U11 Cricketers gathered early on Sunday morning. Desire to play when the day was coolest, and pressure to get to the paper boat race called for a 9:00am start.

Normandy have been a great team to play against this season, with many of the kids making friends and genuinely happy to see each other for the third installment. Normandy are a great team who play cricket how it should be played, and the graciously accepted outr invitation to bat first - in case the match ran long and some of our kids had to get over to the Moat for some fun on the water.

Stan opened the bowling against a familiar Normandy batter with a slightly closed batting stance but a great eye for the ball. Not for the first time this season Stan bowled superbly without reward, with the batter slapping him for a risky 4. Oli started from the other end and also bowled well, but once the Normandy opener was back on strike he hit a 6 to keep the scoreboard pressure going. Stan's second over was as good as his first, but one slighly leg-side delivery was clipped for 4 and Stan again somehow ended wicketless. Oli's second over was also very tight, and both Stan and Oli ended on creditable figures of 0 fo 10.

Just how well Oli and Stan had bowled against the Normandy openers soon emerged, as an unfortunate Jake (not bowling badly at all) was bludgeoned for 16 runs off the first four balls of his first over. Fortunately the Normandy batter had already raced to 33 off just 19 balls and now had to retire not out. Things tightened up from here, and although Gabe was hit for 4 his first over went for only 5 runs, before Jake's second over also conceded 5. Somewhere in all of this we had a pitch invasion from a very excitable canine who broke free from their owner and raced about the cricket pitch with glee for a minute or so before being returning to its owner, much to the disappointment of some of the kids. We also had an early drinks break when the Normandy opener hit a rasping drive that Stan reacted quickly to get his body behind, but sadly not his hands. 3 runs were saved, but injury treatment was required. Fortunately Stan was able to return to the field a couple of overs later, but not before Gabe had bowled a really excellent second over, conceding just 2 runs.

Coen and Harry bowled next and by now the run rate was really slowing down. Harry in particular bowled very well - after a loosener that went for 3 wides first up, he only conceded 3 further runs off his remaining 11 balls to finish on the most economical figures of the day - 0 for 6. Not for the first time this season it was Felix who got our first wicket, the Normandy number 3 being excellently caught by Gabe. The arrival of the next Normandy batter though pushed the score along again, as Benji, Felix and Jack all bowled well but couldn't quite keep a lid on the boundaries.

With Lochie doing an outstanding job as wicket-keeper all innings, third overs were given to Jake and Gabe, and neither disppointed, picking up our 2nd and 3rd Normandy wickets (a great catch from Harry for the last), as the score stumbled up to 126 for 3. This was a great fielding performance from Elstead. Bodies were put on the line in the field and we had a lot of 4's saved through excellent fielding. Although 2 extremely difficult catches were dropped we also caught well, and the bowling was very tight - with just 27 extras conceded. 126 was a good total, but one we felt we could chase on this wicket.

So after much-needed refreshments it was Elstead's turn to bat. With Stan feeling unable to run after his fielding injury, Oli and Benji went out to open for Elstead, and began very nicely against some generally accurate and quick Normandy bowling. However even in the opening overs there was at least one delivery an over that wasn't quite working for Normandy, and extras were helping Elstead's cause, ensuring that the run rate kept very much in our favour. And Oli and Benji batted very well as well, continuing from where they'd left off last week - sensibly defending the straight balls and then hitting out when they could.

It took the introduction of Normandy's most accurate bowler to eventually prise out the wicket of Benji for an excellent 7. Not only did Benji bat well, but he and Oli ran well, putting plenty of pressure on the fielders and running plenty of byes. Benji's dismissal brought Harry to the crease, and he and Oli looked to accelrate from the off, with 10 runs coming from the next 4 balls. Oli was then a little unlucky to be very well caught by the bowler for 14, and Gabe came out to partner Harry.

Gabe has been in need of a good inings for a few matches, but any lack of confidence was quickly dismissed as he hit 1 off his first ball and then a glorious 4 off his second. That started off a lovely partnership between Harry and Gabe with both scoring regularly, and both playing some sensible cricket. Gabe's confidence started to flow but unfortunately once into double-figures he tried one big hit too many and was out bowled for 11. A great game for Gabe, backing up his wicket and catch.

Lochie now came out to partner Harry, and the scoreboard continued to accelerate thanks to some great batting from Harry which saw him retire on 32 not out, with only a handful of runs needed for victory. This was another lovely innings from Harry - although he survived a catching opportunity early in his innings he looked utterly ease from then on and powered to a retirement at over a run-a ball. Coen came out next with just a few more runs needed to get Elstead over the line, and it was great to see him get a run. Sadly there was no opportunity for more as Lochis hit the next ball for 4, taking Elstead to 129 for 3, and a 6 wicket win.

Although we were helped by 57 extras today (many byes which we turned into runs thanks to great running between the wickets) this was one of our best batting performances of the season. Adding that to great fielding, tight bowling and outstanding wicket-keeping, this was a really good performance from the whole team!

Players of the match as chosen by Normandy:
Bowler = Jake
Batter = Harry