It was a wonderful season for the Under 11s this year that culminated with a Middlesex semi-final against Hampstead CC in North London (03/09/2017). Finals day traditionally pits the best in the North Middlesex Leagues against those in the West. It is the toughest day of the season and one that has seen the hopes of  many a Bushy Park girl shipwrecked on North London rocks.

Bushy Park Girls batted first with all the pairs scoring runs against an accurate Hampstead attack. Annie Stirling and Sofia Stapleton-Parslow amassed a steady 12 run advantage in a careful opening gambit. Grace Tasker and Holly Ramsden powered in next, with Ramsden smacking 3 fours in her punchy innings of 13. Hampstead CC realising that they could be in trouble pressed hard for the wickets and it was Beth Crabtree and Hope Jones who were caught in the crossfire. Yet Bushy Park aren’t ones to give up and Crabtree & Jones held their heads high and fought on. The fourth pair saw Stapleton-Parslow come back to the crease alongside Grace Lyon, and they increased the run rate once again with a partnership of 14.

The final Bushy Park Girls pair needed to make some serious runs to post a challenging total, and Rosie Davis & Erin Goodwin didn’t disappoint. Davis is an excellent versatile player has been a real asset to both BPG and Middlesex CC this season. Many of you will have already read about the exploits of Erin Goodwin whose status as the ‘Pocket Rocket’ will soon be redundant as she grows into a willowy young teenager. She has bowled more overs (52) and taken more wickets (18) for Bushy Park Girls than any other player in the club. Both players rose to the occasion with Davis scoring 16 and Goodwin a top score of 20. They helped push the BPG total to 66 in their allotted 20 overs.

Hampstead CC came into bat chasing 67 to win and immediately Sofia Stapleton-Parslow  set the tone, conceding just one run from her first over. Grace Tasker too was on good form with a single taken from her final over of three. Bushy Park Girls needed wickets to derail the Hampstead express and Annie Stirling was just the girl for the job. Stirling took 2 wickets, wiping 10 runs from the opposition’s score. Beth Crabtree, Grace Lyon and Hope Jones combined once again to bolster the middle bowling order. With Hampstead creeping toward their target Holly Ramsden produced a great 2 over spell that was rewarded with a wicket from her first ball. With just four overs to go Rosie Davis and Erin Goodwin once again worked in tandem to peg back the wave of Hampstead runs. It was nervous few minutes as Goodwin bagged a wicket and then a maiden over. Davis opened up with a wicket maiden that sees her total wicket haul reach 10 for the season, she is one of only five BP girls to have achieved this feat in 2017.

Unfortunately there wasn’t quite enough wickets taken and Hampstead reached 80 runs in their 20 overs, securing a 14 run victory and reaching the U11 final later in the day. Congratulations to Hampstead CC on an excellent win. Well done to all nine Bushy Park girls who played in the semi-finals. Thank you to the umpires and scorers. Also to North London CC for hosting players and parents alike.

Thank you to managers Dawn and Ted Goodwin, who have worked so hard for all the Under 11 girls, creating a spirit of inclusivity and participation. At the end of Finals Day Bushy Park Girls were awarded the trophy for Under 11s West Middlesex Champions, an accolade that they achieved by playing a large number of their Under 11 squad throughout the season. Well done to all the Under 11 Bushy Park Girls who have been part of that squad, we are very proud of you all.