Boys make hay as the sun shines

On a glorious morning, Aythorpe Roding sent a very young team over for our West Essex League fixture.

Skipper Charlie Peace won the toss and elected to bat. With Aythorpe's Matt Pike opening the bowling, we knew the first few overs would be tough, and so it proved as Pike bowled Chris Millns with a beauty in his first over and dispatched Will Bowman in his final over. In between times, Joe Stanborough continued his excellent form with the bat, hitting the ball powerfully and retiring at 31. Ben Warman played another of his stylish knocks, defending carefully when necessary but unfurling some lovely shots when the chance presented itself, and he too reached 30 in good time. Our middle order stumbled a little against decent bowling, but Stephen Walsh came to the crease and timed the ball nicely to see us past 150 in company with Niall Trimble (14 not out). Stephen became our third batsman to retire, his 30 easily his best score for the team.

161 was always likely to be too much for Aythorpe, and when Matt Pike was caught behind by Joe Stanborough off Stephen's bowling, the result seemed in little doubt. However, it was good to see a number of boys bowling well, with Charlie Finch (4 overs 1 for 4) being especially miserly. Joel Ellis picked up a wicket thanks to Chris Millns' sharp catch and Ben, Zac Niall and Jacob also got in on the act. Aythorpe ended up on 78-7, a brave effort from a young side.

However, regardless of the opposition it was good to see us execute our skills so well and continue to display great team spirit. A very encouraging start to the day.