An overcast morning met Elstead U11s in Normandy. Credit to the kids for realising this was definitely a bowl-first day, but sadly lady luck had other ideas and our great hosts Normandy won the toss and elected to field.

These two teams have not met before - and neither have either team played the somewhat confusing Hundred rules, so it was a real step into the unknown. What quickly became clear though was how good the Normandy opening bowlers were. Danny and Stan opened for Elsetad, and both got off the mark with quick singles. When Danny hit the 4th ball of the morning for a sumptuous 4, things were looking good, but he perished very next ball trying to repeat the shot. Harry came to the crease earlier than he would have liked and was soon joined by Coen when Stan got one that swung a mile and could only edge it into his own stumps. Harry and Coen looked to be settling in and played some nice shots, but in these classic English early-Summer conditions batting was very hard, and Coen too got an unplayable swinging delivery that shattered his stumps. At this stage Elstead looked in trouble at 10 for 3, but Normandy play cricket in a great spirit and like Elstead believe in giving everyone a go. The excellent opening bowlers were removed from the attack, and while the bowling was still very good, Elstead got a chance to settle through Harry and Tom.

Indeed this pair slowly shifted the momentum Elstead's way, picking up runs at regular intervals including a beautiful 'shot-of-the-day' cover drive from Harry for 4. Both Harry (13*) and Tom (9*) reached their 20 ball max deliveries and retired not out, with Elstead now 40-3. Gabe and Lochy were in next and it was great to see both scoring tidyly on their way to 7 and 11* respectively - Gabe falling trying to hit out on his final ball, and Lochie retiring after facing the full permitted 20 deliveries. From here there were only 15 balls left, and trying to push the score on Elstead didn't really make the most fo them, scoring just 4 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. More composure needed at the end of the innings. But Elstead had posted a decent 93 for 6 of their Hundred deliveries, and given the conditions and our bowling line-up, it felt defendable.

After squash and biscuits, Danny opened the bowling for Elstead, the Normandy batsmen had good form and were watchful, and although Danny bowled brilliantly, no wicket could be extracted. Stan started from the other end bowling with real pace, and noticeably swinging the ball. Unfortunately for him this simply resulted in two edged fours off his first two balls. Things tightened up considerably from there though with both Danny and Stan coming milimeters away from taking a wicket. Between them the next 10 balls didn't yield a run, and then finally Stan struck, pegging back the top of off-stump.

By now Normandy were realising how hard it was to bat in the conditions, and the batters were being very cautious. Tom and Jake bowled next and both bowled very tidily - Jake picking up Elstead's second wicket, as the scoreboard ticked along slowly. Gabe and Felix were the next pair to bowl and although both were hit for fours, they also bowled very tidyly to keep that scoreboard pressure growing. Then came the decisive turning point in the match as Harry was introduced to the attack just as Normandy were trying to hit out. 2 wickets in 2 balls, both beautifuly deliveries that crashed into leg stump. Elstead firmly on the up. Things got even better in Harry's second over when the strike batter pushed for a run that was never there, and Harry ran him out.

That left Coen and Benji to see things home for Elstead. And they did it with real style and composure, conceding just 13 runs off the final 20 deliveries. Its not easy seeing out matches with the ball and real credit must go to Benji, playing his first Cup match for Elstead. With the game already won, there was time left for a champagne moment - Benji's last ball being lofted slightly by the batsman, and Danny taking a brilliant one-handed catch diving in from Mid-Off. Normandy ended on 79-6 and Elstead had won by 14 runs. On to round two of the Hundred Cup!

Things to work on for Elstead are our batting set-up - getting better at defending those balls which are coming straight at our stumps, and we can be better with our field placings and alertness, but all in all this was an excellent first match of 2026 for the U11s, of which every single player should be really proud!

A word for Normandy who were excellent hosts and played in a really good, encouraging spirit. They also introduced a lovely concept of having the kids select a bowler and a batter of the match - so well done to the following as selected by Normandy:
Batter of the Match: Harry L
Bowler of the Match: Stan C