The 2023 season started at Farnham - a lovely ground overlooked by the castle. It was a cold start with a heavy dew on the ground, and predictably, on winning the toss, the Farnham captain decided to bowl. Harry S and Dheeraj opened up the batting and started very well, batting sensibly and waiting for the right opportunities to score. After 10 overs on a slow outfield we had posted 59 runs for no loss of wickets. With Harry S retiring on 31 and Dheeraj (22) losing his wicket while attempting to push the score along, this provided a great platform for the rest of the batsmen to build on . Brandon (20 not out) moved the ball around the field and kept the scoreboard ticking along, ably assisted by Sam, Will and Ted. An audacious three byes on the last ball of the innings got us up to a final score of 119 from our 20 overs.

After the interval we started brilliantly with Brandon taking a wicket in the first over. This was probably the best way to settle any nerves Merrow may have had, as well as putting the wind up the opposition's batting line-up! Harry S followed this up with two maidens - and after four overs, with a required strike rate of a run a ball, Farnham were 11 for 1 and already chasing the game. The sun came out, jumpers, coats etc were taken off and the outfield dried out (and consequently sped up a bit). The Merrow bowlers and fielders stuck to their task and with Sam doing a great job of organising the bowling attack and Asa keeping a close eye on the score and run rate, it was looking like Merrow would manage to secure the win. And so it proved, despite Ben making a game of it with a mixed bag of deliveries in the last over - including a wicket off the final ball of the match!

This was a really good start to the season. Whilst it's great to see individuals do well with bat and ball, it's also fantastic to witness the team working things out themselves as to what needs to be done in order to keep the pressure on the opposition. The result of the game is a by-product of performance and as long as Merrow U13s continue to do the right things on the field of play, the results will take care of themselves.