Ropley U9s v Andover C Match Report, 11th July 2010, Home
This was a close and tight match in which Ropley U9s were pitted against Andover’s U11 girls’ team. Ropley lost
the toss and batted first. Any fears that the Ropley U9 team would be slaughtered by a more mature and physically
much bigger team were soon allayed by Ropley’s tight and composed performance. Patrick & Myles led the way
with a confident batting performance to score an extremely useful 25 runs against very good bowling and fielding.
Toby T and Toby W added another 21 runs with three boundaries between them & losing the first wickets to strong
bowling. Will and Alex came next and finished one more
wicket down but 12 runs up, the result of good batting
and sensible and excellent calling. Theo and Louise finished off the job extremely well against tough bowling too.
Theo scored three boundaries and Louise saved the pair from a run out by authoritative calling only to then feel so
empowered that she decided to go for a super-duper shot, which involved swinging her bat around behind her with
extreme vigour to knock all bails and stumps to the ground!
Then Ropley came into bowl, conscious that they could not afford to throw away runs by weak bowling and careless
fielding. And they didn’t. They all bowled to the best of their abilities, Toby T and Myles taking a wicket a piece and
Theo ending the innings on a very tidy maiden over. Will made a good catch and Toby W and Louise contributed
their excellent fielding to the wicket keeper’s two stumpings. Alex was a focused and effective back-stop and Patrick
worked hard to protect Ropley from boundaries being breached. Ropley had clearly learned their lessons from last
week’s loss and gave nothing away. They were a confident, mature & supportive team today, who richly deserved
their win against a similarly confident, mature & able team.
Ropley U9s match v Twyford, 4th July
This was an extremely close game and a good lesson for a team, who has done fantastically but perhaps had
become a little too casual from winning so many games in a row. Twyford won by 10 runs, 255 to 245. Ropley
batted first & scored more runs than Twyford, 105 to their 95...but we lost more wickets, Ropley's 12 to their
eight. Some of Twyford's wickets taken were well earned from strong bowling and very tight fielding. A good
three + wickets, however, were given away by Ropley by inexperienced calling and a greed for slogging rather
than defensive batting. Still, as always, there were many positives from the team: Toby T took the lion's share of
wickets by bowling one, catching two and stumping one; Theo E bowled two batsmen out & Joe bowled one
out. Theo E & Louise had a very strong batting partnership at the end and generally the fielding was very good
with a few casual moments.
June 27th Ropley U9s rematch v. Trojan Bs (Away)
In scorching heat Ropley
U9s did Ropley CC proud once again by playing a different configuration of
Trojan Bs
as a friendly and winning 326 to 239. Ropley opened the batting, having lost the toss. Ropley’s batting was
excellent. The two Tobys opened powerfully; Louise and Theo – as last pair – finished with a flourish and Myles,
Ben, Alex and Joe made good and steady progress in between. Toby W and
Theo both hit five boundaries
apiece and Ben, Toby T and Alex each contributed
one more. Ropley only lost one wicket, which was a mixture
of over- eager hunger and bad luck, neither of which seemed a sackable offence! This Trojan B team was a
noticeably stronger team with often tight fielding. Ropley’s challenge going into to bowl, therefore, was to keep
their bowling and
fielding as tight as possible too so as to restrict Trojan B’s ability to make
runs. The Ropley
team rose to the challenge and bowled and fielded extremely well. This fairly inexperienced team conceded
noticeably fewer wides than
before; Toby W and Joe bowled a batsman out each; Theo stumped two and
Toby W
stumped another and Myles made a good catch to take six wickets in total. The
fielding was supportive
and relatively error-free with team mates reminding each other to do long barriers & protect the wicket. No one
suffered heat stroke or third degree sunburn either, which was an added bonus. A very good morning had by all.
Ropley U9s v. Trojan Bs
Ropley U9s won by 325 for six to 253 for two. It was a match in which every Ropley player behaved as a true
sportsman & every player contributed to the excellent result. Trojan Bs batted first. The Ropley U9s showed
they had really absorbed their fielding lessons from Andrew Robson last Thursday. There were a couple of
over-exuberant attempts to hit the wicket from too far out but in the main, they backed each other up; they
protected their wickets; they even reminded each other to keep using long barriers! They kept their eyes on
the ball and it showed. Special mention in the field goes to Benedict, who was always in the right place at
the right time; stopped every ball he could & was never taken by surprise. Toby T took two wickets in quick
succession. Toby W followed suit soon after with another wicket. Theo E took two, one by a catch & one
by stumping. Then Toby W rounded the wickets up with another stumping.
Patrick opened the batting with his usual patient confidence, biding his time before spotting the opportunity
to hit three fours. The next three pairs made solid, good progress, losing only one wicket between them in
their combined 12 overs & throwing in a four per pair for good measure. Josh made an enthusiastic and
focused debut with Joe providing a mature and supportive balance to their pair. Theo and Louise brought
up the rear with a spectacular batting performance: Theo hit five fours, Louise two and a sprinkling of runs
& wides in between took their combined runs to 40 off four overs. Toby W, Patrick, Theo E, Louise & Will
all showed developing maturity & experience in their batting as they actively sought spaces into which to hit.
Ropley Vs Otterbourne
On the 13th June match against Otterbourne, Ropley won the toss & bowled first. Tighter fielding could have
prevented a few runs but in general Ropley fielded and bowled well with Myles taking a catch & Joe and Louse
managing to stump two batsmen. When Ropley came into bat, any ambition to slog the ball was thwarted by the
opposition's 14 bowled no-balls & 29 wides. Louise did well, however to hit three 4s.
Where Otterbourne scored highly was their graciousness in defeat. Ropley U9s, on the other hand, lost a few points
for an element of rowdiness in triumph. Their challenge now will be to not become complacent and keep focused
on developing their skills and their sportsmanship, so they keep on enjoying getting better & don't get pulled up
short & shocked by a
stronger team
all of a sudden.
Ropley Vs Fair Oak
Ropley U9s have had an excellent run recently, keeping up their winning streak against Fair Oak on 6th June and
Otterbourne on 20th June. Ropley won 314 to 245 against Fair Oak & 321 to 240 against Otterbourne. Huge thanks
go to Gavin and Angela Henderson for orchestrating & managing the Fair Oak match, although Gavin has been
made aware of the fact that his pay will be docked for being unable to account for several incrediballs. Luckily no
one has brought it to his notice that we had already lost several at the Hambledon Festival under my aegis.
both Fair Oak & Otterbourne fielded relatively green
& inexperienced teams, which enabled our U9s to rack up high scores
relatively easily.
Although our U9s are
almost certainly budding KPs to a boy and girl (in the eyes of all us doting
parents at least),
Fair Oak fielded only four players on 6th June, each of whom played four overs. Ropley had seven players so
Patrick played four overs too, managing to hit the first six of the season, while he, Toby W, Will, Adam, Alex & Myles
racked up a further 14 4s between them. Patrick then went on to take a couple of wickets, followed by Theo Mc &
Myles taking one a piece & Myles adding a catch to their tally.
Hambledon U9 Cricket Festival
The Hambledon U9 cricket Festival, 31st May was a cracking day for the children. They were in a group
comprising Locks Heath, Hambledon B and Hartley Witney. The group's winner went through to the semi-finals.
Ropley started the day slightly skittish, understandably, and although they played well & at times showed some
excellence, they gave away a few more runs and wickets than necessary to Hartley Witney's tight and strong
team to lose by 24 runs. In general the runs were given away by lapses in fielding, the wickets by lack of
communication & indecision about running. The good thing about Ropley U9s, however, is that they do seem to
take their lessons on board quite quickly & they tightened up considerably thereafter to win their next two
matches. Their next match against Locks Heath was particularly nailbiting. Ropley batted last and Theo E and
Toby T went in as last pair, knowing that they had to get 15 runs in 2 overs to win against very strong bowlers.
They were forced to bide their time until the third bowl before they could make a run. They made one & then
another. It was hard to see how this was going to add up to 15. They hit the ball again and decided to run under
v risky conditions. Then when they had both reached 'no man's land' between the stumps, they seemed to do a
little jig together, shouting, 'No, yes, no' until they both turned back to their respective stumps too late to avoid
being run out. Then, as we grownups pretended that we really believed that their behaviour was simply the folly
of youth & not the imbecility of imbeciles, the pair pulled a 'Ropley special' - a trick perfected by Hugo Hughes
from last year's U9s - out the bag by going on to somehow ratchet up enough runs from the remaining balls to
win by 4 runs. The team then went on to beat Hambledon B comfortably by 22 runs, Angus setting the tone for
what was to be Ropley's final game by bowling the first batsman out on the first ball. The team played
excellently in their last game & at the end looked ready & waiting for their next match. Although Ropley had won
two out of their three matches, unfortunately Hartley Witney had won all three of their matches so they went
through to the semi-final & the Ropley U9s were left to console themselves by buying very big bags of cheap
sweets instead. Ropley should take heart, however, from the fact that Hartley Witney went through to the finals
by beating Wield in the semi-final by about thirty runs. Ropley had only lost to Hartley Witney by 24 runs & had
never looked outclassed, just not as tight or seasoned. There was much to like in Ropley's performance at the
Hambledon Festival & we were also delighted to have Ben & Angus join us as 'guest members' for the day. Both
got stuck in from the start with great confidence & contributed enormously to the team's efforts.
23rd May match update: Ropley v Fair Oak
Ropley U9s upheld their cricketing honour by beating Fair Oak 318 to 280 at home on 23rd May. On the first
scorching hot day of the year, the team played cracking cricket interspersed with lashings of ginger beer - OK,
in the name of accuracy, orange squash and water but you get the picture: it was hot; they drank a lot. Ropley
lost the toss & went into bat first. Patrick & Alex opened the batting confidently, leading the way by taking every
opportunity they could to make runs. Patrick also set a trend by hitting a four, which was followed later on by
several from Toby W, Theo E and one from Toby T. In general Ropley took their chances to score as many runs
as possible, only occasionally forgetting to communicate to each other, hesitating too long as to whether to run
or not & only once misjudging it by a split second to be run out. Ropley's score was also blessed by being
bowled 5 no-balls & 24 wides. But as ever Ropley were generous to a fault: what they were given, they gave
back in spades. When Ropley came to bowl, they bowled 11 no-balls & 29 wides! What enabled Ropley to win
was that when they did bowl straight and to the batsman, they generally bowled well, making it hard for Fair Oak
to notch up a big score. Louise, in particular, managed to keep up her impressive tally of taking a wicket per
match to date. Ropley fielded well too, beginning intimidatingly with one catch from Alex E and a stumping by
Theo E early on. A brief casual spell of fielding then ensued with the Ropley U9s, assuming themselves
invincible, deciding to strike up jolly little conversations with each other here and there about the pitch. Luckily
for them, they were soon woken up by a pair of very strong Fair Oak batsmen (and a Ropley umpire with a hissy
voice) who quickly started closing the gap on Ropley's score. Then Ropley did all the right things: protected their
stumps, performed long barriers at the drop of a ball; even repositioned themselves sensibly in the field as they
saw fit. The team ended the match on a good, strong note & no one suffered from heatstroke either, which was
an extra bonus.
Ropley U9s v Fair Oak,
16th May 2010. Away
Ropley U9s v Hedge End: Ropley U9s played magnificently & were hard to fault. They won 292 to 222 against a
good team, whom Ropley never really allowed to get in the game. Ropley got off to a good start by winning the toss
& electing to bowl first. Patrick opened the proceedings with some blistering bowling & he and Alex only allowed
the batsmen to get seven runs off four overs. Louise & Will took up the cudgel next, Louise taking a lovely wicket &
the bowling pair continued to keep their opponents' score down. The next two pairs followed suit & by the end of
their innings, Hedge End had managed to score 22 off sixteen overs, including four wickets. Two of the wickets
were sadly ( but not for us) taken by one Hedge End player in one over, who swung his bat back twice & knocked
off his own bails - so much for the theory that once done, never forgotten or repeated. Ropley's strong bowling was
backed up by excellent fielding. What was most pleasing was that the team had clearly learnt from their experience
the week before: they backed each other up, protected the stumps at all times & were very quick to change
positions to cover each other as another team mate went for the ball. No boundaries were breached at all.
Then our team came into bat. We lost our only wicket in the first over & only scored one run against very strong
bowling. For a brief moment it looked as if our bowling/fielding confidence might have collapsed but first pair Patrick
& Alex didn't waver or allow themselves to be shaken by the initial onslaught. For the next three overs they batted
strongly & made intelligent, cautious decisions about making runs to put the team on a secure footing of 215 at the
end of their overs. Louise & Will came in next, playing safe and a little hesitantly to begin. Then Will got a taste for
hitting fours and
hit three of them in quick succession, his smile broadening further with
each boundary taken.
Theo Mc & Adam came in next & took a cautious approach to protecting their wickets, which was sensible in the
circumstances as we had by this time passed Hedge End easily with 245 runs. By the time the last pair came to bat
we were on a solid and respectable winning score of 259. Attempts were made by adults to withhold that
information from the last pair in
case they took too cavalier an attitude to scoring runs. But a junior spy
infiltrated
our midst & Theo E and Toby went out to bat in full knowledge of the score. To their credit they took a serious
approach to their batting, never risking their teammates' efforts & adding to them with some excellent batting with
Theo E hitting two fours & Toby hitting one four for extra good measure. The whole match was a pleasure to watch,
which was vital in the circumstance as all parents, grandparents, coach & scorer were blue with cold by the end of
the game. It was great too to have Dave Buckland there to continue his coaching efforts from Thursday eves. but
also to see the fruits of his, Guy Tillotson & Andrew Robson's coaching endeavours to date. I don't want to be
greedy...but onwards & upwards!
9th May, Ropley U9s v IBM Hursley. Away
The Ropley U9s green & youthful cricket team put up an extremely respectable performance to narrowly lose
against IBM Hursley on the 9th May: 285 to 253. The team were a supportive, tight little unit, who were quick to
praise each other for any good hit, bowl or stop, which was great to see. It could have been the communal pee in a
bush before the match that helped them all to bond. All put in at least a good batting performance, building up a
solid score without throwing many chances or wickets away - we will gloss over completely the wicket caused by
one of our batsmen, buoyed up by his triumphant four, who then swung his bat too far back for the next ball and
knocked off his own bails . For quite a few of the team it was the first time they had played a match & fielding &
bowling came as more of a culture shock to them. A few of the first balls hit by IBM Hursley were watched by our
fielders with mild intrigue as they rolled past them before they realised that that particular ball had 'their name' on it
and needed to be stopped at all costs. Then they briefly all started rushing for each ball. But they all quickly picked
up the key imperatives and to a boy & girl they all raised their game. There were two splendid catches by Will &
Theo E & a great wicket taken by Louise. It was a very promising and cheerful start to the season.