Match report, Ropley U17 vs Aldershot, Hampshire U17 County Cup, 2 June 2010
Ropley Under 17s had a surprise victory over Aldershot by the slenderest of margins, in a tense and incident-packed match at Ropley on Wednesday 2 June. Both teams had drawn a bye into the second round of the inaugural U17 twenty-over knockout cup, and it was Ropley’s first ever Under 17 game.
Aldershot won the toss and batted
first, with openers Craig Tilson and Matt Pegg quickly settling in. The score
was 44 when Tilson was run out: a smart piece of work by Gabriel Reece at square leg and wicket keeper Myles Greenwood. Pegg had already struck six fours in his 26, and he was now matched by Callum McDougall-Bell, who hit John Purchese for three fours off successive balls - but was bowled by Purchese in his next over. Lewis Kenworthy joined Pegg, and they upped the scoring rate further, pressurising the fielders with excellent running between the wickets and capitalising on the resulting lapses. Kenworthy even achieved a 7 with one hit - a well-run three converted by four overthrows!
Pegg looked unstoppable, but was bowled by Henry Hughes for an entertaining 46, which included a big six over long on. Aldershot were now on 101 for 3 in the 17th over, with Kenworthy in full flow, and although two wickets fell cheaply Aldershot finished on 130 for 5, with Kenworthy 40 not out.
Ropley openers Robert Smith and Henry Hughes started well, but skipper Smith was bowled in the 4th over with the score on 17. John Purchese joined Hughes, and although the scoring rate was falling behind target they kept up the pressure on the Aldershot fielders with some well-judged running, and Hughes began to score more and more freely. Hughes passed fifty and Aldershot skipper Pegg sportingly ran over to shake his hand. Hughes celebrated with a mighty six off Tilson, but was unlucky to be run out just as Ropley looked to be gaining the upper hand, with the partnership on 96. The ball bounced off the wicket-keeper’s pads to break the wicket, and Hughes was out for a sparkling 66.
A tight finish was now on the cards, and Purchese was run out for 37 in the 19th over, followed in the same way by Tom Stennett. However, the umpires conferred, and Stennett was recalled! This left Ropley to score 8 to win off the last over. This looked a tall order for Tom and his younger brother Ed, but they took a single off the first ball. Next ball Tom was run out (again!), going for a second run. Myles Greenwood came in at the non-striker’s end.
Six needed from four balls, but the next one was a dot ball. Ed hit a two off the fourth ball, and then they ran a bye off the fifth, leaving fourteen-year old Greenwood to hit three to win from his first and only ball of the innings.
No pressure there then, Myles!
Greenwood steered it to fine leg for a single, the throw-in was wild, they ran two and the game was tied! But no, the game was won – Ropley only had four wickets down against Aldershot’s five! A thrilling finish! Under the knockout rules, if the wickets had been even, we should have had a “penalty bowl-out”…...
It was a remarkable match against a fine Aldershot side, in a promising new competition. Ropley will play either Alton or Yateley in the quarter final.
Quarter-final will be played away, against Yateley on Wednsday 21 July, 1815 start – meet at the Rec 1645
Net practice (middle practice if possible) at the Rec Tuesday 20 July, 1800 start.
| Game | Under 17 Cup | |||||||||
| Day | Wednesday | |||||||||
| Date | Wednesday, June 02, 2010 | |||||||||
| Venue | Home | |||||||||
| Type | Knockout | |||||||||
| Format | 20 overs | |||||||||
| Meet Time | 17:30 | |||||||||
| Start Time | 18:00 | |||||||||
| Result | Won | No. | How out | R | GD | O | M | R | W | |
| Team | 1 | R. Smith | 1 | BLD | 5 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2 | H. Hughes | 2 | R/O | 66 | 4 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| 3 | J. Purchese | 3 | R/O | 37 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 4 | T. Stennett | 4 | R/O | 5 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| 5 | E.Stennett | 5 | N/O | 4 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 6 | M. Greenwood | 6 | N/O | 2 | ||||||
| 7 | D. Parker | 7 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||||
| 8 | C. Whitworth | 8 | ||||||||
| 9 | G. Reece | 9 | ||||||||
| 10 | T. May | 10 | ||||||||
| 11 | G. Meager | 11 | ||||||||
| Scorer | R. Smith | |||||||||
| Umpire | K. Purchese | |||||||||
| Toss won by | Aldershot | |||||||||
| Team Batted First | Aldershot | |||||||||
| Our score | 130 | |||||||||
| Wkts | 4 | |||||||||
| Opposition Score | 130 | |||||||||
| Wkts | 5 | |||||||||
| Win/lose | Win | |||||||||