Good catching and four brilliant run-outs set up a 59 run victory

After the excitement and adrenalin of the Form Ones’ Show this morning, the U9’s coach was worried he might have twelve Horrid Henries on his hands, particularly with afternoon temperatures soaring and the humidity rising.

He need not have worried: the team produced a Perfect Peter Performance in the field, holding on to ALL of their catchable catches and making no less than FOUR spectacular direct hit run outs (Freddie White x2, Jack Ward and Theo Barratt). To cap it all, Ed Roberts produced two wickets in two balls and Lucien Whitworth clinched a hattrick (all of them clean bowled) to set up a very achievable target of 254 to win.

Abberley raced to a good start once again (see score sheet above), with Angus Moore always threatening the bowling. We reached the target during the third partnership of captain Jack Ward and Harvey Worthington, who added 40 runs together.

But – and there’s always a but - we then showed signs of silliness and over-confidence in the latter part of the game, hitting the ball in the air too frequently and giving Malvern four unnecessary catches. Malvern deserve great credit for keeping their concentration and focus because they also claimed three run outs in the final 6 overs of the match.

So although the margin of victory was comfortable (59 runs), and although our fielding was spectacular, there are still plenty of lessons to be learned. Sorry Henry!