Derbyshire U17 Girls County Squad
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Manager: Huw Davies 07582 891358
j.davies079@btinternet.com
Coach: Russell Holmes 07918 706219
russell.holmes@readsoft.com
Friday 12th August 2011
U17 Girls end with a tense win against
Staffordshire
Meir Heath
Cricket Club hosted the girls U17 final match of the season against
Staffordshire.
On a dark and dismal “summers” afternoon with the threat of rain looming all
day, thankfully the rain held off for a nail biting end of the season. Warm
up was not the best prior to the game perhaps due to the fact that
discussions have highlighted this area is in need of improvement. Hannah
Glenn won the toss and elected to bowl.
Jess “the scud” Bakewell and Katie Davies opened up the attack and Scud
delivered with an early wicket bowling the opener for a duck – great start.
Opener Bethany Blackshaw was joined by Elysse Lally and showed how to bat on
a slow wicket showing more than a green tinge. Comfortably going at over 4
an over playing attractive shots and rotating the strike well.
Katie Davies broke the partnership with an LBW decision dismissing Elysse
Lally for 15 and Holly Beresford took Bethany Blackshaw’s wicket who reached
23. The pressure was then applied to Staffordshire led by Holly Beresford
and supported well by Christina Feeney. Sarah Glenn was poised and ready for
a few overs of leg spin however there was only time for one over from Sarah
as Hannah took 3 quick wickets to end the Staffordshire innings - 77 all
out.
Bowling figures:
K. Davies 6-0-23-1, J. Bakewell 4–0–19–1, C. Feeney 5-1-10-2, H. Beresford
7-2-12-2, H. Glenn 4.2-1-7-3, S. Glenn 1-1-0-0
26 extras of which 19 were wides is a considerable proportion in a low
scoring game – food for thought.
The fielding was much improved and supported the above bowling figures,
every catch was taken by the girls.
After another fine tea provided by Meir Heath/Staffordshire it was soon time
for the batters to try and knock the runs off with an aim of also trying to
achieve maximum batting points to have a chance of promotion (dependent on
Durham’s results).
The girls reached 79 for 7 off 23.2 overs when the tense game finished.
This was a disappointing batting display, with only one outstanding
performance. Rebekah Grimley, for the second match in succession showed how
to bat with grit, heart and value her wicket reaching 20 not out when all
the other Derbyshire batters couldn’t reach double figures. Top scorer (34)
were the extras of which 32 were wides, without these the result would have
been different.
Durham have finished top of the league with an average of 14.8 and
Derbyshire second with 14.17.
Sadly there is no promotion which should have been the case with the side
Derbyshire has. To end on a positive note, the girls clearly enjoyed the
season and have showed promise on numerous occasions. Wouldn’t it have been
even more enjoyable to finish top though?
Good luck in the future, but don’t rely on luck – do it yourselves.
Russell
Holmes - U17 Girls Coach
Monday 8th August 2011
U17 Girls
winning streak comes to an end against Durham
Hartlepool Cricket Club is a very
attractive ground to play any form of cricket on. The wicket was perfect for
batting on but the bowlers would also have a good chance to perform on a
sunny and warm summer’s day.
The players were in good spirits and
warmed up very well once again.
Hannah Glenn lost the toss and as
expected Derbyshire was asked to field.
The girls were tasked to start well
which has eluded the team on numerous occasions previously. This time
however, the start was exactly what we needed Durham 16 for 1 off 10 overs.
Unfortunately we couldn’t capitalise on this start and soon the Durham
batters put on a healthy partnership and brought the score to 158 for 4. L.
Ellison batted with class and patience building a very impressive innings
which came to an end reaching 85. R. Petherick supported well with 42 not
out.
With a fast outfield and clean
hitting Durham reached 176 for 5 off the full 45 overs. This was a par score
in the conditions. The Derbyshire bowlers bowled with steady control but
couldn’t make enough breakthroughs when needed and easy runs were scored
when more boundary protection was needed.
The bowling figures were Katie Davies
(9-2-37-1) Laura Slater (9-4-18-1), Hannah Glenn (9-1-32-0), Hollie
Beresford (9-2-31-2), Jess Bakewell (5-0-25-1) and Jenny Peel (4-0-22-0). A
good effort against a fine batting line up from Durham.
Unfortunately our fielding was not up
the mark again and 20 runs could have been saved comfortably. It is all well
and good warming up well when practicing your fielding but in the match is
where it really counts. At Under 17 there aren’t any physical reasons why
knees can’t be bent to get low rather than bending at the hips and letting
the ball through. This needs resolving for the last game.
After a very well prepared tea it was
time for Derbyshire to show how to keep calm, relaxed, be patient and build
an innings, sadly this didn’t happen. Losing Millie Bendall (caught behind),
Katie Davies (played on) meant the score was 18 for 2 off 8 overs. Nina
Smedley was playing nicely and looking in control until taking a 3rd run
from an initial miss field was too much and was run out for 36 –(31 for 3
off 12 overs).
Hannah Glenn and Laura Slater were at
the crease, a mature approach was needed to consolidate and build the
innings as 33 overs were left in the day, which was plenty enough to reach
177. Having technique and talent is a blessing, having patience is what is
required to produce a well crafted innings and a positive result. Laura was
out for 2 off 8 balls coming down the track to Durham’s best bowler who
turns the ball away from right handers. Lesson learned, let’s use what we
learn and become more patient.
Could Hannah see us through to the
end like previous games? Sadly not this time, an innings of 44 assisted by
her sister Sarah looked promising but as the run rate needed to increase
Hannah was caught with 14 overs to go. It’s now time for others to produce
the results and not rely on Hannah to get the runs.
Christina Feeney needed to rotate the
strike to keep Rebekah Grimley on strike as much as possible as Rebekah
scored 37 off only 34 balls to keep the game within grasp but not enough
strike came Rebekah’s way and eventually Jess Bakewell and Rebekah reached
the 45 overs with our total on 155 for 9 just 22 runs short.
Locals praised the game as a good
advert for girl’s cricket which I agree. However, the simple facts are if
Derbyshire had fielded better and ran between the wickets better, (20 runs
could have been saved, 3 run outs avoided and 20 more runs could have been
scored) the result would be different.
Over to you girls to show that you
can improve these elements and win our final game on Thursday the 11th
August against Staffordshire.
Russell Holmes – U17 Girls Coach
Wednesday 20th
July 2011
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls continue their
winning streak against Scotland at Buxton
Buxton Cricket Club
provided the venue, although wet, the pitch was in good condition allowing
the Derbyshire Under 17 Girls to beat Scotland to continue their promising
season.
Captain
Hannah Glenn (picture top left) lost the toss which didn’t affect the
Derbyshire plan as Scotland elected to bat first. Katie Davies and Laura
Slater opened the bowling. As the first ball was dispatched to the
boundary through the covers and the first 2 overs going for 14, thoughts of
a tough game came to mind. The wet pitch certainly had an impact on the
initial bowlers footing in particular Laura at the top end, which was the
more affected by the wet conditions but, there were too many extras
regardless.
Hannah Glen and Holly
Beresford (pictured right) then came on to each bowl great spells of spin
bowling, taking wickets and pulling back the run rate to more manageable
rates. Hannah finishing with 9 overs, 3 maidens, 2 wickets for 22 runs and
Holly 9 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 15 runs.
Jenny Peel (pictured
below left) and Jess Bakewell both bowled well in the middle of the innings
to keep the pressure on Scotland, finishing with 4 overs, 1 maiden, 0
wickets for 11 runs and 5 overs, 3 maidens, 1 wicket for 10 runs
respectively.
Laura and Katie then
came back to bowl out Scotland for 104 in the last over finishing with 9
overs, 2 maidens, 0 wickets for 21 and 8.5 overs, 0 maidens, 4 wickets for
20 runs respectively.
All bar one run out
with a direct hit by Jess Bakewell and one caught behind, all the other
dismissal’s were bowled, proving that playing straight on a low, slow wicket
pays dividends.
On the subject of
caught behind, Rebekah Grimley stepped in to keep for the absent Millie
Bendall. For someone who doesn’t regularly keep, conceding only 2 byes and
taking a catch off Hannah’s bowling was a fantastic effort.
The fielding was
inconsistent, which included some fine diving stops but there were too many
easy runs which needed more effort from the players to stop the ball. The
team needs to improve this discipline going forward, if the players want to
continue their winning streak.
After
a very good tea, our innings was opened with Nina Smedley and Hannah Strong.
Hannah was out first ball with only 1 on the board which left Katie Davies
and Nina to put on a partnership of 22 before Nina fell playing across the
line to a slow, low delivery on the stumps.
At 23 for 2 off 8
overs it was left to the calm heads of Katie and Hannah Glenn putting on an
impressive partnership to see our team home using only 25 overs to claim
maximum batting points.
Katie finished with a
patient 14 not out and Hannah finished with 50 not out including 2 maximums.
Maximums always receive applause from the crowd but for me, the innings
showed great maturity, rotating the strike, being patient, waiting for the
bad ball and pacing the innings to help ensure the maximum batting points
were gained. A fine effort which deserved the applause.
The girls are
unbeaten and clearly enjoying their cricket however, everyone in the team
knows that we are still learning, still improving and they need to work hard
on the areas we discussed after the match if we are to continue with these
positive results.
Keep practicing and
playing as many competitive games as you can.
Well done.
Russell Holmes,
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls Coach
Huw Davies,
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls Manager
Monday 6th June 2011
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls off to a
winning start against Leicestershire on the 31st May 2011 at
Rolleston Cricket Club
After the constant
rain on Bank Holiday Monday the day before the opening game of the U17 Girls
season, it was a credit to the
ground
staff to prepare the ground for the game. The girls have been working hard
on their exams and were obviously looking forward to the game and it was
clear that the players were serious about performing as their pre-match warm
up and fielding practice was the best I’ve seen them.
The Derbyshire
Captain, Hannah Glenn, lost the toss and Leicestershire decided to bat
first. Katie Davies and Laura Slater opened the attack and Derbyshire were
off to a great start
as
Katie Davies took a wicket in the first over and two more in her
second over. Due to the accuracy and pace of the opening bowlers,
complimented by the wet wicket, a low scoring game looked inevitable.
Katy
Davies starred in the bowling department with figures of
5 for 9 off 8. Other
bowlers
who picked up wickets were Laura Slater (picture above), Nikki Brown,
Christina Feeney and Hannah Glenn before reducing Leicestershire to 89 all
out.
After tea the openers
Millie Bendall and Christina Feeney led the way but it wasn’t long until
Katie Davies replaced Christina who was then shortly replaced by Hannah
Glenn. Millie and Hannah accumulated the runs steadily without any undue
risk and put on a partnership of 61.
There was a short
rain delay thrown into the mix during the run chase which ultimately reduced
the target to 79 off 42 overs.
Towards the end
Millie lost her wicket after batting very well for 42 and it was left to
Hannah Glenn and Hollie Smedley to knock off the remaining runs in 17 overs
to claim maximum batting points and the first win of the season.
Russell Holmes,
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls Coach
Huw Davies,
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls Manager
Derbyshire
Under 17 Girls second win in two days, this time against Nottinghamshire 1st
June 2011 at Swarkestone Cricket Club
The weather, the
facilities and the wicket at Swarkestone Cricket Club were perfect for
second game of the season. A hard flat wicket with a covering of grass
offered something for all parties.
Warm up once again
showed the girls were switched on, however the fielding practice was a
little down on the day before but picked up towards the end. It was
noticeable that a few players were stiff from the previous day’s activities
and in particular Hannah Glenn (pictured right) who twisted her ankle during the
Leicestershire game and had to “take it easy” during warm up. Derbyshire won
the toss and decided to bat first. Holly Robinson decided to head a ball
whilst the batters were having their throw downs.
Losing Christina
Feeney early once again brought Katie Davies to the crease. The
Nottinghamshire opening attack was of high standard and tested the players.
Katie was replaced by Hollie Smedley and soon after Laura Slater had her
first chance to bat for the side. Laura was positive and looked on good
form. As the momentum started to pick up Derbyshire lost Millie trying to
play through the leg side to a straight delivery.
Hannah Glenn and
Laura put on runs looking very comfortable before Laura hit a full toss
straight to a fielder. Aimee Jepson, Hannah Strong, Sarah Glenn all tried to
keep Hannah company but unfortunately not for long enough leaving Holly
Beresford to do a great job in batting time, allowing Hannah to compile a
very patient innings which resulted in the first 50 of the season, well
batted, a superb knock.
Holly Robinson came
into bat with 12 overs still remaining in the innings but it was clear after
her first three shots the lump on the head received earlier clearly had an
impact in more than one way. Derbyshire finished on 141 all out.
A quick tea gave the
bowlers and fielders time to warm up and get ready for their opponent’s
innings. Nottinghamshire were comfortably scoring at 4 an over through the
innings but losing wickets along the way. It was clear this game wouldn’t go
the full 45 overs and a result was inevitable, but which way would it go?
Wickets were being
taken by Hannah Glenn 4–23, Katy Davies 3–22, two for Laura Slater and one
for Holly Beresford. An eventful over from Laura Slater including cramp and
more importantly the prized wicket of Nottinghamshire’s Dawson for 53
changed the momentum and somewhat calmed the tension in the air. It was then
up to the cool head of Katy Davies to
take the final wicket and win the game for Derbyshire with 10 overs to go.
Russell Holmes,
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls Coach
Huw Davies,
Derbyshire Under 17 Girls Manager
