted in a 73 run victory for Dinton. The team were composed and put in a good all-round performance batting, bowling and fielding. In particular Lawrence took a rare wicket keeping catch behind to win the J2O moment.

Asked to bat first there were excellent performances all the way down, with a fantastic opening partnership showing great understanding from Oscar & Jack. Also particular mention of Jenson (9), Sam N (14) & Ben (10). The advantage of losing few wickets meant a total of 340 with just 30 deductions for a net score of 310 for Bledlow to chase.

Having learned so much from their previous practice match the bowling and fielding was superb. Bledlow lost 7 wickets with experienced players Sam N (2) and Ben (3) excelling once again. Though a resounding victory there will be stronger opposition to come and the confidence from this victory will be good to carry forward for the sterner tests.

Credit is given for debutantes Usman & Oliver which enhances the overall strength of the squad.

Thanks to Graham for scoring (any more help gratefully recieved!) and Adrian for helping with the match report (anyone welcome to do the next one!). Tickets available from Nicky for 'Bolt from the Blue' at Haddenham Village Hall on Friday June 19th, only £8 each - please join us to support the club.

[Nicky B]

The U9 match season came to a close last week as winners of their league, following a thrilling 1 run win at Aston Rowant, a loss at Wendover (where the umpire told our boys they were the most disciplined fielding side he had seen at this age) and Long Crendon conceding the match. This led us to the cup final play off against Cublington at their ground. Cublington won the toss and put us in to bat first. All our pairs played sensibly with good calling and looking for runs at every opportunity. Cublington bowlers were accurate, rarely giving away extras from wides or no balls. Jack hit a four in the first pairing, followed by two fours from Adam, including one which counted as six off a no ball. Jack & Oscar got us off to a good start with 22 runs, Lawrence & Adam then increased the score by another 27, Jenson & Rhys scored 20, James & Oliver added 17 and finally Ben & Sam C rounded off with a further 20 runs. We scored 306 runs, losing 6 wickets during our innings which left us with a net total of 270 from a solid batting performance.

Cublington came in to bat and promptly lost 2 wickets in the first two overs, Jack & Oscar taking one each. Jenson's bowling practice paid off as he and Rhys kept the next pairing to minimal runs. Adam then took the third & fourth wickets, Lawrence the fifth, with run-outs from exceptional fielding. At this stage Dinton spectators were getting nervously excited as Cublington had less than half our score after 10 overs, but it seemed as though word had spread around the village about the quality of the cricket as numbers supporting the home team grew rapidly and heavily outnumbered us! However our players remained focused and determined. Unfortunately we were unable to take any more wickets despite keeping the bowling tight and Cublington went on to win by just 12 runs.

It was a great performance from both teams, very exciting for us to watch and the boys were a real credit to Dinton CC. Adam & Oscar were awarded J20s for their outstanding fielding. Each player in the squad was presented with a medal as runners up, so a mention to all of them for their contribution to reaching the final - Jenson, Ben, Jack, Sam C, Ollie, Aidan, Oliver, Lewis, James, Usman, Rhys, Sam N, Lawrence, Oscar & Adam. We are very proud of them all and look forward to further success next season.

Finally thanks very much to Sue Evans for scoring at this match, to Graham & Anna for scoring at the other matches, to April for lovely chocolate cakes and mostly to Adrian for umpiring, coaching and inspiring the boys to play great cricket. Have a great summer.