U12s hold nerve to beat Kidderminster in last ball thriller
Avoncroft’s Under 12s made it 2 wins out of 2 in their maiden indoor league campaign, beating a strong Kidderminster side by 5 runs. In a game characterised by excellent bowling and fielding from both sides, it was Croft that held their nerve in a very tense finish to squeeze home.
Batting first, Croft looked to be in no bother early on as Harvey Shaw (11) and Sam Taylor (12) combined well to set a platform for the rest of the team to build on. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as Kidderminster’s bowlers maintained an excellent line and length, supported by some calm and clinical fielding. With the remaining Avoncroft batsmen held firmly in check, a final score of 64-5 (net 249) from our 12 overs look well below par against a side that had finished second in the outdoor Premier League last summer.
With little margin for error, Croft bowlers flew out of the blocks, with Matthew Athey (2-6 from 2), Sam Taylor (1-4 from 2) and Fin Morris (1-10 from 2) all hitting the stumps in their first overs. With only 4 an over needed, Kidderminster managed to stay on course throughout the middle overs despite some excellent bowling from Croft’s slower bowlers, with Oisin Morgan (0-6 from 2) the pick. Having started the innings in a frenzied fashion, missing a couple of chances due to over-eager throws, Croft’s fielders were picking up their game when it mattered and some excellent stops helped to take the game down to the wire. Sam Taylor bowled a superb penultimate over, going for just one run, which left Kidderminster needing 4 to win off the last. This was down to 3 off 4 balls when Morgan took a sharp catch at square leg to make Croft favourites for the first time. A scrambled 3 leg byes off the next ball and a sliding stop from Oscar Jinks from the 5th left Kidderminster needing 3 to win off the last ball. Athey kept his nerve to hit his spot, forcing a mishit drive to Jinks who calmly took aim and knocked down to stumps to deliver a deserved victory with Kidderminster finishing on 65-7 for a net score of 244.
Match Report by Paul Athey, 26/01/2018
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