The Week
at The Wick

On a day more redolent of the Serengeti than cricket on King's Field in May, the U14s took on an unknown opponent in the form of Valley End. There were plenty of "where's that?" mutterings in the crowd as we contemplated the next hurdle in our Sunday challenge.

After a brief discussion, and with the opposition having only nine players at the time, the "toss" ended up with Valley End batting first — only for our coach to realise that our opening bowler was also missing. Minor detail.

Sam started well, as ever, while Henry S used his first three balls as a gentle warm-up before settling in nicely. Between them, they kept a tight lid on the run rate.

Jaibir then arrived, clearly upset at missing the start, and took it out on the Valley End top order. A wicket in his first over, another in his second, and a third in his third. Their top three all departed with the scorebook reading: b. J Singh Gill. Lovely stuff.

Simon bowled with pace and intent, his second over marred only by a couple of early-release no-balls. At the 10-over mark, Valley End were 36-3, with the only real frustration being the three "non-wickets" we had taken off no-balls or from the free hits that followed.

First ball after the drinks break — which felt rather more like a survival interval given the weather — the scoreboard pressure told. Harry and Seb combined for a very smart run-out. Daksh was unlucky not to pick up a wicket, while Nirvaan tempted the batter into an expansive lofted drive with his very first ball, neatly snaffled at mid-off by Magnus. In his next over, he followed up with another wicket, helped by a very good stumping from Seb.

Magnus' two loose deliveries were severely punished, while Teddy did just about everything except hit the stumps. Henry P then continued the trend of wickets with first balls, bowling their set batter before Jaibir, Henry and Sam closed out the innings. Despite Sam picking up a very deserved wicket, caught behind, Valley End made it to 98 when at one stage a total nearer 70 had looked possible.

Harry and Teddy looked comfortable against the opening bowling, with Harry in particular finding his timing early and guiding the ball around nicely. The runs flowed, and having made 15 of the opening 17, Harry was understandably surprised to be walking back to the pavilion, victim of an LBW decision that appeared to require several laws of geometry to be rewritten. Luckily, we had sent round the Surrey Spirit of Cricket guidance earlier in the week, and both player and spectators handled the situation with grace and poise. At least out loud.

A brief chat about taking responsibility followed, and Teddy and Henry S clearly took it on board. Both built proper innings, giving themselves time to get in before accelerating later. Teddy, in particular, played some very powerful shots on his way to an excellent 38 not out from 36 balls. Henry played exactly the supporting role the situation required, finishing 22 not out from 29 and sealing the win with a lovely cover-driven four.

Overall, a very impressive batting performance — especially the concentration levels in the heat and full batting kit. Ice lollies at the end were also an excellent innovation and have raised the refreshments bar considerably. After a flurry of early matches, we now have a bit of a pause before our next game, but things are looking up. Thanks for all the support as ever — it really does make such a difference. See you at the next one!

After two weekends where HWRCC U11s had played a total of 80 overs against two teams with only one run separating them, this week's instalment was a more humdrum affair by comparison. Captain for the day Adyan Iqbal lost the toss and the Wick were asked to bat first in conditions that Max Nicholson described as if "the sun had crashed into Earth". It was certainly warm.

Adyan opened with Balveer Gopal in a steady opening partnership with runs coming at decent pace. Balveer was the first wicket to fall with the score on 16, but the next two wickets fell quickly to leave the Wick in trouble at 19-3. Adyan was joined by Harry Nicholson and these two proceeded to rebuild the innings with some very sensible batting. Good balls on the stumps were defended well and the bad balls put away. Adyan played a brilliant captain's knock such that by the time he was forced to retire for 31, he and Harry Nicholson had put on 70 runs together and got their team up to 90.

Harry was joined by his brother Max Nicholson with instructions to up the pace. Max got out swinging for the team and Harry went through the gears, smashing a couple of mighty pull shots for four before being run out (by a direct hit after his coach urged a suicidal second run) having scored 21. Next came the "finishers" Max Pearson and Jiyan Patel, adding quick runs to set East Molesey 144 to win.

The sense between innings was this was above par but the team needed to bowl and field much better than the previous week if they were to defend it. The team responded collectively. Ethan Batty opened and has to be the unluckiest bowler this season — eventually he struck, bowling their opener. A run out executed by Jiyan Patel, who showed a calm head to run with the ball in his hand rather than shying at the stumps, brought another wicket. Wickets continued to fall regularly as East Molesey fell further behind the required run rate.

As the overs ticked down, East Molesey targeted Max Nicholson's overs, swinging at every ball, but the field held firm. Excellent death bowling by Jiyan Patel and Zarran Pavri kept things tight before Toby Duncan-Bosu took a fabulous two-handed catch close in on the leg side off a full-blooded pull shot. That wicket ended any hope East Molesey had of getting the runs.

East Molesey finished well short on 118-8 — the Wick winning by 25 runs. A great team win with everyone contributing and some really gutsy and smart batting from Adyan and Harry when the game was in the balance. Bodes well for the second round of the Cup this coming Friday. Up the Wick!