Cerne batted very well because Dorchester had some very penetrating bowling. Daniel is probably the strongest bowler I have seen at this level, and possibly U13, too. So a real credit to Cerne that we batted through the entire 16 overs and kept all those challenging balls out. Special mention to George A-C (26 retired) & Honor (batted for 10 overs), who shared a partnership of 48. Given that wides were the top scorer, batting the overs was critical to our healthy score.

Or rather, healthy until Daniel came out with the bat!! Cerne bowled better than Dorchester (only 12 wides in 16 overs), but our bowling didn’t have the penetration of Dorchester’s. Ultimately, Dorchester won because they were hungrier for the runs. They were always on the look-out for runs and put our fielding under pressure…. And we buckled. We conceded over-throws when there was never a chance of a run-out. Our backing up fell by the wayside, as did the use of our hands for fielding and gathering balls. Poor Evan’s ankle bore the brunt of this, and he showed great fortitude in coming back to bowl the final over, finishing with figures of 2 overs, 1 wicket for 9 runs. George, Mark, & Seb all also bowled economically.

Many positives, especially the cardinal rule to bat all the overs available, and work as batting teams to create partnerships. And to play cricket in such a positive manner.

Report written by Edward Gallia