Oak Flats won the toss and elected to bat, and no doubt were looking to put on a total beyond what he Eagles kids could chase. This week’s push though was on the fielders to hunt as a pack, to all be moving in together in the field, to chase hard and throw quickly and accurately, and to back up the stumps at both ends. With the bowling, it was to be as full and straight as possible and to give the batsmen as few scoring opportunities as possible. These were the qualities that coach Anthony Pickering has been training the kids for, and today they executed this almost perfectly. It was noticeable immediately that the fielding was much improved on the previous match and that the kids were alive and keen.
Despite a fast outfield boundaries were kept to a bare minimum which frustrated the batting team. In his second over Kane Rex had the batsman playing the ball around to leg, where a diving Tom Denyer took the catch out in front of him to complete the dismissal. It is fair to say that given Tom’s amazing prowess in the field he was one of the few who could have completed this dismissal. Terrific stuff. Tom himself got the next wicket, when a straight full ball was driven straight back to him and he made a difficult caught and bowled look ridiculously easy. This was followed by a solid partnership, but just before the drinks break Josh Peters beat the batsman with flight and bowled him neck and crop. The very next ball he beat the new batsman who drove the ball straight back to him, but Josh spilled the chance. He might bowl better than his father but unfortunately he still catches like him. Despite this Oak Flats was at 3/60 at the halfway mark, and it felt as though the Eagles had tightened the screws.
After the drinks break Liam Cergovski came out from behind the stumps, where he had put on the best display of keeping of the season for the Eagles Under 13’s, and then broke the game open with the ball, bowling a perfect outswinger that took the middle stump. Into the lower order, and although tiring a little with the ball and in the field the Eagles kept pushing. Aiden Campion was rewarded for another great spell of bowling when he picked up a wicket, enticing the batsman to drive in the air to mid-off when Blake Ison took a good catch. In the next over Blake then took his own wicket when he found a way past the batsman’s defences to take out his off stump. At 6/116 with three overs remaining the Eagles kids had a big chance to bowl out their opponents.
It was at this point that the Oak Flats team deemed to invoke a law that had not been used by any team so far in the competition. With the time having elapsed as to when the innings should have finished it was deemed that the innings was over, and that Albion Park would now bat and face the same number of overs (27) to chase those runs. On the surface it appeared a strange decision.
Given the season that Oak Flats has been enjoying, the bowling on the day was excellent, and to keep them to that total was a victory in itself. Kane Rex tired a little in his final over, but his spell overall was perfect. He made the batsmen play every ball and his length was his best of the season. His practice is paying off and he should be especially happy with his figures of 1/20 from four overs. Owen Pickering showed good pace on the day in his two over spell of 0/9, and also did a terrific job behind the stumps as wicket keeper in the second session. That only nine byes were let through in the innings is a credit to both Owen and Liam for their work. Tom Denyer didn’t quite have his mojo with the ball today, and looked to be trying to bowl too fast to compensate for his short length. Maybe some deep breathing exercises would help. He still managed some good deliveries in his three overs which produced figures of 1/16. Lucas Thompson did indeed bowl his best spell of the season, and even when a wide ball came out he didn’t let it deter him and he marched back to the top of his mark determined to be better the next delivery. His three overs brought him figures of 0/19, but it was the improvement in his bowling that was most satisfying.
Josh Peters found the ball didn’t spin much on the astro wicket, but he still had the batsmen playing and missing consistently anyway. He finished with 1/5 from his three overs. ‘Wacky’ Campion again bowled his consistent line and length, with only a couple of shorter deliveries costing him boundaries. His three overs were bowled for 1/14. Lucas Brown was quite superb, coming off the long run and on no fewer than five deliveries shaved the leg stump as the ball ducked in through the air, completely beating the opposing batsmen. He was incredibly unfortunate not to pick up a couple of wickets, and his figures of 0/3 from two overs, including a maiden, show just how well he bowled. Blake Ison bowled similarly well, with a great line and length just outside the off stump, and with a bit of fortune could have added another couple of wickets to his figures of 1/5 from three overs. Will Schofield was left late today, but was no less competent that his predecessors finishing with 0/6 from his two overs, while Liam Cergovski had a great day with the ball, and though his first over was better than his first, his figures of 1/10 from two overs was well deserved.
For the Eagles to win they had to all bat well and bat well together. There was no better illustration of this than the opening partnership between Blake and Will who batted superbly. They kept out the good balls, were patient in their strokeplay, but when there was a bad ball they put it away brilliantly. Will, to my eyes, is the best looking batsman in the team, and when Blake in ‘on’ he is just as good. Will punched the ball into gaps beautifully, and Blake found the loose balls and put them away for two’s and fours. It was a solid and excellent opening partnership, which was only broken when Will played one shot across the line and was bowled. His nine runs was worth much more in the context of the match, and he had not only gotten the team off to the start it needed but showed the incoming batsmen that the bowling was playable. Blake followed soon after to a tired shot that also bowled him. His 20 runs was perfectly played, and today was one of those days where Blake was in the right mindframe and his cricket was superb as a result. Well done Blake.
Lucas Brown came out and punched three singles in quick succession like he had been batting for hours, before he copped a delivery that… shortened him up a little. As Billy Birmingham is wont to say… “it can be quite painful, that”… and Lucas retired hurt to recompose himself.
Wacky and Owen took over the scoring and both continued on the same course as their teammates, keeping out the balls on the stumps and running hard between the wickets as they played the ball into the gaps. A couple of lofty blows rom Wacky gave the scoring rate another boost before he went one too many times and was bowled for 14. This brought Tom to the crease – a very nervous Tom who was worried that he hadn’t made a score for awhile and felt the pressure of winning the game for his team.
At the drinks break the Eagles had reached 3/72, leaving only 45 required for victory with 13 overs to get them. What came next was the kind of chase that would have made any senior team proud. Owen and Tom, the team’s two oldest and most experienced players, upped the ante and every loose ball was dispatched, bring the run rate required lower with each passing over. Owen cracked two boundaries and Tom added two of his own and the game was quickening up to its conclusion. Owen finally fell by the sword, holing out to mid on for a well played 17. From here the Eagles needed 24 runs with seven over remaining.
They didn’t need them. Lucas returned to the crease and played the perfect supporting role, with drive punches, cut shots and pull shots, while running hard between the wickets. If he had any nerves about the chase he showed none of them. Like Blake, today was a day when Lucas was in the zone and he barely put a foot wrong. He was only bettered in this instance by Tom, who controlled the chase like a veteran. Despite his doubts about his batting form he was brilliant, keeping the good ball out and looking to force the balls hard that were outside the line. Between the two of them they brought the total down quickly, at which point Tom first hit a four and then finished the game with a pull over fine leg for six to get the Eagles home with four wickets in hand and four overs to spare. Lucas finished on 10 not out, while Tom should be ecstatic with his terrific innings of 23 not out.
This was a massive win for the Under 13 Eagles team, and is a credit to the work being put in by coach Anthony Pickering and his belief in these kids - one that was made even more important when it was later discovered that the Kiama Blue team had been beaten by the Kiama Gold team, meaning Albion Park has moved into the top four for the first time this season. With three games left to go before the finals, if the Eagles can win all three, against Kiama Blue, Kiama Gold and Shellharbour White, then they will be playing in the semi-finals. Hopefully that is incentive enough for all the boys to get to training on Wednesday and train the house down
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