U12s magnificent despite loss to Silverwood inspired Saffron Walden

Cricketfield lane was at its resplendent best for the must win match vs Saffron Walden in the Brian Taylor 2022 trophy. Due to an early season washout it was "something or bust" for the u12s. Andy prepared an excellent brand new strip for us to play on and the players were understandably nervous but up for the challenge.

We lost the toss and Walden, a team who had been gorging on runs all season, batted first. In the past, seeing the name Silverwood on the scorecard did not generate much fear in a bowler’s mind. However son of Chris (ex-England head coach who apparently uses Ben Stokes’s old bats) can bat! 4th ball in and a ball that was just off line was deposited over the square leg boundary for 6! The punishment continued against bowling that was, for the most part, quite respectable. Silverwood pierced the outfield with geometric precision and was brutal on anything short or wide. The faster we bowled the faster it went to the boundary and we did not help ourselves with a couple of crucial early dropped catches. 8 overs in skipper Toby R switched to spin. Despite a couple of expensive initial overs it was clear that “taking the pace off” was the right call. First Sam B, then Lewis G and, with ‘keeper pads removed, Krish bowled beautifully at times. A brief return to pace was a return to boundaries. So spin all the way it continued. Krish took the first wicket (not Silverwood but the Cambridgeshire opening bat), Sam B the next and then Lewis chipped in too. Between them the spinners bowled 14 overs and took 3 wickets for just 97 runs…a magnificent effort. Silverwood ended up on a phenomenal 136 not out and the Walden total was an intimidating 211 off their 25 overs.

Needing to score at a shade under 8.5 runs and despite the early loss of both of our openers, Krish and Toby (promoted up the order) set about chipping away at the mammoth target. To his second ball, Toby hit a beautiful drive for four which was to prove characteristic of his innings. The innings now revolved around Toby who shared partnerships of 42 with Krish (who paced his innings with great maturity) and then 54 with Charlie W, the latter batting with the power and technique we saw emerge over the winter. As Stortford progressed the impossible started to become improbable but not 100% out of the question. The Walden fielding dipped from its high standards and the bowling looked less threatening. At some point Silverwood (that name again!) came onto bowl (5-0-27-2) . Bowling full (the length required on this batters’ strip) he pegged back Stortford. Initially by taking the wicket of the fuent Sam M and then, having first passed a maiden 50, the key wicket of Toby. It was a Herculean effort from Toby who ended up with 73! Despite late heroics from Ethan H with the bat (who, BTW hit a square drive for four that was about as good as anything we saw all day) Stortford ended 10 runs short passing 200 on the final ball hit for four by Ed W. 201 for 9 would have won most matches in the trophy, but not against a Silverwood inspired Walden.

In summary, our boys were quite brilliant. However cricket is a team sport where individual performances can dominate. An inspired Silverwood was undoubtedly the difference between the teams.

Afterwards as age group managers, we were keen to stress two things to the boys.

Firstly how incredibly PROUD we are of what the boys did on the day, how they conduct themselves and the way their cricket has progressed over the last two years.

Secondly, how EXCITED we are for the future. Excited not just for the potential of those in the room but for the many who are “knocking on the door” for selection, for those that are rapidly improving / catching up and super excited to see how many of this brilliant bunch stay with us on the journey through the age groups and beyond.

Good luck to Saffron Walden and onwards and upwards for the u12s!

*photo of Brian Taylor