U13 Falcons just short of target against Datchworth

On a sunny Sunday morning, visitors Datchworth won the toss and elected to bat. Runs came at a fairly steady pace, underpinned by some impressive running between the wickets, exploiting the relatively large outfield with only 6 boundaries scored in their 20 overs. Falcons bowled well, with two clean bowled wickets by Amelia and Edie, though still gave up a relatively consistent stream of extras. Having begun to to control the rate in the middle part of the innings, some strong hitting by Datchworth's final pair set an imposing target of 303.

Stortford's response started well, with first pair Amelia and Poppy keeping up with the rate. Some solid bowling in the middle overs resulted in a few wickets going down, including a run out or two, keeping a lid on Stortford's otherwise solid underlying run rate. All hope seemed lost at 250 with 5 overs to come, though final pair of Isla and Betsy delivered some powerful hitting and keen running to add 49 runs, including 5 boundaries and losing no wickets, leaving the Falcons agonisingly short.

This was a good game played in a fine spirit against a well coached team. A huge thanks to Betsy and Poppy for volunteering to split the keeping duties, both performed admirably.

Player of the match: Betsy for leading the charge on the run chase.