It was a battered and bruised BPG that faced Hampton Hill CC last night (27/06/2018) in the scorching summer sun. After a few last-minute replacements, the girls took to the field a player short and with two players injured but determined.

Captain Paige Goodwin won the toss and elected to put the Hampton Hill boys in to bat. The ball was handed to Imogen Higgins to open the bowling – and she did with a tidy first over – but a day spent in the sun at Borough Sports meant her energy was flagging initially. Paige (3overs/10runs) took up the ball herself for the second over and conceded just two runs, before Simrat Khaira (3o/16r) was called up in the third over, also conceding just two runs in the over.

A change of bowler brought Molly Bartlett (2o/4r) and Iris Saunders (2o/15r) into the attack, but the Hampton Hill openers were starting to look comfortable in their partnership, not taking unnecessary risks and allowing the singles to tick over. Both Molly and Iris bowled accurately, but early wickets were proving elusive. Simrat was called back into the attack along with Ruby Oakley (2o/22r) to try and shake things up, but despite the run rate sitting at about 6 runs an over, the Hampton Hill openers looked like they were there to stay.

With only a few bowlers left to have a go and the run rate per over climbing with the boys’ careful batting, Emily Bryce (2o/16r) stepped up and looked close to rattling the bails on a number of occasions. Still the boys remained. Although nursing an injury and unable to execute her usual lengthy run-up, Erin Goodwin took up the ball and bowled a tidy first over. Emily then gave it another go, but the spectators started to suspect the bails were in fact glued on.

With the score at 95 and only five overs left of the innings, it was time for another bowling shake-up in a last-ditch attempt to keep the score under 100. Erin stepped up for her second over and after conceding one run, she finally hit the mark by clean-bowling the Hampton Hill opener in the 16th over. A new batsmen took to the crease, but not for long as he was caught and bowled by Erin on his first ball. The score remained on 96.

Now fully recovered, Imogen (3o/1wicket/6r) stepped up and bowled a very tight over to concede only one run. Captain Paige gave herself another over, which was very neat, but the run rate sneaked over the 100 mark. Imogen took up the attack again and was rewarded with a wicket on her second ball, caught behind by the very talented wicket-keeper Kerrie-Ann D’Cunha, then followed it up with dot balls. Erin (4o/1maiden/4wicket/6r) was given the ball for the last over and ended the innings with a double wicket maiden, clean bowling one batsman with her first ball of the over and executing another caught and bowled with the last ball of the innings. Despite the late flurry of wickets in the last four overs and the girls’ accurate and neat bowling, the boys had set a respectable target of 103.

After not being able to bowl due to an ankle sprain, Jess Low was provided with a runner (thanks to Ruby Oakley) and stepped up to open the batting with Paige. The girls began as they meant to go on, with boundary after boundary interspersed with a single here and there. Both Jess and Paige’s run rates were high, scoring 18 in the first over alone. Paige was bowled in the 5th over, but not before she had reached 23 in a sparkling display. Jess and her runner hung in for a few more balls, but were then run out in the 6th over, with Jess on 25.

Ruby had earned herself a well-deserved rest! Kerrie-Ann and Imogen then took up the challenge and between them rattled off a few more boundaries (Imogen 14* and Kerrie-Ann 6*). Before the spectators could finish their half-time beverages, the target was reached in the 9th over and BPG had won by 8 wickets.

Post-match analysis indicates that BPG’s tight, disciplined bowling and flurry of late wickets proved effective in what was a good-natured fixture and one that we always look forward to with Hampton Hill. Many thanks to Ted and Dave for umpiring and Sandeep for scoring. A special mention to the valiant injured BPG girls for battling through and the team as a whole for always being supportive and looking out for each other.

Check out the 2018 BPG Stats HERE.

The girls have now secured 2nd place in the MCA South U12 Division 2 league.
You can view the table HERE.