Although I couldn’t be there, I heard rave reviews from Nigel and Dom about the game and the performance of the team. I’ve paraphrased their feedback below...I just wish I could have been there....
All the boys played brilliantly to be honest, and it was a much more comfortable result than the score suggests.
Zack was captain and Thomas vice-captain and they were both positive and supportive in the field. All of the more experienced boys were helping the younger players with field placements and encouragement, which was great to see :-)
Aidan was really reluctant to open the batting, but we talked him into it with a bit of help from him mum. Anyway, he batted beautifully, so hopefully this has helped his confidence. Hugo, Zack, and Kit all looked very comfortable and each retired 'Not Out'. Between all 4 of them they piled on the runs.
We then started juggling things quite a bit to make sure everyone batted. Despite the low scores, all of the new and lower order batsmen faced lots of balls and had a valuable amount of time at the crease, which should increase their confidence and experience.
We then fielded and bowled really well. Special mention to the following....
Luke - AMAZING fielding, he was everywhere!
Issac - Bowled the final over and conceded just 1 run when Bath were looking to try to steal the game
Milo - Brilliant spin bowling (really loopy way above the batsmen's eyeline), plus a great dive later in the game to save a certain boundary
Edward - much improved bowling action :)
Although those were the standout moments, it was another great team performance and it was nice to see all of the boys working together for each other. They are developing into nice young men: supportive and positive, congratulating good balls and encouraging when needed - nice to see and really what the game is all about.