This was probably the most exciting game of the season with the teams level pegging after 10 overs in the second innings, and going to the wire with the last ball where Finn from Coleshill returned after his initial RTNO for facing 20 balls and smashed it for 4.

This was a mixed age group friendly with Coleshill using a range of U10 to U12 players and us using U10 to U11 players, 5 of whom have only started playing cricket this season.

Coleshill won the toss and chose to field. I still haven't managed a game this season where we've won the toss! Caleb and Jai opened with Caleb desperate to get his first 30 RTNO being very disappointed after a strong opening 4 runs, being bowled out by their star bowler Oscar for 5 runs off 6 balls. Asiyah entered the batting in the 6th over and was our first RTNO after facing 20 balls with 5 runs, closely followed by Jenson scoring 30 runs off 24 balls (oops - we should have retired him after 20 balls, but with such a friendly and relaxed opposition who's main aim, like ours, was to play cricket, our mishap was not an issue).

Coleshill's team manager told me their strength was in their bowling which has helped them to win pairs games this season and it definitely showed with them taking all 10 wickets with the 10th wicket on the final ball being Asiyah having returned to the crease for a second spell. Abe and Avi defended their stumps well with both being very new to cricket and Jenson returned to score another 10 runs leaving Coleshill with 93 runs to chase. A very impressive bowling performance from Coleshill's Oscar giving away only 2 runs with 3 wickets off 3 overs giving an average of 0.67, but many other impressive bowling performances from Coleshill.

Captain Caleb's aim for bowling was to ensure every team member had a chance to bowl whilst re-using some of the stronger bowlers to try and hold back Coleshill's chase. There was some solid bowling in the first half with a double wicket maiden from Jenson and a maiden from Ahana, both coming away with an average of giving away just 2 runs. Jenson managed 3 wickets with the first two being bowled and the 3rd being a caught and bowled. Naomi, who is U8s (Year 3) was a last minute fill-in for Eric who was injured and came in to bowl over number 7. Whilst a disappointing wide for the first ball, she went on to bowl out Coleshill's captain and star bowler Oscar, restricting him to just one run, and finishing the over with all over balls being dots so an excellent start of 1 for 1 off 1. During Jenson's 3rd and final over there was also a run out, although we have forgotten who threw the ball in! A solid performance from Caleb with the gloves allowing only 4 balls to go through as byes.

The second half saw Jenson take over the gloves with another solid performance of only 4 balls going through as byes. Good second overs for Jai seeing just 3 runs and Ahana with just 4 runs and then Naomi came back to bowl a second over after her first successful over. A no ball going for 4 additional runs saw another disappointing start to the over, but all can be forgiven as she bowled out Coleshill's Noah on her 3rd ball and only conceding 2 other runs during the over, giving her an average of 3.5 on her first U11s game. A proud dad, proud brother and excited team were all animated in celebrating Naomi's wickets. Wrapped around Naomi's and Ahana's bowls were Caleb's which started with what I initially thought was a maiden, but there was one run on the scoresheet (notice the discrepancy between the paper copy and the corrected version on Play Cricket), followed by two genuine maidens leading to his 4th and final over which was also the final over of the game. One the (incorrect) scoreboard, Coleshill needed 6 runs to draw and 7 to win off this final over. It started with a run out from Jenson and then a single run followed by 2 wides. The 4th ball saw a wicket bowling out Jack but this meant a return of Coleshill's retired players with Finn returning following his original 23 of 20 balls. I looked at the score sheet, and could tell exactly what was likely to happen, and it did, on the penultimate ball of the game, Finn whacked the ball for 4 and a very excited Coleshill team ran onto the pitch in jubilation.

A very exciting game of cricket played in true sportsmanship spirit from both teams. Opposition player of the match goes to Finn for his batting and also his average of 2.5 bowling, with Oscar coming a very close runner-up with his 3 wickets for 2 balls. Our player of the match goes to Naomi as she did so well during her first U11 game, playing up 3 age groups. Batsman of the match goes to Jenson for 40 runs not out and bowler of the match goes to Caleb for his maidens, wicket and average of just 1.8, but with a very special mention to Jenson for his 3 wickets and an average of 2. Match impact goes to the whole team who all played some of their best cricket this season, and whilst the averages and runs don't the full story, their individual performances compared with their individual abilities were all very good indeed, plus some very solid fielding.