Similar to the Ron Maudsley U13 Trophy the week before, the final week of competition in the U15 League witnessed plenty of activity given the challenging weather during the season.
Despite a poor weekend forecast which saw plenty of overnight rain in Didcot; after removing the covers the wickets were dry, however, there were several areas with standing water at the 7am inspection. As a result of the fantastic efforts of David Hall and the team at Didcot CC we were able to start the Semi-Finals at 10am as scheduled.
Semi-Final 1 saw a clash between the hosts, Didcot against Cropredy. Didcot batted first reaching 117 for 3 after their 20 overs including a composed 51ret off 52 balls by Jacob Townsend and a second wicket partnership of 54 with Luke Hayes 20. In reply, Sam Coggins with 50ret ensured Cropedy’s innings kept pace with the required run rate. However, with the loss of regular wickets at the other end and Sam’s retirement, it left Cropredy requiring 4 off the final ball to level the scores. James Swift came to the wicket and hit a superb 4 off his only ball to draw the scores level for the loss of 7 wickets. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to go through to the Final with Didcot winning on fewer wickets lost, however, Cropredy pushed them all the way. The pick of Didcot’s bowling and fielding was Iestyn Keymer with 2 for 20 off his 4 overs and Freddie Deans with 2 run outs and a catch.
Semi-Final 2 saw Aston Rowant face Great & Little Tew. Aston Rowant batted first with Oliver Veal and Conor Rogan both scoring 29 and putting on 78 for the loss of the first wicket. The innings finished on 112 for 4 off their 20 overs. A wicket apiece for Ben Merritt, Hugh Baker and George Dicks. After a steady start to their reply, Tew reached their target with the loss of 1 wicket in the 15th over with Henry Nicholls 52ret off 37 balls and Thomas Cunningham 26no. The pick of Rowant’s bowlers was Arlo Hyman with 1 for 15 off his 4 overs.
Aston Rowant then defeated Cropredy in a close 3rd/4th place playoff where both teams rotated players, batting order and bowlers to ensure all were given an opportunity. Cropredy scored 91 all out in 19.2 overs with Jake Ayers 39 and Charlie Basden taking 3 for 17 off 4 overs. In reply Lewis North 30 and Jack Veal 25 took the score to 82 to 4; however, despite a late wobble Rowant got over the line for the loss of 7 wickets in the 19th over. 2 wickets apiece for Joseph Sparkes and Oli Dixon.
Despite the loss of an early wicket in the Final, Didcot posted a challenging target of 127 for 2 for 2 off 20 overs with Freddie Deans 50ret and Luke Hayes 46. The pick of Tew’s bowling was A Din with 1 for 16 off 4 overs. Tew’s reply was in trouble from the start with the loss of the first 5 wickets for 11 runs including a superb direct hit run out by Freddie Mercer. Merritt Ben 29 mounted a small recovery, however, Tew were all out for 69 in the 18th over. Didcot’s bowling figures were excellent with 2 wickets each for Luke Hayes, Freddie Deans and Alex Knight.
Paul Short from Oxfordshire Cricket then thanked the teams, coaches, officials and volunteers whilst also recognising the high level of skills on display, the high standards of spirit of cricket being maintained and the number of girls representing their clubs at Finals Day. The day was completed by Paul presenting Jacob Townsend with the U15 County Champions Trophy.
Didcot CC will now have the honour to represent Oxfordshire in the Second Round of the National Vitality U15 Club T20 Competition on Sunday 18 July hosting Great Brickhill CC, the winners of the Buckinghamshire competition.
Good luck to Didcot in the next round!
Our thanks go to the umpires; John Finch, Mark Jenkins, Nick Wilks and Zaheer Qureshi and the scorers Martyn Johnson, Alton Ainley, Chris Nicholls and Dan Mercer. Additionally, a special thanks to David and Isaac Hall and all volunteers at Didcot CC ensuring a great day was had by all.