A warm end of May Sunday morning greeted the fixture between Sidmouth U11s and Whimple. Whimple decided to bat. Harry Ensall (4 overs, 2 for 24) took the new ball for Sidmouth and by the end of his first over, Whimple were 5 for 2. Good catches by Thomas Moore and Frederick Wheeler got Sidmouth off to the perfect start. A tidy opening spell by Harry and Jash Patidar was followed by a two over burst from Thomas Burhop who quite literally blew the Whimple middle order away. He finished with exceptional figures of 2 overs, 3 for 6. Jordan Fowler was his miserly self with 2 overs, 1 for 3. The support bowling was excellent as well and Sidmouth never allowed Whimple to post a challenging score on a good wicket and fast outfield. At the end of their 20 overs Whimple managed to get 94 for the loss of 7 wickets.
Sidmouth’s reply was measured, as Elliot Emmott was dismissed in the first over. A sensible partnership between the two Thomas’s maintained the run rate and when Thomas Moore was bowled for 15 Sidmouth still required 60 off 12 overs. That brought Louis Adey to the crease and bot he and Thomas Burhop continued pinching singles and putting the bad ball away to the boundary. Unfortunately, a mix-up in the calling meant Louis was run out for 9. Jordan Fowler strolled to the crease to join Thomas. Again sensible batting between this pair saw Sidmouth get close to total required. For the second week running Thomas Burhop had to retire after reaching 30. His batting performance was the back-bone of the Sidmouth chase. Only requiring 5 to win Jordan and Jash completed the win with an over to spare.
The team performed well today. The fielding and bowling showed the depth we have within the squad and the batting goes from strength to strength. There was one standout performer for this week’s Man and the Match and that was Thomas Burhop for his superb bowling figures and 30 not out with the bat.
As an aside, the U11s would like to thanks Richard Emmott and Emlec for providing the squad with new blue hoodies. The kids will wear these on training and match days.