Bowlers set-up second league win for U11s

In their second NEC league game, Merstham Under 11s won the toss and put Spencer in on a wicket best described as “a monster”. With further rain forecast later in the morning, the game was shortened to 20 overs per innings. 

In the fourth over, Will John-Cox enforced a top edge and Lyle Wesson, keeping for the first time in a year, took a stunning catch diving forwards.

The following over, Sam Gill’s spell of tight accurate bowling picked up a wicket, and Spencer were wobbling at 9-2.  But the next pair of batsman built steadily, despite our excellent bowling, and it needed a bit of magic from Rayhan Ahamadali in the 12th over to break the partnership.  

Matty Cripps then got a run out with a direct hit from mid-wicket, but by now the Spencer batsmen were in all-out attack mode. Merstham were struggling to contain them, and so turned to their quickest bowlers to try and force a wicket. 

Jacob Law cranked up the pace and Spencer's set batsman could only lob straight to extra cover. The next ball blasted through the new batsman’s defence, leaving Jacob on a hat-trick.  Surely not…?  The hat-trick ball was full, straight and swung late: the batsman didn’t stand a chance.  

Incredibly, it was so nearly four in a row: the following ball missed the stumps by a coat of varnish. Crispy then bowled an unplayable wicket maiden and Jacob’s first ball of the following over produced yet another wicket; five wickets had fallen for just two byes in the space of 12 balls.

Like a boxer hanging on to the ropes at the end of a slug-fest, a punch-drunk Spencer were thankful for the end of their innings, finishing on 75-9 from their 20 overs. An excellent performance from the Merstham bowlers but, on another fiendishly difficult pitch, a target that would surely be challenging. 

And at 14-3 after five overs, Merstham were in big trouble.  Matty Beggs and Lyle Wesson had both been bowled by excellent balls, whilst Tom Parkman had nobly sacrificed his wicket after a suicidal call from Roman Cameron.  Roman and Sam Flower then decided that there was only one way to play on such a difficult pitch, and went after anything and everything. (Of course, that’s not quite true: they bat that way whatever the state of the pitch.)

Sam was eventually caught for a swash-buckling 11, but his replacement Will John-Cox simply continued with the attack.  A seven off one ball helped (a no ball was hit for a risky single, and then the shy at the stumps went for four overthrows), but the boys also showed excellent batting skills - Roman gloriously driving over extra cover, and Will deftly guiding a late cut to the boundary. 

Merstham raced to the target inside 13 overs (a full seven overs to spare), with Roman scoring 18 and Will 10 (off only five balls) in our 76-4.

Another great win, set up by yet another fantastic bowling performance.