From the ridiculous to the sublime

After losing narrowly to the same opponents in our first game of the season, I thought that heading to Stansted Hall & Elsenham on the same day as we played Welwyn Garden City at home might cause us to struggle. How wrong I was...

We lost the toss and our hosts decided to bat. Sam Gardner continued his excellent form by bowling one of the openers with another of his fast, swinging deliveries. With Adam Crowther bowling a testing spell at the other end, we were keeping things tight.

With two of Stansted's better players at the crease, Alec Chappell made a crucial breakthrough by taking a very sharp caught and bowled chance that was rifled back at him knee-high. When Charlie Finch chipped in with another wicket, Adam taking the catch, we had the hosts in trouble, but some powerful hitting from their number 5 and a higher than usual number of wides saw the home team close on 140-3.

I must confess that I thought that total might prove beyond us, as a run rate of almost six an over is tough for senior cricketers, but I was delighted to be proved wrong by a sensational batting performance. Stansted Hall's opening bowlers were both tall and accurate but Alec played them with ease, accumulating at will while Niall Trimble settled in at the other end.

When the ninth over ended we required 104 from 15 overs, but like a couple of experienced pros, Niall and Alec put their foot down and plundered 45 runs from the next 5 overs. When Alec pulled a short ball around the corner for three he brought up the 100 partnership, a fantastic achievement for an U12 team playing a side all of whom were U13s. It also saw him retire at 35, with Niall following shortly after.

Both boys batted superbly, playing proper cricket shots and not taking any unnecessary risks. Apart from a sharp chance Niall gave to short cover, they barely played a false shot and their partnership was a pleasure to watch.

Their enforced departure put pressure on the new batsmen but both Ben Warman and Coby Miles kept up the pace expertly, only to depart with victory in sight. Now the pressure was on with Ryan Randall and John Byron Rivers-Velez fresh to the crease, and the opening bowlers back in the attack. But with five required from nine balls, the pair kept calm heads, put bat to ball and we required three from the last over. Ryan made us all nervous by failing to make contact with the first three deliveries, but a clever tickle off his legs brought a scampered two, and from the penultimate ball he jabbed a single into the off side. John backed up brilliantly and made it home to see us to a remarkable victory.

The win was all the more satisfying because every player their part, either with the bat, ball or in the field where James Clark and Ben Warman excelled. Alec's captaincy was also astute, with his field setting helping to keep the score down.

From the look on the boys' faces at the end, all of the twelve players on duty were delighted to win, and it just goes to show that although not everyone will take wickets or score lots of runs, a real team effort brings its own rewards.