26th April 2017 at Holmfirth CC
Having netted with Thurstonland all winter this was always going to be a close match for the first game of the season as both teams were very familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses. And so it was, with the match being decided by a tight direct hit run-out on the penultimate ball of the match… in favour of the home team!
Batting first, Holmfirth made a strong start without losing a wicket from the first pair of Dan and Boris. Good running between the wickets from both players was a sign of good communication and add to this a number of tidy boundaries and Holmfirth were off an running..
Showing the benefit of expert coaching from Thurstonland’s Lee Booth over the winter, Hughie and Sam both showed big steps forward from last season against some good bowling from some of the opposition’s better players, and despite losing a couple of wickets they kept Holmfirth moving forward with some good singles.
It was also evident from Callum and Will’s batting that they have both picked up some quality new skills over the winter and they battled through a couple of torrid early overs to make a good recovery and showed some classic Bridge Fold stubbornness to thwart some good line and length bowling in the last 2 overs.
The double debutants Harry & Ronnie were next up and again showed that they have learnt quickly over the winter, with grim determination evident that they didn’t want to sacrifice their wickets too easily. It’s a tough start for any debutant batting against more experienced bowlers, but they both made a great start to their Holmfirth CC batting careers!
Sonny and Jake were the anchor men and Sonny played a classic supporting role holding up an end whilst Jake did what he does best, letting loose with a number of great boundaries to rack up a decent score for the Holmfirth innings.
It was obvious though that Thurstonland were a good batting outfit though and the Holmfirth team all knew that they would have to be right on the money to prevent the opposition making a good score.
All the boys bowled very well and again it was apparent that great improvements had taken place over the winter and although Thurstonland did make a decent start with a few good boundaries the Holmfirth bowlers and fielders continued to apply the pressure with fairly regular wickets keeping the score in check.
Particular mention should go to Harry and Ronnie – again bowling their first competitive hard-ball overs - and both did very well showing that they had really listened to Callum and Lee through over the winter. Ronnie took his first wicket in his second over and took the acclaim of all his team. Harry got his first experience of how hard that ball is and got a nice bruise on his hand trying his best to take a tricky catch!
The Holmfirth fielding overall though was slightly concerning – except for Dan behind the stumps who was excellent – and some real focus needs to be given to this vital area of the game at Friday night training as no matter how well you bat and bowl it is vital that you field well to convert good batting and bowling into positive results!
Going down to the last over the scores were very close, and it was looking very likely that Thurstonland would be taking the points, but after swooping for a good pick up at mid-wicket Jake turned and shied at the stumps and a superb direct hit cost them 8 runs with only 2 balls to go. Holmfirth were now secure in winning this tight game played in good spirit against a team who have become friends to many of the players over the winter and the camaraderie and mutual respect was good to see when they all shook hands at the end.
A good start for the u11’s, but the key thing moving forward must be a focus on fielding!