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NEW FOREST CUP SEMI-FINALS

HYTHE UNDER 13'S vs TOTTON & ELING

10th July @ Hythe

Zac MILLAR 31*

Hythe Go Out In Semi-Finals As Totton Prove Too Strong.

Hythe Under 13’s cup run ended at the semi final stage on a miserable evening at Jones Lane.

The toss was lost by skipper Kieran (a rarity in itself) and Totton elected to bat first. Alex Nicholas & Sam Long took the new ball and after 2 overs only 5 runs had been scored and things were looking good. It was not long until Hythe took their only wicket of the game, Alex removing Hythe old boy Jason Shorto, expertly caught by Elliott Carley in the gulley with a diving one handed catch behind him. It was to prove the only highlight of Hythe’s fearsome bowling machine which seemed to stall at that point. At the bowling changes Josh & Kieran - Hythe’s premier strike team - were introduced but for only the first time this year the two struggled to find the correct length with the ball, where it was dispatched with ease to the boundary by Pinkney, Drake & Cartwright - who all retired on scores past 30.

With only playing an hour, due to league rules and the failing light, Richard Jones came on to bowl one over towards the end and he got the same treatment as the others as Totton piled on the pressure, his over including a huge 6 from Cartwright. The Totton innings closed on 124 - a big total to chase down in worsening conditions as the rain was slowing the outfield and swelling the ball. In truth - if Hythe’s bowlers had worked the magic we know they can - finding the right line and length - we could have been chasing less than 100 runs.

124 runs to chase, Hythe sent in Zac Millar and Elliott Carley in the pinch hit to get the run rate high at the start. In the first 3 overs it seemed to work as the score was 23 - exactly what was required. Zac made the batting look easy against the pace attack of Totton. Elliott took one for the team in the 3^rd over - a blow to the stomach from J Drake - but got up and battled hard until dismissed for 9 runs in the 6^th over - 40 - 1. Skipper Kieran entered the fray and got off the mark comfortably. A quick bowling change brought on J Cartwright and the first ball drew Kieran down the wicket for a miss and a lightning quick stumping from Pinkney. Richard Jones and Zac continued the chase and after 10 overs had reached 60 runs until Zac’s retirement on 31 - a fine innings from the opener. Nathan joined Richard and, like Kieran, got off the mark quickly until he was bowled by Cartwright for 1. Mark Reid the went the same way, Josh Mead pushed up the score with Richard until he was caught going for the big runs. James Bidwell, after his nasty fall in the field, came out and hit the ball hard and he and Richard hit 13 runs off the last 3 overs to finish on 97, Jones 28 not out, Bidwell 6 not out.

Hythe’s Under 13’s showed quality with the bat, it was a shame that the bowling didn’t come off as planned, but - as explained to the players afterwards, they did well to get as far as they did and all teams have a bad game at some point - we look forward to next week against Lymington A which will be a cracker.

Toss Won by : Totton & Eling

Innings of : TOTTON & ELING 124 For 1 (16 Overs)

(J.Drake 32*, B.Pinkney 31*, J.Cartwright 31*)

Hythe Bowling

Catches : Elliott Carley 1

Innings of : HYTHE 97 For 5 (16 Overs)

Totton & Eling Bowling : J.Cartwright 3-14