HYTHE & DIBDEN UNDER 11's Vs MUDEFORD

16th July

Toss Won by : Hythe

Hythe save best till last

Hythe and Dibdens under 11 team saved their best batting performance to the last game of the season and amassed a whopping 299 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets of their allotted overs.

Winning the toss and electing to field 1^st - it looked as if things were not going to go for the watersiders as nearly every bowler this week lost their lines and wides seemed to be the order of the day.

Jason Shorto was the pick of the bowlers this week picking up 3 for 17 of his 3 overs and proving genuine leg spin at any age is tough to play.

Mudeford partnerships however continued to steadily build a score that looked increasingly out of reach and after 12 overs had put 260 on the board… ouch . However the last 4 overs only went for 7 instead of 17 as Jason picked up 2 wickets in the penultimate over to stop the rot. Kieran bowling the last over only going for 5 runs as pressure mounted.

So 267 was the closing score which at this level is a good one and normally a winning one……but not today……..

Tom and Kieran opened today to get the ball rolling and were solid in defence. Running the byes and wides were possible, picking up singles and Tom hitting the fence they quickly got the score upto 30 after 4 overs and heads already seemed to drop in the field as well as in the home crowd.

Jason and Charlie followed both not really hitting it of with the bat this year but everything seemed to click today especially skipper Charlie who although bowled 1^st ball in his innings pulled it back to score 16 runs of the bat as the ball was smashed to all parts. Jason at the other end also found form and but for an unsporting way of getting out kept his score positive with some cracking shots and good running.

257 of 8 and things were going great. Richard Jones out for the last few weeks returned as keeper today and himself and Chris came in at N03 pairing and again both found form. Mudeford bowling by this time became as wayward as our own in the 1^st innings so enabled the pair to play sensibly and take no risks as the scoreboard continued to tick over to the delight of the travelling posse. 273 of 12 overs and already in the lead so nothing risky and the game was won……..Dont be silly, and although our last pair were our smallest pair in size to the delight of the Mudeford players Nathan and Connor have consistantly been the best pairing this year and requested to bat last . Mudeford bowlers were quickly finding the defences of the 2 lads hard to breach as textbook forward defensive shots were being played. Mixed in with a few more wides and a few simple singles the score after 14 overs hit 285 and the game was lost for Mudeford. Fun time and under instructions to go for 300 they set about dismantling the Mudeford bowling Nathan hitting 2 bounderies to the fence Connor taking singles and as the dust settled the score put up on the board 299. The largest batting score this year for the team.

A great and fitting ending to the season and one hopefully, enjoyed by those who played this season.

We send 4 of our team up to the under 13’s next season , but a nucleus of 6-7 others stay at this level and I’m sure greater things will happen next year in this age group We definitely have stars in the making..

A big thank you to the parents this year for all your help, it is appreciated , and I hope your sons have enjoyed the games as much as I have….( Although its definitely more stressful watching your son playing than playing the game yourself of that I can assure you….)

Innings of : MUDEFORD 267 for 4 ( 16 Overs )

Hythe Bowling

Innings of : HYTHE 299 for 3 ( 16 Overs )

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