The tail that wagged . . . as the Under 13's beat Welwyn GC in Summer League

The skies were overcast and there was a distinctly autumnal feel, despite it being the very first day of August, as the Under 13's welcomed Welwyn Garden City to Cricketfield Lane. The recent and plentiful rain meant the grass was lush and the pitch green, but it was flat, so we won the toss and decided to bat.

Both our openers fell in the first 2 overs and despite Ed Fallon's quickfire 21 batting at number three, we had tumbled to 46-6 in the tenth over. An urgent rescue act was required! Enter Austen Greenhill who came in at eight to join Will Hodges, and slowly the game started to turn. Both players batted sensibly, rotating the strike, putting on a solid partnership of 34, before Will had to retire for 26 off 29 balls.

At 86-8, Austen was joined by Daniel Pickup and the two of them battled quite superbly, with a 9th wicket partnership of 37 in 6 overs to get us to a 'respectable' total of 120.

Welwyn started well with the bat, but a comprehensive bowling and fielding performance by BSCC was too much for them. Tom Foden took an early wicket, which was followed by a great caught and bowled from Max Foster, leaving Welwyn at 26-2. It was captain Hodges choice to change to slower bowling that then shifted the game quickly into BSCC’s favour.

3 great overs of leg spin from Rhiannon D’Costa saw her pick up two wickets, that could easily have been more. Two quick wickets from Daniel Pickup saw WGC fall to 76-7 before Tom Foden and Ed Fallon wrapped up the tail in the fading light. 86 all out - so victory by 34 runs - and a real team performance, showing what great depth we have with the bat and the ball.

A special thanks to Rhiannon for stepping in and bowling with such skill. Hats off to Austen G for his mature performance with the bat and Daniel P too, who got runs plus 2 wickets. And also a special mention for Will Hodges who captained the team from the front with his 26 runs when really needed, and great captaincy in the field.