The Under 13 Bushy Park Girls team was the last out of the blocks for the club in the 2017 indoor Middlesex championship (PLAY-ON, Whitechapel, 28/01/2017). Both the U11 and U15 teams had already dusted off their bats but the under 13s proved that last is by no means least. The last minute withdrawal of Ealing CC from the tournament left 5 teams in a round robin competition that culminated in a final (and 3rd/4th place play-off). Bushy Park Girls bagged the 4th spot this year and finished in high spirits, all ready for the season ahead.

Old Actonians CC batted first in the opening game and in the first two overs from Imogen Higgins and Emma Bridge Bushy Park Girls drew first blood with stunning run-outs. Evie Davies turned the screw with a wicket in the 6th over, keeping Old Actonians to a modest total of 24 runs in their 8 overs. Higgins and Erin Goodwin hit hard and hit early in reply, crashing 23 runs in the first 2 overs. It was a cruising victory for Bushy Park Girls in the end with a healthy total of 40 runs.

The second match against Primrose Hill CC was a closer contest with 9 runs separating the two teams. Primrose Hill batted first and finished on a good 44 runs. It could have been a much larger total if it wasn’t for the bowling of Paige Goodwin and Davies (once again), who both snaffled a wicket apiece. Bushy Park Girls were steady in their response with a particularly impressive innings from Isabel Jenner who achieved her high score for the tournament with an essential 14 runs (in 2 overs). Jenner’s knock made BPG’s run chase straightforward and they ended their innings on 53 runs.

North Middlesex CC scored a high total of 54 in the third match with Simrat Khaira holding back the wave of runs with a wicket in the 4th over. Despite a valiant attempt BPG came up short with 44 runs. Unfortunately a tough schedule of games took it toll on the BPG batting in the fourth game and they eked out a modest 24 runs before Stoke Newington CC scored their 41 runs and took the win. There were still memorable performance to take note of, run-outs in the first two overs of Higgins’ and Emma Bridge’s bowling gave BPG a fighting chance, and Davies knocked back the stumps once again with her accurate medium pacers.

After a hard day in the troglodytic PLAY-ON indoor arena Bushy Park Girls were destined for 3rd/4th place play-off. Nothing separated the teams in terms of quality and spirit but it was their opponents Old Actonians CC who edged a 6 run win. A wicket from ‘Tiger’ Coppin in her over brought the win within reach but it wasn’t meant to be.

For those of you who love your statistics, Imogen Higgins was the 2nd most valuable player in the whole tournament (45 girls). Erin Goodwin was BPGs highest run scorer with a total of 53. Higgins and Paige Goodwin were equal second with 41 runs each. Evie Davies was top BPG bowler with 3 wickets, Erin Goodwin and Isabel Jenner both took 2 wickets. Of course statistics only tell half the story, the other half is a narrative of team spirit and friendship that is impossible quantify.

Compiled using PLAY-ON statistics