Saffron Walden U12s knock out BSCC in the Brian taylor Cup :(

An excellent standard of cricket on a good Jobbers Wood pitch meant 354 runs were scored with the loss of only 8 wickets, but unfortunately, Saffron Walden came out on top.

On a beautiful and scorching July Sunday, Saffron Walden won the toss and decided to bat. They have won this tournament before and had 5 Essex players, including the Essex captain Jonny who never gets out! Our tactics were to put the fielders out to save 2 runs and force him to hit harder and/or go aerial and that's roughly what happened. Both openers popped two difficult catches when they're scores were in the twenties, but were unfortunately dropped with the pair ending up with 138 run partnership, Jonny scoring 64 and Charlie on 83!!! Our bowlers and fielders worked really hard in the heat, struggling to grip the slippery ball. We bowled unusually high number of full tosses, but still less extras than the opposition. Anyway, Saffron Walden ended with a commanding total of 197/5 off their 25 overs.

In reply, BSCC started solidly with Stan (26) and Cam (50 retired) putting on 89 runs for the first wicket off the first 16 overs. Unfortunately, Cam was struggling with asthma, so had to retire early. Even though we were at a comfortable 5.5 runs per over, we were still confident we can make this up with our big guns still to bat. Ed scored a commanding 35 not out, including a big six, but we were done by the oppo parent umpire Trig, who triggered Daniel (10) and Matt (0) LBW in 3 balls - I can't remember Daniel ever being out LBW!!! Felix hit a quick 10 not out to keep up the momentum, but we still ended up 40 runs short.

Interestingly, the England cricket coach Clive Silverwood was umpiring their first innings, with his son Xander playing, and appreciated the Jobbers Wood facility and our team effort and tactics! Maybe he'll use them for England someday!

All-in-all, I was extremly proud of ALL the players, as they battled hard against a quality opposition in tough conditions. With a couple of chances and decisions coming our way, I really think we would've beaten them. However, we'll take a lot from this match and use it as a great learning excercise for the future.

It's not all over yet with three summer league matches still to go, so please add your availabilities to pitchero!