Hampton Hill CC and Bushy Park Girls CC have played out some memorable matches over the past two seasons. Last night (15/05/2018) was no exception when Bushy Park Girls snatched a tie from the jaws of defeat. Hampton Hill are one of BPG’s brother clubs and like a sibling we admire their qualities (of fairness and inclusivity) but we also revel in the challenges that they set before us.

Hampton Hill won the toss and chose to field. Bushy Park Girls’ opener Molly Bartlett set the tone of her innings by hitting the first ball of the match for a four. Conditions were perfect for cricket and particularly batting, over the next hour or so Bartlett treated the sunset crowd to a fine display of boundaries. Accompanied by Paige Goodwin they built a partnership that wouldn’t be broken until the 19th over of the innings. Bartlett finally succumbed on 57, scoring a first half-century that surely wont be her last. Goodwin’s contribution shouldn’t be underestimated. Her total of 34* was accumulated without hitting the boundary rope once, it was an innings of hard graft in contrast to Bartlett’s champagne cricket. A perfect combination.

After waiting 19 overs to bat Kerrie-Ann D’Cunha came in for the last over and selflessly sacrificed her wicket in pursuit of runs. Iris Saunders helped the ever present Goodwin (P) to push the final BPG total to 114 for 2 (in 20 overs).

With Bartlett exhausted after her epic innings Kerrie-Ann D’Cunha was thrust into wicket-keeping duties as Hampton Hill came out to bat. What a fabulous team player to have at your disposal, and she was kept busy with a number of run out chances that just failed to lift the umpires’ finger. The Hampton Hill openers were in fine form too (scoring 45 and 43) but the Bushy Park Girls stuck to their task well. Throughout the team it was one of the best performances in terms of extras conceded.

Opening bowlers Erin Goodwin (2 overs/7 runs/0 wickets) and Jess low (2o/8r/0w) were ever reliable figureheads for Bushy Park Girls. Their younger team mates Ruby Oakley (2o/15r/0w) and Sophia Stapleton-Parslow (2o/17r/0w) were a little disrupted when a football was continually kicked onto the pitch by some inebriated young men. Hampton Hill’s batsmen employed perfect drop and run tactics, easing singles amongst a handful of boundaries. However hard BPG tried in the field they couldn’t break the opening partnership. Imogen Higgins (3o/13r/2w) was the magic ingredient and in the 15th over she teased an edge into wicketkeeper D’Cunha’s safe hands. Emily Bryce (2o/16r/0w) bamboozled the new batsmen with her crafty left arm bowling. In her second over Bartlett engineered a run out, leaving Hampton Hill on 97 for 2 at the end of the 16th over.

After her epic batting performance Paige Goodwin (1o/4r/0w) lifted tired legs to keep the pressure on the new Hampton Hill batsmen. The game was interrupted once again by drunken behaviour from the sidelines (not by parents!) and the umpires stepped in to calm the situation, and confiscate an errant football. Iris Saunders (3o/14r/0w) and Simrat Khaira (3o/20r/0w) were unfazed and kept up an excellent line and length in the final overs. Both should be praised for the way they responded to the pressure. With Hampton Hill needing just 3 runs to win BPG captain Jess Low chose Higgins to bring the game to a conclusion. With two singles eked out in the first 5 deliveries it came down to the last ball of the match. Hampton Hill needed 1 run for the win. Higgins had no room for error and her final ball smacked the stumps! A tie was a fitting end to a fantastic match, played in a great spirit. Hampton Hill finished on 114 for 3 (20 overs).

Thank you to Dave and Alex for umpiring (and crowd control) and to Adam, Jonathan, Ryan and Alban for scoring. And to Dawn for managing the girls once again. We always enjoy our matches against Hampton Hill, and the boys always host us with great respect.

View the full BPG stats HERE.