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King's St Alban's
14 June
Cricket: Remarkable progress and skill.
U9 and U8 Cricket v The Downs
The U9 and U8 cricket team had an outstanding match against The Downs on Tuesday afternoon, showcasing remarkable progress and skill. The King’s St Alban’s team opted to bat first, with each pair facing four overs. Their batting was exceptional, focusing on finding gaps rather than just hitting the ball hard. Dylan, Matthew, Ben, and Martha hit boundaries, with Matthew notably scoring a fantastic Six over the leg side boundary. The team’s smart running between the wickets contributed to an impressive total of 276. In their bowling and fielding innings, the team remained focused on bowling straight and staying alert, with Romi, Nell, and Martha each taking a wicket. Overall, it was a brilliant performance that highlighted the significant progress they have made throughout the year.
U9 and U8 Cricket v The Downs
On Tuesday, our Years Three and Four girls played an exciting pairs cricket match against The Downs. Greta, leading the team, won the toss and opted to field first. Elodie opened the bowling and delivered a commendable performance, conceding only five runs in her first over. Every player had the opportunity to bowl at least one over, showcasing their skills and contributing to the team’s overall performance. Maddie stood out with an exceptional over, allowing just three runs and taking a crucial wicket, setting the tone for a competitive game.
Chasing a target of 248 runs, our girls took to the field with determination. Each pair batted well, with Kasvika and Greta emerging as the highest-scoring duo. Their partnership was a highlight of the innings, adding 24 runs without losing a wicket. The match was a real nail-biter, with both teams demonstrating great sportsmanship and skill. After tallying the scores, it was revealed that the game ended in a thrilling draw, with both teams scoring 248 runs each.
Congratulations go to all the players for their fantastic effort!
U9 Cricket v The Downs
The six children from the Under 9 B-team weren’t deterred by the unseasonably cold conditions when they took to the field to play their cricket match against The Downs School, on Tuesday afternoon.
The Downs batted first and posted a respectable score of 232 for 6 wickets. Hannah and Millie bowled first, and they both took two wickets each during their four overs! Henry and Zack also bowled well, with Zack taking a wicket, before Pip and Alban came into bowl, with Alban taking one wicket, to help set a realistic run total to chase.
Batting in pairs, the children all played with increasing confidence, and posted a very impressive total of 295 runs for the loss of only one wicket – a fantastic achievement! There were several boundaries scored, with Henry and Alban both hitting a Four, and Zack hitting two Fours in a row!
Overall, this was a really impressive performance from the team from St. Alban’s, and was a great opportunity for the children to gain confidence, whilst further developing their cricketing skills, in a match situation.
Well done to all of the children who took part and represented King’s St. Alban’s so well, and thank you very much to the parents and grandparents who braved the rather chilly conditions to come along and support the team.
U11 & U10 Cricket v The Elms
The U11/10 team was disappointed by the postponement of the IAPS tournament on Monday but showed their talent in a warm-up game against King’s Hawford. On Wednesday afternoon, The Elms visited Slingpool Walk for a T20 match. The Elms’ captain won the toss and chose to bowl first. Despite Reuben being caught out early by a brilliant ball that hit the off stump, Francis and Joel formed an excellent partnership, with Francis scoring 26 off 24 balls and Joel 18 off 22. Louie then delivered an explosive performance, scoring 20 runs from his first six balls, including three Fours and one Six. Jonas and Rook added some nice shots but were unable to find the gaps before being dismissed. The team posted a total of 105 but batted only for 16.1 overs due to losing too many wickets.
When The Elms batted, they started confidently, but the U11/10 team demonstrated good game awareness and pressure tactics, guided by captain Reuben. Standout bowlers included Louie, who took two wickets and conceded just five runs in three overs, including a maiden over; Jonas, who maintained a low economy rate with only seven runs off his two overs; and Ben J, who took a wicket with his first ball for the team. Freddy H also impressed in his debut, fielding brilliantly and bowling a solid over. Although the team fell short of victory, their progress and performance this week have been commendable.
|
BOWLER |
OVERS |
RUNS |
WICKETS |
ECONOMY |
|
JONAS H |
2 |
7 |
0 |
3.50 |
|
JOEL B |
2 |
11 |
0 |
5.50 |
|
THEO S |
1 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
|
LOUIE F |
3 |
5 |
2 |
1.67 |
|
BEN J |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
U11 & U10 Cricket v The Elms
On Wednesday afternoon, our Years Five and Six girls teamed up to play a pairs match against The Elms. Ellie lost the toss, and The Elms chose to field first.
Laura and Millie opened the batting strongly, putting 17 runs on the board without losing any wickets. The standout partnership was between Lottie and Zara, who scored 14 runs off their three overs, also without losing a wicket. Zara’s batting was particularly impressive as she struck every ball she faced, and she later took an excellent catch during the fielding innings.
Laura opened our bowling with a steady over, conceding only three runs. We ended our innings with a total of 268 runs but, unfortunately, lost four wickets, bringing our final score down to 248.
During the changeover, we discussed the importance of tight fielding and minimizing extras. Laura opened our bowling with a steady over, conceding only three runs. Our bowling attack was solid, with Millie, Ellie, Emily, and Charlotte each taking wickets. The match remained close until The Elms’ last batting pair came in and scored 28 runs, securing their win.
Although we lost the match, the girls should be proud of their performance. There are a few areas to work on, particularly the non-striking batter backing up in preparation for quick runs. Overall, it was a commendable effort, and the team showed great potential.
U11 & U10 Cricket v The Elms
The girls had a wonderful afternoon playing cricket against The Elms. We lost the toss and were put in to bat. The first ball of the game Phoebe hit a six: excellent! We carried on in that vein and gained four Sixes and five Fours. We scored a very respectable 316. After a short break and a chat about walking in and being encouraging on the pitch, it was our turn to field. Jess and Ivy opened the bowling and had great overs. Grace was third to bowl and very nearly produced a maiden over, except for a pesky wide at the start. The Elms were excellent batters and they over took our total in the last over. It was a thrilling match, not knowing which way it was go to go until the last over. Their batting score was 332. Batter of the Match was awarded to Yifei and Bowler, Maddie. Well done all.
U11 & U10 Cricket v The Elms
Plenty of parents and grandparents made their way down to the school playing fields to watch the children from Year 5 and 6 play in their respective cricket matches against teams from The Elms on Wednesday afternoon.
Twelve children from the two year groups had been selected to represent King’s St. Alban’s in the B-team, and they were all keen to showcase their improving cricket skills. Captain Arlsan won the toss and elected to bowl and field first. The boys all tried their best to bowl as accurately as they could, on a rather unpredictable wicket. However, The Elms proved to be very strong in bat and posted an impressive score of 293 runs, only conceding 4 wickets. These wickets were taken by Archie, George B, Rory and George P, who all bowled well and thoroughly deserved their wickets!
During the changeover, the boys were reminded about the importance of making sure that their partner needs to be able to run to the other wicket safely, without being run out, as well as them. Knowing that they would have to be at their best in order to reach the required amount, the team promptly went on the hunt for runs. After a rather unlucky ‘Golden Duck’, Archie and his partner Will, didn’t let this affect them as they went on to score three Fours between them straight after. Arslan posted a Four of his own, when batting with Jacob, before T.J. hit a Four and then a Six off his first two balls! Humphrey and George B posted six runs between them, whilst Ethan and Rory scored nine runs in their partnership. The innings was concluded when Harry D and Jasper hit two Fours in their pair to leave St. Alban’s with a final score of 255 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.
This match was actually a lot closer than the scores suggest, and was essentially decided by a few avoidable mistakes when fielding, and a few indecisive calls when batting, which ended up proving the difference between the two teams. This match was a great opportunity for the boys to continue gaining important match experience against a strong team. Thankfully, these mistakes can be easily rectified, and will be something that the boys can learn from and hopefully improve on, when they play in their next cricket match.
Well done to Jacob, Humphrey, Jasper, Rory, George B, Ethan, T.J. Arslan, Archie, Harry D, Will and George P, who all played well and tried their best. Thank you also to the parents and other spectators who braved the cloudy conditions to come along and support the boys – your support is always very much appreciated!
