Telling Tails — U11 vs Avebury
Sunday 27th April 2025 marked a momentous occasion at Ramsbury Cricket Club, with our first ever U11 Colts hardball match!
We were up against the mighty Avebury and although this did cause some initial nerves, all of the children settled well and gave 100% - we can’t ask more than that!
Captained on the day by Cassian, he knew he wanted us to bowl first if we won the toss – we did, so we were off to a good start!
Daniel opened with some fantastically fast bowling, followed close behind by Jack, who managed to take 2 wickets in his third over – hurrah!
Heston and Henry followed with some lovely balls, but Avebury were strong at their batting and were snatching runs where they could.
A big well done to Clarke, who managed not to bowl any wides in his first innings, with Wilf, Oskar and Max also putting in a sterling effort.
Some fantastic fielding on display, with Maggie making some huge saves near the boundary and keeping those 4’s at bay!
Not to be outdone, Oskar managed to catch a rocket ball to steal a wicket – huge moment and our only catch of the game!
A huge well done to Daniel too, for bowling a maiden in the 13th over – great work!
Our wicket keeper Cassian, who was initially very nervous, grew with confidence as the game played out – some fantastic wicket keeping on display, especially facing the fast balls and diving all over the place to stop that ball!
The first innings finished with Avebury on 368 runs and Ramsbury taking 3 wickets.
A quick drink/snack break and Ramsbury were getting padded up ready for batting, with our openers Daniel and Jack stepping up to the wicket. Some great batting on display and the duo were snatching runs where they could, Avebury were good though and managed to take a few wickets.
Next up, Oskar and Wilf put in another solid performance and protected their wickets well, with some good defensive shots. Wilf hit a screamer and managed to get our only 4 of the match – well done Wilf!
Clarke and Max were up next and faced some very tough bowling indeed. The bales tumbled a few times, a couple of catches were made, but they still managed to bag some runs where they could and kept on going – great effort boys!
Then it was time for the Cresswell boys – despite the fact the wickets continued to fall, luck would have it, Avebury had a wobble and a couple of over throws, so they managed to bag some sneaky runs.
Maggie and Henry were our final batters of the day and despite it being a long match on a hot day, energy levels were high and they were ready for it and added to our final score.
Ramsbury finished with 294 runs, with Avebury taking 19 Wickets!
As it was our first match – it wasn’t about the scoreline – it was about the children being proud that they’re playing cricket and having fun - and fun they did have! We know our bowling could be neater (with over 30 wides it was always going to be a struggle!) and we know we can work on batting techniques, but it will come!
As a club, we only started Junior Cricket in 2022, starting with the ECB All Stars. So, to see how these children have progressed over the last few years, through All Stars, Dynamos, U9 Softball and now U11 Hardball, it’s a very heartwarming and each and every one of them should be proud!
Well done Ramsbury – onwards and upwards!
(Huge thanks to Fi for the match report)
