The U11s were officially crowned champions of the West Middlesex league last weekend and qualified to play in the Middlesex regional finals against runners-up Ealing and the top two teams from North Middlesex.

Coming at the end of a long summer break, the girls took to the field for the semi-final against Primrose Hill and, with Eve as captain, elected to field first. The girls bowled accurately against some formidable opponents and there were some well-deserved wickets for Imogen, Jocelyn (her first wicket for BPG) and Rosie.

But it was the fielding that was most impressive, with some excellent athleticism from Beth as she threw herself around the boundary enthusiastically, her goalkeeping skills coming in handy!

However, Primrose Hill racked up a run total that would prove hard to beat, even with great batting partnerships from Imogen and Evie, and Erin and Eve. Despite some great calling and enthusiastic running, a few too many wickets meant BPG lost the match by 15 runs. We have to applaud Jolie for stepping up to play in the final, even though she has not played a match for BPG before and is a newcomer to the sport, and to Isabel for stepping in at the very last minute when her teammate fell ill.

As always, a huge thank you to Frank for umpiring, Ted for scoring and all of the parents that came along to support the girls, with many staying on to watch the U13s in action and cheer them on as they were crowned Middlesex champions.

We are exceptionally proud of how the team has progressed this season. Many of our players had never held a cricket bat before, let alone bowled a ball, before the season began and to be crowned West Middlesex champions after just one season together is testament to their energy, enthusiasm and hard work.

We have to say a fond farewell to those girls moving up into the U13 group, but we are excited to see what next season holds – maybe we can get our hands on the regional trophy next season…