Charlbury Cricket Club – ECB U13 Club T20: Journey to the Regional Semi-Finals
The 6th July soon came around, the moment both the players, coaches and supporters had been waiting for. The semi-final in the morning saw our young cees take on a strong Oxford side. Some great batting from Zach Lewis (14), a solid partnership between Louis Harris-Bass (26) & Sam Jones (30*), Seb Dunn dismissing their number one at first ball of the innings and wickets and catches shared round by all, really showed that we were deserving of that place in the final. Things got tense as it went down to the final over, but the calm heads of all secured us a 6-run victory, bowling Oxford out for 111.
Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, Goring secured their win against Thame to set up a final clash: Charlbury vs Goring. With the trophy on the line, our mini cees rose to the occasion yet again. Every player on the team contributed with some tight bowling and sharp fielding, as well as some excellent batting under pressure. After batting first and scoring a defendable total, we were able to bowl Goring all out for 84 in the 17th over in a convincing win, crowning us the Under 13 County Cup Winners!!
The teamwork, support for each other and effort that every one of these players put in is truly inspiring and they should all be very proud of themselves. It was a day of memories, and ones of which will last a lifetime.
A bye in Round 1 of the ECB competition saw us face off against Gerards Cross in Round 2, who had defeated Marlow in Round 1. A rain affected game, reduced the overs to 15. After batting first and scoring a somewhat low total of 78, the pressure was on. Up stepped our bowlers and with the contribution of some outstanding fielding we were able to bowl the opposition out for 65, giving us a 13-run win. The atmosphere down at the club was amazing, a large crowd of supporters gave the team a real boost!
Monday 28th July, our biggest challenge yet. London & East Regional Finals Day, making it to the last 16 of 1,400+ clubs that entered. Whatever the result of the first game, we would play another in the afternoon. Up first, we took on Oakfield Parkonians, a very strong side made up of mostly Essex County players. We won the toss and batted first, scoring 86/8 off our 20 overs. Not a huge total, but something to defend. The opposition came out strong with their number 2 & 3 both retiring not out on 30. After an early run out from David Powell-Jones, it gave us that boost to keep believing. We took it to 13 overs, where the opposition then knocked off the total. They were a very strong side and deserving of the win but gave our players lots of learnings to take from the game. A break for lunch where we were served sausage and chips, we refuelled before our final game of the competition against Cuckfield. Again, they were another very strong side, but wickets from Jack Seaton, Alfie Lewis, George Eaton and Freddie Whitfield, as well as two brilliant catches from Zach Lewis on the boundary kept them to 152/7. We got off to a slow start with wickets falling regularly, but the highlights of our innings were Freddie Whitfield’s 15 and Jake Cooper’s 21 not out. Our innings came to an end where we were bowled out for 99.
The team learnt so much from the day and still really enjoyed themselves and should be so proud of their achievements both as a team and as individuals. A massive thank you to parents, grandparents, and brothers & sisters for coming to support the team in what was a long and hot day at Teddington CC, as well as all the support given during their whole journey leading up to it!!
Players that played during this competition: Otto Bisson(C), Bebe Buckley-Sharp, Jake Cooper, Sebastian Dunn, George Eaton (C), Lochie Finch-Dick, William Greaves, Arabella Haines-Shaw, Louis Harris-Bass, Samuel Jones, Benji Lee, Charlie Lee, Alfie Lewis, Zachary Lewis (WK), Elliot Mathias, Eli Ogier, David Powell-Jones (WK), Jemima Renfrew, Jack Seaton, Freddie Whitfield