The U15 girls started their league season at home to East Woodhay, on a very chilly Thursday evening. Captain Immi, with a plan in mind went out to contest the toss, East Woodhay skipper called correctly and decided he wanted to field first, so Immi’s plan had to change.

Chloe QB and Lucy M opened the batting, and despite some clearly visible nerves the pair started to bat well, playing the straight balls down while attacking any width. Both girls hit some wonderful fours before the first wicket fell in the 5th over, Lucy M bowled for 10, and a partnership of 38 for the first wicket.

This brought in Immi, who looked solid and confident from the first delivery, against their best bowler. Immi and Chloe were dispatching the bowlers to all parts of the ground, before Chloe got a top edge and was caught by the keeper for a score of 19.

Falkland were 52-2.

Daisy was next up but was cleaned bowled by a quicker ball. Tabatha was next in to partner Immi and looked solid from the start. Tabatha and Immi put on 49 runs before Immi had to retire after reaching 30 runs. Tabatha fell quickly afterwards, a faint edge and a good catch from the keeper, Falkland were now 109-4. Alexa was next in but three balls later she too was caught by the keeper. Annabel and Lucy W were now new to the crease, both girls hit wonderful fours, before Annabel was cleaned bowled, leaving Georgia and Lucy W to take our total to 137-6 from the 20 overs.

With the temperature and light dropping fast the girls needed to get off to a bright start. Alexa and Chloe QB opened the bowling, but the East Woodhay batters looked comfortable, and were pressurising the fielders by looking for runs on every delivery.

Chloe QB made the breakthrough in the 4th over, a great high catch taken by Lucy W and the score was 25-1. The next wicket fell in the 6th over, a fantastic caught and bowled by Cordi, who dismissed the Woodhay captain. 51-2.

The Woodhay batters were stealing runs where they didn’t seem to be opportunities, and the Falkland girls were starting to panic in the field, despite Captain Immi’s attempts to calm her team down.

As was bound to happen at some stage, the next wicket was a run out, Chloe QB with a nice throw to Daisy who took the bails off. This brought in the opposition's best batter, after being side lined by Immi while fielding, he made up for it with the bat. He scored 30 from 15 and took the game away from Falkland. The next wicket fell with Woodhay needing just three runs, another run out for Daisy.

East Woodhay reached their target with just five balls to spare.

Ian Gibson summed up the match..."Although it was a defeat, I hope there will be some good learning points for our girls after the game, which we can discuss at training. When we were batting, I was so impressed with the support the batters got from their teammates and from the parents, every four or good shot was followed by noise from the boundary. When umpiring I can see their faces when they receive a cheer or a ‘well done!’ It means a lot to them, so please keep doing it!!"

The Pink Army go again next week