Merrow U15s win at Byfleet

Probably one of the NOISIEST venues going - right next to the M25. No matter - the rain stayed away and our ten brave U15s sallied forth to Byfleet for our third league match of the season. Our ranks were bolstered by Rohan Bali's little brother Nikhil, who's enthusiasm and character are inversely proportional to his size.

Jim won the toss and elected to bat - and Tom Sandison and James Munt kept the Byfleet openers quiet right from the start with some tidy bowling on a lively pitch. A full and straight one from James bowled their opener and we were on our way. The bowling was good and tight, and apart from their No1 Batsman and captain, who went on to score 30, we managed to keep the run rate down. Michael Gallagher clearly had an extra-big breakfast that morning, judging by the speed at which he sent down his two overs. Short and decidedly hostile! The fielding was good - particularly of note was a sharp close catch snaffled by Sam Hide at silly mid-off. Byfleet finished up with 98 for five after their 20 overs.

We retired to the clubhouse for a bit of 'quiet time' and then we were back out there. There wasn't much to say to the Merrow boys at the changeover - they knew exactly what they needed to do and 98 was well within their range.

The ruling of 'non-batsmen having to bowl two overs before the boys who had batted' really came into its own at the beginning of our innings with the first four overs being of a quality which was decidedly different to that which the openers were used to. Jim Woodriffe and Rohan Bali coped manfully with what was sent down in their general direction - Rohan went on to score 30 and retired. (He then went on to play for the Sunday XI in the afternoon at Merrow, where he carried on the good work with the bat by scoring 71!) Jim and Rohan were motoring and we had scored 36 after the first four overs. Two wickets in two balls however, put a different slant on things and we needed a period of consolidation from James Munt and Rohan to get things back on an even keel. Byfleet's interpretation of the league rules (see above) was a bit different to ours and they brought their better bowlers on after their non-batsmen had only bowled one, rather than two overs. Duly noted and the manager of Byfleet has been made aware of being in breach. It didn't matter though, we got over the line after 14 overs with six wickets still intact - much to Nikhil's annoyance. I'm told he was willing our batsmen to be out so he could have a bat - an approach which might not necessarily be put at be top of the list of the team ethic, but in it's own way is still fantastic!

One of the many things I like about this group is that they are always supportive of each other. This was made all the more apparent to me whilst I was umpiring the second innings. The team collectively have to look after each other - if they don't have a good team spirit then the team unravels and this is what happened to our opposition I'm afraid. Keep it up boys - united we stand and all that.

Three wins out of three and we're currently top of the league - man of the match has to be one of the Bali boys, but I can't decide which one...