Match Centre

Cup Defeat In The Sun

Falkland U15s played Hursley Park in Round 2 of the ECB Club T20 Cup on the hottest Bank Holiday on record.

After witnessing a quite phenomenal individual batting performance in the U13 fixture, where one batter hit 236 off just 79 balls, Falkland were hoping to win the toss and bat first to try and tire out Hursley’s talented batting line-up.

Captain Issy won the toss, and Falkland were batting in the sunshine. Amelia and Lucy opened up; both girls were keen to be positive and produced some nice stroke play. Amelia was the first wicket to fall, a quick ball taking her off stump. This brought in Captain Issy, who the Hursley team were worried about.

The first ball to Issy was beautifully put away to the boundary, and Hursley’s concern looked to be justified. However, a few balls later, a lovely late-swinging delivery beat her defence, and she too was walking back to the shade of the changing room.

This brought in Izzy, who was still warm from her innings in the U13 match. Lucy and Izzy took the attack to the Hursley Park bowlers, with both girls hitting boundaries and showing positive running between the wickets. Lucy was next to fall after a smart catch, having made a well-crafted 20.

Hope was next in, and she came in swinging. Izzy and Hope put on a hard-fought 20-run partnership before Izzy was beaten by a wicked in swinging delivery that clipped her off stump. A run-a-ball 26 for Izzy. Hope and Isabel were now at the crease together.

The pair again showed great intent, with Isabel hitting her first delivery for four. Hope was next to fall to a good catch, scoring 13. Eleanor strode in looking nervous, but a strong punch to the boundary brought a huge roar from the crowd. Eleanor was next to fall, this time to a fast, full ball that beat her defence. Carah came in, but she too was undone by a beautiful delivery that just clipped the bails.

Falkland had managed a very respectable 87 from 14 overs.

The girls battled hard in the field, with Captain Issy placing her fielders in key positions. The challenge was that the batters were hitting the ball over them. Issy and Amelia shared the bowling, and although the figures do not reflect it, both bowled brilliantly. Issy beat the bat on numerous occasions, and Amelia was swinging the ball into the pads.

The batter who scored over 200 in the first game picked up where she left off. Needing one run to win and four to reach her 50, she pulled Eleanor’s first ball, a quick, well-placed bouncer, over the boundary for six. Hursley won inside eight overs.

Although our girls lost, I hope they will take a lot from this match. As a coach, I was very impressed with how Issy captained her team. She led from the front and demanded maximum effort from her teammates. As a team, they supported each other and never let their heads drop, which, especially for those who had played in the earlier U13 match, would have been easy to do.

Thank you for all your support, and to Will for scoring and setting up today’s match.