Skills develop as season progresses.

U11 Girls’ and Boys’ Cricket v King’s St Alban’s

On Wednesday, Mrs Butt’s cricket team played away against KSA on the beautiful pitch with the best view of the Cathedral.

Darcy led the team as Captain, and did so with confidence right from the start. Darcy and Jetta were the first pair into bat, quickly putting 10 runs on the board as a pair and setting a solid base upon which the rest of the team could build. Oscar and Evan were able to develop this further and the team quickly got into a rhythm, demonstrating superb cricket etiquette by supporting and clapping their batters on and off the field. Luke and Ben scored a solid 15 runs between them, with Hattie and Robyn making good contact with bat and ball throughout. Archie and Evan were the last pair into bat and tied up the innings nicely, with Evan finding the boundary for Four.

As the team went in to bowl and field, they were in a solid position and confidence grew. There were some excellent performances, with Jetta, Oscar and Archie bowling nice and straight and presenting a real threat to the batters. Evan bowled spectacularly and was on for a maiden over until he was hit for Six on his last ball, but his was a very consistent bowling performance.  Jetta showed quick reactions in the field, getting the ball into the stumps quickly for a run out, and Hattie showed real athleticism to take a tremendous catch. Darcy was a vocal and positive captain, who encouraged lots of celebration in the field and bowled beautifully throughout. She took three wickets in total, two of which were in the final over of the game, and drove a clear wedge between the scores in our favour.

The opposition nominated Hattie for Fielder of the Match and Archie for Batter of the Match. Both were very well deserved after a very enjoyable game.

 

U10 Girls and Boys vs King’s St Alban’s

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Hodgkins’s U10 cricket team got their season underway with the first hardball match of the term against King’s St Alban’s. Despite the wicket still being rather soft, reducing carry through to the wicket-keepers, both sides worked hard and produced a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable fixture. KSA won the toss and elected to bat first against a strong Hawford bowling attack fronted by Henry, who opened the innings with an impressive display of pace and accuracy. Henry was soon in the game again, taking an excellent catch at mid-wicket off the bowling of Arthur A for the first wicket of the innings. Further outstanding bowling from Millie, Lyra and Arthur O continued to frustrate the Opposition’s batters before another breakthrough with an excellent piece of fielding from Lyra to instigate a run out after a superb over from Harry that had built pressure. The Hawford bowling innings finished the way it started, with yet another outstanding over of fast and accurate bowling, this time from Marnie. Each ball was more threatening than the previous one, and Marnie delivered a crushing blow to the leg stump to take the third wicket with the final ball of the innings. A special mention should go to both Charles and Thomas for impressive performances, sharing the gloves and debuting as wicket-keepers.

The Hawford team began the run-chase with pleasing levels of positivity, as Pippa found early boundaries on the leg side. Harry and Finn then put on a superb partnership, with excellent running between the wickets, before Harry fell to an unfortunate wicket as the ball stayed low on the soft pitch and skidded under his bat. Despite this, he showed impressive resilience, hitting a Four in the next over. Oliver, Charles, Millie, Lyra, Arthur O and Arthur A continued the charge towards the St Alban’s total, all demonstrating some lovely deft touches with the bat and intelligent running to capitalise on mis-fields. Despite losing a further two late wickets, Henry and Thomas managed to complete the job with several valuable runs at the back of the innings. This was an excellent first performance of the term, with many positives to take from it. Player of the Match was our captain for the day, Marnie P.

 

U10 Girls and Boys vs King’s St Alban’s

The Under 10B team were involved in a titanic Top Field battle with their counterparts from KSA, with the final scores only six runs apart. Highlights with the bat included some Flintoff-esque piledrivers from James B, and some excellent pinch-hitting from Barnaby and Jude, finding the gaps in the tight field set by the visiting skipper. Having scored a mighty 259 from our overs, we set about defending it in fine fashion. Mary took a fine catch, Thea performed a clever run-out, Pip K gave away nothing with some miserly deliveries and George C was a whisker away from a career-first hat-trick. The crowd were on their feet in anticipation of the final KSA pair, needing 16 for victory to take back down the Ombersley Road, with the promise of a super over if scores were tied. In the end, James and Noah bowled well, only conceding nine from 12 deliveries, and victory was ours. It was a very enjoyable afternoon for all concerned and a well-earned match tea was shared by both teams.

 

U10 Girls and Boys vs King’s St Alban’s

Down on the Bottom Field, Miss Lake’s team won the toss and chose to field first. The team got off to the tremendous start, with Olivia G producing some excellent, accurate overarm bowls. In the fifth over, Elizabeth’s fielding ability was put on show, producing an excellent long barrier just in front of the wickets and stumping the batter out as they ran. Chloe T, Chloe S, Jess and Freddie continued King’s Hawford’s spree by bowling tremendous balls, each bowling their opposing batters out. After the first innings, Robin and Freddie took to the crease, facing some incredibly fast balls from the opposition. Each pair faced some well-practiced bowlers, with Chloe T producing an excellent, airborne strike, unfortunately falling just before the boundary. King’s St Alban’s awarded the Batter of the Game to Olivia G and Bowler of the Game to Freddie. Miss Lake’s star players went to Robin and Chloe T. The whole team should be proud of their accomplishments.

 

U10 Girls and Boys vs King’s St Alban’s

Sunshine, Cricket and the glorious grounds of King’s Worcester: what a wonderful afternoon of cricket was witnessed this week, with King’s Hawford travelling down to face our U11 boys and girls from King’s St Alban’s.

Once again, every single pupil in Year Six had the opportunity to represent King’s Hawford and play in some great, very close fought matches. What was most pleasing to see were the improvements in everyone’s play, with several children hitting regular Fours. Special mention goes to Sienna and Annabel, who each achieved four wickets between them. Each pair batted amazingly and communicated well, with Ava W and Bella W showing super progress in their bowling.

Well done to all the boys and girls, great cricket played in the right way and in the right spirit! Mrs Beech was impressed.

Player of the Match, awarded by St Alban’s, went to Annabel J.

 

U8 Girls and Boys vs King’s St Alban’s

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Hodgkins’ U8 cricket team enjoyed a stiff challenge, playing against their counterparts from King’s St Alban’s. Batting first, the Hawford children worked hard in their pairs, with a real focus on watching the ball carefully and developing their footwork at the crease. The bowling attack from King’s St Alban’s kept things very tight in the early overs, but runs soon started to flow at a consistent rate, enabling the children to refine their decision-making skills and judgement when running between the wickets. Highlights of the innings included impressive boundaries from Joshy and Persie and a strong final partnership by Isaac and Cassian. The crowd-pleaser was Tilly, who put on an exceptional display of batting that included three consecutive Fours. The Hawford children continued to work hard as the St Alban’s batting innings began.

We demonstrated super levels of energy and awareness in the field against a strong batting line-up. The children have worked really hard to improve their overarm bowling techniques in recent weeks and this will continue to be a focus for games lessons to reduce the number of wide balls. Mr Hodgkins was especially impressed with the accuracy of Orri, Eleanor, Isaac and Thomas, who all kept the extras to a minimum and looked a constant threat. This fixture proved to be another fantastic learning curve for the Year Three children in their early development as cricketers.

 

U8 Girls and Boys vs King’s St Alban’s

Mrs Butt’s U8 team were delighted to step out onto the central wicket in front of The Barn on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. There was much excitement and anticipation as it was the first game of the season for many of them. We welcomed a mixed U8 and U9 team from KSA who started the match batting, with King’s Hawford setting themselves up to field and bowl.

Each child had a good opportunity to bowl, bat and field, putting into practice what they have been working on in Games lessons. There was some fantastic bowling efforts all round, with Elise taking a wicket with her accurate and consistent bowling; Alanna and Rupert impressed with their lovely technique and consistently straight action finding the target with almost every ball.

Bruce showed some great bowling and was very alert and active in the field, moving for every ball. A standout moment in the game was when Bruce gathered the ball and sent it in with a direct throw to the stumps to take a wicket; his teammates all celebrated his achievement with him.

Alanna and Sylvie opened the batting for King’s Hawford, quickly settling into a rhythm and scoring some runs. Connie and Elise made great contact with bat and ball and were able to get several runs from their efforts. Bruce and Rupert worked well together with some great batting and running to score several runs for the team. Simi and Gabe batted well as a partnership, with Simi making good contact with the ball and scoring runs together.

Simi led the team as captain and thanked the opposition with a fantastic three cheers at the end of the game. All the children had a very fun and positive experience, which sets them up well for their next fixture and the rest of the cricket season ahead.

 

U8 Girls and Boys v King’s St Alban’s

Over on Miss Lake’s pitch, the seven girls faced an U8 and U9 King’s St Alban’s team who had clearly been practicing their bowling technique. King’s Hawford batted first, with team captain, Amelie, striking the ball well to give herself and Evelyn chances to make three runs in the first over. Play continued and slowly the girls added more runs to the scoresheet, with Ffion and Sophia communicating well with their batting partner and deciding to run when appropriate.

After the first innings, the girls became fielders. Each girl had the opportunity to practice their overarm bowl that they have learning in games lessons. Ensuring their bowling arm is straight as it comes through, the girls focused on bowling straight towards the opposite wicket. There was some great technique on show, with Amelie and Georgia bowling two players out with accurate, fast bowling. Ellie M is also commended for some fantastic wicket-keeping, concentrating and using her speed to stump a batter out. King’s St Alban’s awarded Player of the Match to Amelie; however, all of the girls should be proud of their achievements as for most of them this was their first ever cricket match.