On a relatively blisteringly hot bank holiday Monday Adel played host to an Aire Wharfe u11 representative, or Lord's Taverners 11 (or 13). A more nervous and hyperactive Adel team than normal warmed up and then went into bat. Elliot and Lucas put in the early groundwork allowing the team to score 86. The top order Taverner's batters played solidly and marched steadily towards the Adel total. However, trial's matches are not that straight forward as 3 of the Taverner's hopefuls had to retire after they'd got themselves 'in'. The pressure and excitement of the day was starting to take its toll with 20 overs to go as the tired boys had gone quiet and their minds had wandered elsewhere. 11 a side cricket playing 30+ overs takes a lot more concentration and energy than the shorter version of the game they are used to. They looked like they were starting to go through the motions, waiting for their total to be passed so they could trundle back to the dressing room and take solice in some treat from the amply stocked tuck shop. However, the day was not yet over. More tight bowling and the drinks break was enough to disrupt our guests and allow the Adel bowlers and fielders to create enough pressure to squeeze out one wicket then another. In the end the Taverner's fell 4 short, but given the retiree's I think a draw is a fair overall result. A pretty good outcome for our boys and something they should be proud of.
The freshly cut and rolled strip on the edge of the square looked green and damp, a perfect wicket to stick em in on. Elliot tossed up and Adel put their pads on, actually almost all of them did, which did not inspire confidence. Shayan and Lucas opened up, again showing signs of nerves, an edge to the keeper missed, an inside edge passing close the the stumps and then an upward cut caught at point by Jaysal. Elliot joined Lucas and together set about progressively (as is the way with Cricket) building a solid platform for the remaining batters. The green and wet track was slow with the ball rising off a length. I thought 75 to 80 would be a par score. Lucas was eventually out with 12 overs to go, caught. Siyam was promoted up the order to score some quick runs. Elliot also went caught, top scoring with an impressive 32. Sam came to the wicket and played a solid innings, hitting 15 valuable runs, as he saw partners Arjun, Charlie, Louis come and go. Surya batted out the final balls taking Adel to a decent score of 86.
The Taverner's batters, Luke Fairbanks and Joe Smith, played well against good bowling from Elliot and Siyam and then Sam and Surya. With wickets hard to come by, Andy ordered the 2 openers off for a fresh pair of batters. This opened things up and wickets started to fall. Will Pallister was caught by Shayan, George Hanson was run out, Ed Patterson was caught by Zac, Elliot Goldthorpe was asked to retire after plundering a four and six over square, Jake Miller was caught by Louis, Freddie Scott was caught driving by Siyam, Oliver Burton was run out, then Wahab was run out, during this Charlie took a hatrick of catches from midwicket. Elliot and Siyam, Adel's best bowlers, came back on at the end to keep runs hard to come by and ensure they fell a few runs short at the end.
Overall a good learning experience for all the boys and hopefully enjoyable cricket to watch for the parents. Thanks to the catering staff, Bridget, Julie, Santosh and Juliet, thanks to Andy for arranging the Taverners team, thanks to Henry Hughes for scoring and thanks to our parents for re-arranging their BH Monday.
Thanks
Simon