Derbyshire Cricket Board - Boys

A determined U10s wrote history (at least according to the records on play-cricket!) today by becoming the first Derbyshire team at this age group to score over 200 in an innings. A truly outstanding effort off only 30 overs. The foundation was laid by an excellent opening stand of 65 between openers Ben Chapman-Lilley (23) and Nathan Snookes (43), followed by a punishing partnership of 85 for the fourth wicket by Alfie Gleadall (45) and Raza Ahmed (35). Between these four batsmen 18 boundaries were scored and this was matched by running between wickets of the highest standard (included 11 x 3s and 1 all run 5 !). Nils Priestley also found time to play a Michael Bevan like cameo at the end hitting 21* off half as many balls faced. The Shropshire bowlers and fielders to their credit never gave up with McCormick deservedly picking up three of the wickets to fall. However it was always going to be a challenging total to chase down. Things did not get any better for the Salopians as James Aldis shattered the stumps in a fiery first over.

An aggressive partnership of 45 then briefly threatened to redress the balance but when Archie Shannon picked up the wicket of top scorer Humes (25) just before the drinks break the door opened. Nathan Hithersay stepped through with a spell of 3/13 that ripped the heart out of the middle order. Nathan bowled full at medium pace moving the ball in the air and occasionally also off the seam - a super effort. Before Raza Ahmed took the last wicket to great celebration there were a couple of other moments of genius worth commenting upon.

Alfie Gleadall's two run outs - whilst England may have problems with direct hits, it seems that Eckington's finest has no such problem, picking up and releasing with lightning speed Alfie then managed to hit one stump not once but twice in the space of five overs leaving everyone in awe, not least the stranded batsmen. A high quality finish to a high quality performance. Well done boys, Repton Festival here we come!

An exceptional innings of 79* by the Northants captain and opening bat Oswald proved to be the difference between the two teams at Great Oakley CC today. The opener carried his bat through the innings setting an example that the Derbyshire top order today were unable to follow. With all of the Derbyshire top 6 getting starts, our batters showed glimses of the talent and potential they undoubtedly have, but the concentration and determination showed by Oswald was the difference - take note boys!

The day was an interesting one particularly for Reece Holmes who got the call at 11am the same morning to make his Derbyshire debut. He then started in the most assured manner by hanging on to a steepling skyer off Archie Shannon with the ball being buffeted about by the swirling wind that prevailed during the first innings. This champagne moment was amidst Northants getting off to a flyer. However Derbyshire showed some resilience as we doggedly clawed our way back into the match as the innings progressed. 7 wickets were shared between six different bowlers with BCL picking up 2/12 including a smart stumping by captain Nathan Snookes. On a different day James Aldis’ searching spell of fast away swingers (5-1-8-0) would have also been rewarded with some wickets. On a less positive note we did concede a number of overthrows and extras, which overall could have made the difference in a tighter game. Some further work needed on the fundamentals of throwing and backing up, mused the coaches!

Batting second was made more difficult by a pitch showing more varaible bounce as the game progressed. However this was not the ultimate cause of our downfall as many of the batters found ways of getting themselves out. At different stages four promising innings Alfie Gleadall (16), Raza Ahmed (20), Ben Wright (12) and Nils Priestley (14) looked like they would flourish into more substantial knocks, but alas not today and in the end we were bowled out with disappointing 8 overs remaining.

There were plenty of encouraging moments through the day and each player at the end could point to something which they did really well in the field, with bat or with ball. However to succeed at this level these individual spots of brilliance are not enough by themselves, as Oswald showed, it also takes great concentration and determination over a longer period of time to truly flourish. A lesson learnt which I am sure we will apply against Shropshire.

3 Batsmen, 2 Keepers and 1 Leg - Another day at the office for the Derbyshire U10s

A look at the scorecard would tell you about a drawn match with some excellent bowling figures and only four batsman in the game reaching double figures. Perhaps not so interesting at first sight? However what actually took place was a tremendous game of cricket from which the boys from both teams will have learnt a lot. Oh yes, I forgot to mention having to carry our wicket-keeper off the pitch injured, a football academy goalkeeper bravely taking his place (surely the wrong sport!) and then the aforementioned keeper returning to the crease to bat with a runner! Starting to get more interesting now!

Warwickshire's innings of 113 for 4 off 35 overs was built on solid foundations. All the Bears batsmen looked comfortable at the crease and our bowlers struggled to breakthrough what seemed a production line of solid left handed batsmen. Whilst credit is due to the Warwickshire top order in particular Robert Yates (42*), equal praise should go to our bowling unit (otherwise known as the whole U10s team!). Bowling of a full length, backed up by some excellent ground fielding kept our opponents in check and Warwickshire were never quite able to go through the gears as they would have wanted to. Stand out performances with the ball came from James Aldis (5-2-11-2), Raza Ahmed (6-1-9-1) and Matthew Kimmitt (5-1-5-0), whilst Nathan Hithersay also chipped in with his first full Derbyshire wicket. When Nathan Snookes went off with a badly brusied foot, Joe Fryatt stepped into his shoes behind the stumps and performed with agility and bravery.

At 37-4 our response had not got off to the ideal start. Skipper Raza Ahmed however played and innings of great maturity to add to his excellent debut as captain. Batting for 15 overs he reached 29 before getting out to his only poor shot of the day. In fact at 73-4 in partnership with Nathan 'Hopalong' Snookes and his trusty running companion Alfie 'Speedy Gonzalez' Gleadall, the target was still in our sights. As is often the case though a wicket lost brought two more quickly and it took some tail end resilience from Nils Priestley and Joe Fryatt to see us home to a respectable draw.