Bushy Park Girls were back in action this week (17/03/2018) at the Middlesex Indoor tournament in East London. It is a hard competition to win, Bushy Park Girls have only lifted the coveted trophy once before (in 2016). The best teams in Middlesex gathered together, the top two clubs* from the West (Ealing & BPG CC) and the North (North Middlesex CC and North London CC) clashed in the hope of securing the early season accolades.
Match 1 – Bushy Park Girls started slowly in their opening match as North Middlesex CC batted first. Paige Goodwin took the first wicket but it was an expensive first 4 overs in this short 12 over format. Emily Bryce and Molly Bartlett kept wicket well throughout the tournament but even they couldn’t stem the flow of runs. Bushy Park Girls relied on their youngest players, Erin Goodwin and Imogen Higgins to fight back. Simrat Khaira was spritely in the field, taking a nice catch off the wall. Higgins bowled well taking 2 wickets, Paige Goodwin a feisty 3 wickets but the plaudits go to Erin Goodwin with a fighting 4 wicket haul. North Middlesex CC ended their innings with 84 runs, a decent total for a misfiring BPG to chase.
Despite losing a couple of wickets in the first over Millie MacEacharn and Molly Bartlett built a steady foundation for the following pair Goodwin (P) and Khaira to build upon. At the half way stage BPG had scored 35 runs, and needed another 50 runs to win the game. The innings of Emily Bryce and Jessamy Low swung the match in Bushy Park Girls favour with a blistering 40 runs partnership in their 4 overs. Goodwin (E) and Higgins closed out the match, both hitting sixes as they reached a total of 96. (Erin Goodwin was voted Player of the Match by the SportsDock staff at the University of East London.)
Match 2 – Bushy Park Girl’s second match was a more comfortable affair against North London CC. Once again the opposition batted first but this time Low and Goodwin (E) put the screws on straight away. Higgins also kept it tight with Khaira getting her first wicket of the season. In the dying overs both Goodwin (P) and Low also bagged wickets, pegging back North London to a modest 69 runs.
It was a fine batting performance from the Bushy Park Girls. Goodwin (P) and Low opened proceedings and after reaching 35 in their 4 overs it all looked rosy. Bartlett and Bryce kept up the pace before MacEacharn smashed a number of sixes straight back over the bowlers head. The final pair were cautious but batted intelligently to secure the win. BPG scored 96 in their 12 overs. (Jessamy Low was voted Player of the Match.)
Match 3 – With Ealing CC and Bushy Park Girls both unbeaten in the tournament the final game was a winner takes all contest for the Middlesex Indoor 2018 title. Bushy Park Girls batted first and it wasn’t all plain sailing. Ealing bowled accurately and it was hard for Bushy Park to free their arms. Khaira and Bryce were the exceptions, both reached double figures and both caught the eye in their fluency. Bryce in particular bludgeoned her way to a tasty 20 in her 8 ball innings. Bushy Park Girls’ final total of 53 looked well under par.
It is with great credit that Bushy Park Girls took this game right down to the last ball of the Ealing innings. They fought to deny Ealing easy runs, they were electric in the field and their team spirit was palpable. Bryce, Bartlett and Goodwin (E) all chipped in with a wicket each, while Higgins’ 3 wickets started to worry Ealing as they chased the small total. Low steamed in for the last over, bruising for a fight. After smashing two Ealing wickets she needed a third on the final ball but it wasn’t meant to be. Ealing scored 55 and won by 2 runs. (Emily Bryce was voted Player of the Match)
It was a tournament played in an excellent spirit. Thank you to the organisers and the other teams. Congratulations to Ealing CC on their Middlesex Indoor title. Well done to all the Bushy Park girls, a fabulous performance. A special mention to Milly MacEacharn for captaining the side and Ted for managing.
Bushy Park Girls Cricket Club 