The U11s have had a brilliant season, especially in the cup, however their special cup dream came to an end on Friday to a good Meltham side.
They first met Armitage Bridge away in the first round. Denby batted first and made a quick 322 for 1, final score of 314. Raefe Hunt being the standout in this fixture with a brilliant 25 *. Armitage Bridge made a weak 248 for 9, final score 176. Eddie Gumpert, Ben Goodman and Nico Panazzolo each taking two wickets for little runs.
Denby had a bye the next round but were ready for a tough game the following week against Marsden at home. Denby batted first once again and made a solid 287 for 7, final score of 231. The home side reduced Marsden to 283 for 9, final score of 212. Star performers here were Ben Goodman with both bat and ball, Archie Stancliffe for 17, Billy Haigh for three wickets and Eddie Gumpert for holding his nerve at the end as he bowled the death over.
Denby had made it to the quarter finals and faced Almondbury Wesleyans. This was a nail-biting affair and involved Denby facing two Huddersfield players. Denby batted first on home soil and made a score of 289 for 7, final score 233. Archie Stancliffe scoring 21 of those. It must be noted that Isobel Farmer's performances all year have been brilliant and she especially shined in this particular game. I must admit I wasn't very confident at half time and excepted a defeat. However Denby showed true heart by taking an early wicket through Amos Stancliffe's bowling. I must say that Denby's fielding in this particular fixture was exceptional, they played with passion, every man was getting in the way of the ball and Denby took three catches, Will Chapman's catch was brilliant and arguably secured the game for the green army. Wes finished on 277 for 7, final score of 220, meaning that Denby would progress to the semi's.
Meltham were Denby's next opponent. Denby were coming off a league defeat to Cumberworth yet they still gave Meltham a great game. Meltham batted first making a good total of 272 for 5, final score 232. Billy Haigh with an exceptional display of bowling 3-8 of 3 overs without a wide. Denby got off to a bad start, losing four wickets in the first pair. They fought back though, with Ben Goodman making 13*and Nico hitting two excellent boundaries. It came down to the last four overs. Outstepped the two Stancliffe brothers, Amos and Archie, set with a near impossible task. Archie made 14 including two sixes. Amos also made 14 with two excellent fours. Denby needed 7 off the last 4 balls and unfortunately fell just short finishing on a final total of 282 for 7, final total 226, in a cruel defeat.
We shouldn't take anything away from Meltham though as they played well and are set up for a cracking final against Honley or the other undecided semi finalist. The team shouldn't get to down over this result as they have had an excellent tournament. They are the most successful Junior side for Denby in recent years and should look forward to the end of this season (as they still have a chance of league success) and the next where they should be pushing for more success and another cup run.