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| Cricket 2nd XI Team 'Blog' |
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RESULTS Wednesday 25th June v Lambrook Haileybury Eagle House lost by 8 wickets Eagle House 67 all out Lambrook Haileybury 68 for 2 A weakened batting line-up struggled to score runs again. Robert batted 20 overs for just 18 runs and only Edward (17)looked like pushing the run rate up to make a reasonable target. A major collapse at the end saw us lose our last 6 wickets for just 7 runs. We bowled and fielded well and there was an excellent tempo to the Lambrook Hailey bury innings. Even though they reached the target easily it was I thought one of our better efforts in the field keeping a good shape and our enthusiasm and energy levels up. A brilliant catch by Connor reflected this. With at least 6 of todays team likely to be in the 2ndXI again next year lets hope we can build on the positives and have a more successful season next year. Wednesday 11th June v Horris Hill (AWAY) Match Drawn Horris Hill 136 for 6 William Fletcher 2 for 23 Felix Medlock 2 for 29 Eagle House 89 for 9 Felix Fowler 25 A typical 2nd XI performance. We bowled adequately, the fielding ranged from a great run out and catch to misfields and fumbled catches and with the exception of Felix Fowler, who took the bowlers on, the batting and running between wickets was lacklustre. We did show some grit towards the end surviving a few overs to scramble a draw. Well done to Dominic Hill who contributed well on his debut bowling 3 overs for just 5 runs and scoring 9 not out. When we play we seem to lack energy and determination, where is the killer instinct? We switch off waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen. Our record does not reflect our ability or potential and we now only have one more chance to get it right.
Friday 6th June v Langley Grammar School (Away) Berkshire U13 Plate Competition Eagle House lost by 56 runs Langley 155 for 4 Eagle House 99 for 6 Edward Beedham 23 not out Although we lost convincingly we did not play that bad. The Langley openers after a steady start took us apart scoring over a hundred for the first wicket. 3 dropped catches and a missed run out did not help and an earlier break through may have kept the score down to a more realistic target of about 120. Felix Medlock bowled his 4 overs for only 8 runs. We batted quite well and managed to keep the score moving along but with only 5 boundaries in 20 overs on a small pitch we were never going to reach our target. Edward Beedham top scored with 23 not out and there were useful contributions from Sean McCarten and Conr Dickinson.
Wednesday 4th June v Yateley Manor (Away) Eagle House lost by 33 runs Yateley Manor 80 for 8 Felix Medlock 3 for 10 Eagle House 47 for 9 20/20 cricket is meant to be exciting with attacking batsmen using their feet playing a wide range of shots trying to push on the total against bowlers who work hard to restrict the score and dynamic fielders throwing themselves about saving runs. We sadly failed to read the script. This was a performance similar to the one at Cranleigh but at least we got the behaviour right. We won the toss and decided to field, a good decision and with the home side struggling on 31 for 8 after 12 overs the game should have been won. We switched off, all energy disappearing with lifeless fielding and lacklustre erratic bowling. Credit to the Yateley batsmen who pushed and prodded, gaining in confidence to force the score to 80. If we can't bowl with confidence and aggression at tail enders who can we bowl against? Even so 81 to win was not a mammoth target. The aim of the game is to hit the ball and score runs. We could not do this. No foot work limited shots and when we did hit the ball it was half-hearted, in the air and to a fielder. We scored 47 runs in 20 overs and the way we played it would have taken 50 overs to score the 81 we needed. If we play like this on Friday we might as well not turn up!!! Saturday 17th May v Aldro (Home) Match Drawn (abandoned due to rain) Eagle House 76 for 6 Sean McCarten 22 not out James O'Kelly 20 The game badly affected by rain was abandoned as a draw. The only highlight in this stop start game was a good partnership between Jamie(20) and Sean (22 not out) Wenesday 14th May v Crosfields (Home) Match Drawn Eagle House 116 for 7 James O'Kelly 22 Edward Beedham 22 Crosfields 97 for 9 Cameron Henderson 3 for 18 Felix Medlock 3 for 23 On balance a game we should have won. We found batting difficult against wide and inconsistant bowling but managed 116 for 7 off 26 overs in 1hr and 45 minutes. Robert giving us a good start with his 22 runs. They say catches win matches so we didn't deserve to win given the number we dropped. We bowled 31 overs in 1 hr and 25 minutes and had Crosfields 9 wickets down with the possibility of 3 more overs in the game. Saxon dropped a simple catch at mid -off to win the match in the last over and we let the visitors off with a draw. An entertaining finish but still a disappointing result.
Saturday 10th May v Ludgrove Eagle House lost by 7 wickets Eagle House 93 all out Nikolei Malyguine 54 Ludgrove 95 for 3 On a glorious sunny day Eagle House won the toss and decided to bat. We made a steady start but our batting lacked patience and wickets fell at regular intervals. Nikolei batted with aggression and good timing to hit a superb 54 which at least gave us a total to try and defend. I was disappointed with much of the batting especially when batsmen threw their wickets away taking pointless and unnecessary risks. With Nikolei scoring so freely it was important that the batsman at the other end played a supporting role but many could not do this. If you are ever to make a good score you have to learn how to bat for a lot of overs. Ludgrove made the runs easily although the first 15 overs was like watching paint dry. Credit to Felix a nd Cameron who bowled accurately. Ludgrove may have started slowly but their batsmen demonstrated the patience and batting skills that we lack. The lack of success resulted in errors in the field, missing an easy run out and failing to get close to a couple of catches. Another lesson to learn here is that if you frustrate the fielding team their enthusiasm drops and they make mistakes. Overall a disappointing result but still a lot of positives in some of our cricket. Congratulations to Nikolei, scoring 50 in any type of cricket is a great achievement. Friday 9th May v LVS (Berkshire U13 Plate) Eagle House won by 21 runs Eagle House 97 for 5 (20 overs) Robert Hwang 22 LVS 76 all out Sean McCarten 3 for 14 Nikolei Malyguine 3 for 5 A much improved performance against the LVS U13 team. Winning the toss we chose to bat first and made a slow but steady start against some quick opening bowling. After 10 overs we had scored 40 for the loss of 3 wickets and needed to pick up the pace. The LVS bowling lacked depth and this allowed some big hitting from Edward, Nikolei and Conor and in the end we reached a respectable score of 97 for 5 setting the visitors a target of about 5 an over. Clearly we needed to bowl accurately and field with energy and concentration. This we did but LVS moved on to 50 for the loss of only 3 wickets. Again the visitors lacked depth and with suicide running between wickets we grabbed 3 run outs and with 3 excellent catches by Nikolei and Conor (2) LVS collapsed to 79 all out. This was a good win and a much improved performance in terms of attitude. Well done. Wednesday 7th May v Cranleigh (Away) Eagle House lost by 126 runs Cranleigh 214 for 8 Felix Medlock 4 for 26 Eagle House 88 all out Edward Beedham 46 A game that started well with Cranleigh winning the toss, deciding to bat and then collapsing to 22 for 5 off only 4 overs, and ended in humiliating and embarrassing defeat by 126 runs. The only positives in the game were an excellent opening spell of bowling by Felix Medlockwho finished with 4 for 26 off his 5 overs, an innings of 46 from Edward Beedham that included 3 big sixes and an excellent diving catch by Felix Fowler. The rest was poor. Sloppy fielding, dropped catches and desperate bowling at times. At this level we must be able to pitch the ball up and bowl a good line consistantly, sadly there were far too many loose slow deliveries that were smashed to the boundary at regular intervals. That said we bowled better than we batted!! The game highlighted our limited range of shots and inability to time the ball. Calling and running between wickets was apalling with 3 unnecessary run outs. Worse still was our behaviour and attitude. From players turning up late without the necessary equipment. Not watching the game and messing about in and around the pavillion. Most embarrasing was that at the end of the game 2 players were not there and one stormed off to sulk in the pavilion and no -one was ready to shake hands with the opposition or to clap them off the field.The school bag was left in a mess and I was left to drag it back to the coach. Thanks! I did apolgise on your behalf. We are clearly not good enough to compete with the best schools but I wonder whether or not we are prepared to apply ourselves to practice and try to get better. I have seen little evidence of this so far. Wednesday 30th April v Parkside CANCELLED Saturday 26th April v Caldicott (Away) Eagle House won by 3 wickets Caldicott 162 all out (41 overs) Felix Medlock 2 for 13, Felix Fowler 2 for 39 Eagle House 163 for 7 (30 overs) Saxon Coop 42, Karim Sheikh 28, Jamie o'Kelly 19 not out An excellent game of cricket, played on a superb wicket in warm sunshine, and, with 325 runs scored it was also great entertainment for the supporting parents. Eagle House lost the toss and were asked to field. We were 2 bowlers short with Sean moving up to the 1st XI and Cameron missing through illness. Edward and Felix M. opened and their accuracy limited the runs and Caldicott made slow progress scoring only 11 runs off the first 8 overs. Kevin , moving up from the 3rd XI, made the break through, and with more tight bowling the Home team moved on to 60 for 5. Our over rate was good and this worked against us as with an 8 over limit per bowler we needed a lot of overs from our less experianced players. Eventually the Caldicott batsmen were able to take the initiative and with a small pitch and a fast outfield the run rate increased rapidly. In the end we bowled 41 overs and with the help of 2 good run out's we eventually dismissed Caldicott for 162 in the last over before tea. It was a long session but we kept up the energy in the field especially with the encouragement of Felix Fowler at square-leg. 162 to win is a tall order and with about 36 overs available it was not impossible but a good start was essential. We got this in abundance with Robert and Saxon batting with good technique, patience and growing confidence. The runs came easily at about 5 an over and the score quickly moved past 50. A change of bowling saw the opening stand broken with the score on 63. Robert (16), who had played with a straight bat, managing to mistime and play all around a slow but straight delivery. Karim (28)came in and played with great confidence picking out the short balls and smashing the slower bowlers for 6 fours. Unfortunately he got a top edge and was caught with the score on 110. With only 53 runs now needed for victory and plenty overs remaining we only needed to bat sensibly to win. Saxon (42) played a tired shot and was bowled, a pity he did not make his fifty, but with an unbeaten 19 from Jamie and contributions from other batsmen we moved steadily towards our target with Richard hitting the winning boundary with 6 overs remaining. A mention for Conor who listened to advice and ran quickly between wickets backing up and calling clearly. An excellent win. Well done.
Wednesday 23rd April v Hall Grove (Away) Match Drawn Hall Grove 119 for 6 (36 overs) Cameron Henderson 3 for 11 Eagle House 86 for 7 (27 overs) Saxon Coop 24 This match was played on an all-weather strip, the outfield was slow but the after morning rain the conditions were good with the sun shining. Eagle House fielded first and for the first 1.5 hours we bowled tightly, kept a good shape in the field and generally looked like a well organised side. Hall Grove struggled to score and with Cameron taking 3 for 11 we restricted the Home side to 56 for 5 off the first 20 overs. Felix Medlock bowled 9 overs for 20 runs and Saxon bowled with some interesting variation. We did drop a couple of simple catches but redeemed ourseves with good catches from Max at wicket keeper down the leg-side and by Jamie and Felix M. in the covers. Hall Grove batted on and in the last half-hour we started to look tired and sloppy missing easy run outs and this helped Hall Grove reach 119 for 7 off 36 overs at tea. I got the batting order wrong!! We did not bat to our potential. Makeshift openers of Sean and Cameron gave their wickets away, Sean caught off a ball I would have called wide had he left it alone and Cameron moving out of the way and being bowled around his legs without a shot. We steadied the ship with steady innings from Saxon(24) and Karim(18). Karim looked like a batsman but seemed to loose concentration playing all around a straight ball. Saxon batted with a good eye but his 'prodding' approach brought the Hall Grove fielders in closer and handed much of the iniative to them. We batted on but with overs running out the game headed tamely to a draw. Edward looking to drive forward no matter what the length of the ball and was caught at mid-on again and Conor's nmost notable for his snail like running between wickets. Robert batted with good energy and technique and is clearly a potential opening batsman. When we are batting it is really important to be patient, play every ball om merit with the appropriate shot and to build an innings setting yourself reachable targets along the way.
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