6 wins out of 6! – Catlin’s Colts report 15th June
Colts report, week ending 15th June
6 OUT OF 6
A busy week in the cricketing world of Preston colts, first of 6 games saw the under 10 incredible team visit Stevenage. On winning the toss we elected to field, a good all round bowling and fielding display saw us restrict them to 219/10 after their allocation, pick of the bowlers was Pushan with 3-6 and Olly J with 2-10. Our reply started well with Joe finding the boundary a couple of times as he and Olly J added 17. Next up saw Luke and Pushan take the score to 230, before Jack and Tom put the game beyond doubt adding 40, Jack scoring 17. Last pair of Frazer and Adam saw us through to 292/2. A good solid win.
Next up on a bright sunny morning the under 10 hardball team looked to get their season going against a previously unbeaten Bishops Stortford team. With a large crowd basking in the sunshine we were inserted. First pair of Tom and Jack batted really sensibly and took the singles and when Jack found the boundary off the last ball we had scored 15. Pushan and Luke then added 14 for one dismissal, the running and shot selection being very good. The highest partnership of the match came next when Adam 22 and Joe 7 batted with confidence and intelligence to score 34. Adam found the boundary on four occasions, but Joe’s front foot pulls were perfectly timed. The final pair of Ollie and Olly C ran everything so that there were only 3 dot balls, although both were out once, they put on 25, Olly C scoring 19. The final score of 293-3 was by far our best of the season.
Taking the field we wanted to bowl straight and reduce the number of extras we have given away, and we managed to achieve this. The first four overs saw a maiden by Joe and a wicket for Tom thanks to a catch by Ollie S. The next four overs saw a clean bowled by Luke so at the half way stage the visitors were on 213.The next 2 overs saw some boundaries before a tight over from Adam and maiden by Olly C left them needing 67. The final pair tried hard, but a run out and a wicket maiden from Olly C( 3 2 3 1) saw us come out as winners. A much better all round performance.
The under 11 team went to Pirton and found themselves in the field, The home side started well scoring off most deliveries with either quick singles or well timed fours. Our one success was a run out. The next four overs saw the score slow down as 19 runs were added mainly in extras but no more dismissals. So at the halfway stage the score was 249/1. A quiet over followed before the score accelerated quickly with extras and a couple of boundaries, two wickets, both bowled from Josh and Olly kept the score to 268/3. Our last four overs saw us bowl the straightest and 15 run were scored for one wicket from Adam, the final score of 283/4 was going to be a hard one to get.
The reply started carefully with Josh and Ewen batting sensibly against the opening quick bowler. After 4 overs we were on 206/1. Next up Shaan and Olly were looking to increase the scoring to give us a chance, they started in style with the first ball being sent to the boundary. The next over got us right back into the game with Olly taking 17 from it. The pair finished with a partnership of 34, Olly 25 and the score on 240/1. Billy and Guy need to tick a long to give the final pair a chance, unfortunately not the best start as we lost 2 wickets in 3 balls. A recovery including a well hit four from Guy left the last pair needing 37. Adam and Frazer strode to the wicket knowing losing a wicket would probably lose the game. The first over saw 5 from it, before Adam struck 14 from the next over. The return of the opening bowler saw Frazer play some perfect defensive shots to get Adam on strike, before Adam took 8 off the last two balls. One over to go and 7 needed. A drop and run shot from Frazer got Adam on strike and he hit a good shot through the legside to scamper 2. A single followed then a bye to the wicket keeper resulted in a throw to the bowlers end where there was no fielder and we got 2. Frazer then played the ball on to the legside and Adam was home. The last ball and a defensive shot from Adam won the game for Preston by one run. Adam on 27, but Frazer 3 was just as important. (284/3) A good batting performance and running between the wickets.
Wednesday’s visitors to Preston were WGC, on a lovely evening there was some friendly rivalry on show between friends. WGC elected to bowl and took the upper hand in the first half of the innings as some slow and straight bowling accounted for 5 wickets as Preston looked to accelerate, at the half way stage we were 212/5. Adam and Joe then produced a partnership of 21 which would have been more but for 2 dismissals in their last over, one an excellent catch from Jack, who was the fielder of the day, Adam top scoring with 16 with one out. The final pair of the Olly’s looked to set a challenging score and batted sensibly, running well and hitting a boundary to post a final score of 263-7.
WGC reply started well with 16 without loss off the first 4 over. This increased to 237 after 7 overs, and then the eighth over produced our first wicket: a caught and bowled for Olly C. The third quarter saw Preston get back into the game with a maximum of 3 being scored off any over, Tom getting a wicket in these overs. The last pair needed 21. Pushan bowled an excellent first over to get a wicket. Tom bowled a steady over to leave 20 off 2overs. Adam bowled the penultimate over but his direction was slightly off and 12 came off the over. Skipper Olly C elected to bowl the last over and bowled three dot balls all well stopped by Ollie S. Welwyn could only manage a couple of singles off the last 2 balls and the win was Prestons, a great tight game, played with smiles on everyone’s faces.
The penultimate game of the week saw a young and talented Ickleford side come to Preston. On winning the toss Preston elected to field. The first four overs saw Preston take 2 wickets from Adam and Shaan, with Ickleford picking up most of their runs in extras. The next pair took the score to 217, with Guy getting a wicket. The third pair took the score to 232 due to a wicket off the last ball from Olly . The last pair tried to accelerate but tight bowling from Josh and Ewan made it difficult. Olly returned to get a wicket with his first ball to be on a hatrick, but there were no more incidents and the innings finished on 238-6
Preston reply got off to the worst possible start when we lost 2 wickets in the first 4 balls. Some clever running by Billy and Ewan got us back in to the positives and we finished on 208. Olly and Josh lost a early wicket before 11 were taken off the second over, a few more boundaries from Olly 18, saw us end on 222. Another new pair and another wicket first ball, a couple more wickets followed but some wayward bowling and quick running allowed us to finish on 233. A sensibly last wicket partnership by Adam and Joe was needed but a wicket in the first over meant we still needed to score, another wicket soon followed and we were left needing 11. A good penultimate over which saw 10 including a boundary from Adam 12, meant Joe needed to defend the last over for us to win. Three dots balls came and went and then Joe clipped one off his legs for 4, this was followed by 4 byes and a 5, as we closed on 256-9.
The final game of a long week saw the under 10 Hardball team travel to previously unbeaten Hertford. A tired looking Preston side took to the field and spent the first 11 overs chasing the ball around the park as the home side looked to post a sizeable score, at this stage they were on 276/1, the wicket being a caught and bowled from Adam. The final over of the third pair seemed to bring Preston to life, Olly C bowling the batsman and then a run out reduced Hertford to 267/3. The final 4 overs saw some tight bowling from Pushan and Jack, followed by 2 wickets in three balls from Adam (3 0 19 3), the final over produced another wicket from Olly C (3 1 5 2) Hertford closed on 263/6.
This score gave Preston a chance, and a very good opening partnership from Jack and Tom, who ran very well between the wickets and with Jack (11) dispatching a couple of boundaries, saw us on 220. The next pair of Pushan and Ollie S struggled in the first over as three wickets fell, they then recovered with both hitting boundaries to leave us on 226. Adam (10) and Joe looked to take us close to the total and with some intelligent and quick running , runs came of 20 of the deliveries we were on 249 with the final pair to come. With speed merchants Oliver J and Olly C coming in, could we get the 15 runs? The first 2 overs saw 16 runs, so defence was now needed. An excellent over by the Hertford bowler accounted for Olly C and we needed 3 from the last over. Two singles off the first two balls levelled the score, before a noball 3 from Oliver took us into the lead, Olly C then played 3 immaculate forward defensive shots to see us to victory. Another good performance with the bat, excellent running by everyone.