After the postponed Actonians game on May 4th and failing to field a team for The Lady Taverners tournament on 7th, Bushy Park Girls U11s were raring to play some cricket.

In the end it was a tough match for the girls in their first outing in the Middlesex U11 league against old adversary Ealing CC, despite promising early signs. Ealing batted first and Rosie Davis immediately took two wickets in the first over, followed by a wicket for Claudie in the second. Prospects were good. A mix of fairly decent, slow and wide bowling restricted Ealing’s runs to 46 in the first 10 overs and it was good to see the new players like Elodie, Amelia (who top scored with 5), Lola and Lara without much previous match practice, all have a bowl and experience fielding. Annie bowled a nice maiden and got her hands to two difficult chances that failed to stick. The girls were lively in the field but took no more wickets, and Ealing’s more experienced batsmen opened up and put on 69 runs in the latter 10 overs, Mia top scoring in the match with 14. Ealing posted a handsome 115. Too many wides were a feature.

In their reply, Bushy Park started well enough with Grace, Lexie, Bea, Lara and Amelia in the runs while Lola was brave facing good bowling from Ealing’s Annabelle and Luna. After 10 overs, BPG were on 39 versus Ealing’s 46 at the same point and a competitive match was on the cards. Wickets fell regularly, however, when Scout, Kikuko and Annabelle (Middlesex players) hit their rhythm with some impressive line and pace, those three taking six BPG wickets in six overs, bowling few wides and keeping our runs down. This combination reduced BPG’s total to a mean 37, which was not a fair reflection of the spirit and work the girls put in. Rosie managed to score some nice runs at the end but also was unfortunate to be caught behind twice, bobbling up two decent deliveries to the wicket keeper.

Ealing, the stronger team, triumphed by 78 runs. BPG return to training resolved to tighten their bowling, concede fewer wides and learn to guard their wickets. Onwards to East Molesey on Monday.