U9 lose by 24 runs to spirited Harlow side

U9 couldn’t quite preserve the zero in the L column this season as they lost at home to Harlow on a muggy evening on the plateau. To make sure the 8-a-side game went ahead and young players got more valuable match experience, U9 loaned 2 players to Harlow. Huge thanks to Zafir and Alexander for volunteering to line up for Harlow against their teammates!

Harlow won the toss and asked U9 to set a target. The opening bowlers bowled with accuracy and pace, taking 2 early wickets at the expense of just one wide ball. Henry found the boundary twice to ease the pressure before 2 further wickets fell in Zafir’s first over for Harlow. Zafir bowled extremely well to finish with 3 wickets for 7 runs off his 2 overs.

Max found the boundary 3 times as he top scored for U9 with 14 runs. Josh and Theo also found the boundary, Theo thumping a big six over square leg much to the pleasure of the watching spectators. But U9 couldn’t quite get to grips with the uneven bounce on the plateau wicket. Too many shots were played up in the air and Harlow didn’t have to bowl more than 3 overs before a wicket would fall. Harlow gave away no bowling extras in the final 5 overs as Alexander helped himself to a lovely caught and bowled. U9 scored 284 runs but for the loss of 11 wickets and so Harlow were set a relatively easy target of 230 to win.

Alex and Zafir got the Harlow innings off to a steady start against some accurate U9 bowling. They lost just 1 wicket during their set, Freddie dislodging the bails midway through his first over. The second batting pair played some big shots, including a huge six, as they reached the target with half the order still to bat. They lost 2 wickets in their set, first a run out after a good throw by Freddie in the outfield was collected by Rayaan and later Jasper aimed his first ball straight at the stumps.

U9 remained sharp and energetic in the field despite the result getting away from them. Henry and Theo both picked up wickets and Josh and Farai bowled economically, conceding just 3 and 4 runs respectively from their 3 overs as the light began to fade. The final Harlow pair did not make any mistakes and eased Harlow to a comfortable 24 run victory.

Harlow scored 278 runs in their innings, fewer than U9. However, the Harlow batters were much more disciplined and only lost 5 wickets. U9 must value and learn to protect their wicket, keep the ball down and meet the straight deliveries with an equally straight bat!