Thongsbridge U11s secure first round win in Dawson Cup

A sky full of looming dark clouds greeted Thongsbridge as they arrived at Meltham for their first-round match in this year’s Dawson Cup. The low clouds which had been threatening all afternoon finally came through on their word fifteen minutes before the scheduled start, dousing the pitch (and players) in a good helping of May rain. However, the showers soon made way for the late evening sunshine which, in addition to the heavy roller, dried out the wicket quickly. The toss took place shortly after the scheduled start, and despite the cries of ‘tails never fails’ from his teammates, William, captaining Thongsbridge, was left to hear Meltham call they were going to bowl first, as Her Majesty pointed skywards.

Following the delayed start, Noah and Jacob marked their guards to start Thongsbridge’s cup campaign with hopeful optimism of finding the short boundary on the leg-side. Such optimism was well founded, as in the first over Noah sent the ball crashing over the deep mid-wicket boundary for a maximum. Jacob’s elegant batting was on display once again, with some late deft touches off the hip, using the bowler’s pace to trickle the ball down to fine leg for a boundary or two.

Bryn and Finnan next took to the crease, seeing off some exceptionally fine bowling from Meltham. A wonderful off-drive by Finnan saw the ball race back up the hill, beating deep mid-wicket, and rolling over the ropes for a boundary. Bryn’s defences were put to the test, but mindful of continuing to build a platform for his team, he deployed a steadfast forward defence.

With 31 runs on the scoreboard, William and Tristan walked into the middle. Tristan capitalised on a number of scoring opportunities, including pulling a loose ball down to the fine leg boundary for four. William found the boundary with similar ease, sending Meltham fielders on to the partly mulch covered footpath to collect the ball on no less than five occasions. An important partnership for Thongsbridge worth 30 runs.

Solomon set about adding to the growing total swiftly, adding a further 12 runs in the fourteenth over alone. Frazer, on debut, batted very well too – finding his groove and protecting his wicket magnificently.

Thongsbridge’s fifth pair, Theo and Mason, put on some more important runs. A wonderful display of brotherly instinct saw some splendid running between the wickets, not helped by their team manager rather bombastically shouting ‘Two, Two!’ on one occasion causing Mason to run, gazelle-like, in returning to the crease just in time to secure the second run! Mason, with his new bat in hand, set to work finding the short boundary from some fine pull shots to close out the innings for Thongsbridge.

Thongsbridge 328/2
 
Preparing to take to the field, Thongsbridge seemed confident that they could defend 328, especially against the backdrop of the fading light. Keen to get underway, William led the team out with the same confidence which he had batted with during the first innings.

Noah opened the Thongsbridge attack, wasting no time at all before making an impact, picking up a wicket from his fifth delivery, then again in his second over with a yorker uprooting middle stump. Bowling up the hill, Jacob too found the stumps with wonderful precision, also requiring the middle stump to be reset after a full length deliver dislodged the bails for Meltham’s third dismissal.

After shepherding the unaware non-striker to the other side of the stumps to make way for his left arm over the wicket, Bryn executed his lengths well, with a couple of good length deliveries going through to land on the hesitant batsman’s rear! Finnan took a wonderful high catch at point off Bryn’s bowling, only for the cheers to be cut short when the delivery was called a no ball. Nevertheless, a wonderful bit of bowling and fielding by Thongsbridge. Finnan also proved very economical with the ball, only going for four runs from his spell.

William and Tristan worked well as a team, with well controlled bowling providing Meltham with little opportunity to score. William too showed his energy in the field, covering the fine leg boundary for most of the innings with a splendid display of fielding saving many a run.

Next up was Solomon and Frazer, with Solomon applying unrelenting pressure to Meltham’s middle order, taking 1-1 from his two overs. A brilliant effort from Frazer too, who picked up a wicket on debut when he offered a short pitched delivery to the batsman only for Bryn to take a wonderful grab at cover.

Theo provided some great control at the death, picking up a wicket maiden for his efforts in the nineteenth over; Bryn and Tristan were each tossed the ball for an additional over, ending with figures of 3.0-2-2-2 Bryn proved once again how economical he can be.

Meltham 205/8

Meltham closed out their innings with a net score of 205, seeing Thongsbridge progress through to the next round where they will face Kirkburton. The much coveted ‘Player of the Match’ was awarded to Bryn, for his efforts in the field which saw some fantastic bowling, a splendid catch and high levels of encouragement for his teammates.

Given the downpours before play, the fact we managed to get the full forty overs in was both a welcomed surprise and a relief of not needing to replay the fixture! A real team effort was on display throughout the evening, with great levels of encouragement and support from each player.