Bushy Park Girls Cricket Club under 13s started their 2016 summer season with a hard fought win over Ealing Cricket Club yesterday (25/04/2016). Although there were battling performances throughout both teams the real opponent on this murky and chilly evening in Ealing was the weather itself.

Bushy Park Girls CC who were captained by Amelie Munday (vice captain Phoebe Head) batted first and scored 71 for 8 wickets in their 15 overs. The conditions weren’t ideal for batting with bad light and rain in the air. Opening for BPG, Munday top scored for her team while Molly Bartlett was second highest run scorer. Alice Harvey on her debut batted well and was retired Not Out. Another notable debut was from Priya Chana.

Ealing were curtailed by some accurate bowling from the Bushy Park Girls and once they dispatched their opponent’s top order they took the upper hand. Sadie Day and Jessamy Low opened the bowling against some aggressive early batting from Ealing, it was Low’s two wickets in two balls which put Ealing onto the back foot. Thereafter the accuracy of bowling from Emma Nunn, Paige Goodwin and Erin Goodwin kept Ealing to 63 for 3 in 15 overs and gave BPG their first win of the summer season. A special mention must go to Simrat Khaira who was the only girl to bowl a maiden in the whole match.

Both sides will have benefited from this friendly, giving the girls their first taste of hardball competition in what has been an early season of unpredictable weather. The words of poet Thomas Tusser  (1524-1580) come to mind ‘Sweet April showers do spring May flowers’. The girls will grow stronger for the experience and will blossom in the months to come.

Thank you to Ealing CC for hosting us, the girls who played, parents and especially Sandeep Khaira for scoring the match.