Richmond U11A march on in the Middlesex Cup after victory over Twickenham

The sun was out and everyone was in high spirits on a lovely Friday evening at ODP as Richmond U11A took on Twickenham in the Cup. Richmond U11A captain Finn won the toss and opted to bat first. Ollie and Charlotte opened the innings and played solidly for the first few overs against a steady but accurate bowling attack before Charlotte was unfortunate to be run out by a direct throw while chasing a quick single. Finlay came to the crease and quickly upped the ante with a couple of trademark blows to the boundary before losing his wicket to a straight ball that got through. The Twickenham bowling continued to be tight and was proving difficult to get away and with the run rate becoming a worry, Finn decided to lead from the front and have a go but unfortunately also lost his middle stump to a low straight delivery. This left Richmond U11A on 50 for 3 after 13 overs and with the coaches beginning to bite their nails on the boundary. Next in was Hugo who quickly settled himself with a few well taken singles. He and Ollie then proceeded to build a steady partnership, running well between the wickets and punishing the bad balls when they came.The run rate increased and the two of them added another 54 runs before Hugo was caught in the final over for 18 while trying to attack. Karan joined Ollie at the crease and ably helped to see out the innings. The final tally for Richmond U11A a respectable 111-4, with Ollie having carried his bat and not out on 40.

Conscious that their total was by no means unassailable, Richmond U11A took the field in determined manner and set about the Twickenham batting with energy and gusto. Chris quickly dispatched two Twickenham batsmen within his first over, both bowled middle stump – an outstanding effort – and Findlay bowled with pace and menace to bowl out a further two batsmen in his first 3 overs. At 26 for 4 after 5 overs Twickenham were rattled and Richmond U11A had the momentum. Finn and Arjun took over the bowling attack and kept things nice and tight, Arjun delivering a very tidy maiden in his first over. Ollie and Nikhil then followed up with a couple of overs each, both taking a wicket and displaying good pace and accuracy. Not to be left out, Finlay then took a couple more wickets with some fine bowling, before Chris returned to take a third wicket on the day and cap an extremely impressive bowling performance. Twickenham were on the ropes at 79-9 but managed to hold on to complete their 20 overs, resulting in a deserved victory for Richmond U11A by 32 runs.

Despite some occasionally lax fielding and a few runs given away through unnecessary overthrows, this was a satisfying performance by Richmond U11A’s and the team felt rightly pleased with themselves. Ollie went home with the match ball for anchoring the batting and playing a fine innings, but a special mention must go to Chris for his 3 wickets and by extension to all the boys & girl for a good all round team performance. Well done all!