25 May 2018
Bradfield were our opponents for the final block fixture of the half term. Washed out in the last few years, it was great to complete a fixture against a strong local school.
Batting first, the 1st XI struggled to find any rhythm to their innings and lost wickets in clusters, which has been a problem in the first few weeks. 140 all out was never going to be a challenging target and Bradfield lost 3 wickets in chasing the score.
The 2nd XI posted a strong 139 for 1 at War Memorial. Andrew Russell scoring 43 and Nathan Hudson 32 not out. This proved too much against the quality of Tom Southgate (3 for 19) and Oscar Frost (3 for 16), with Bradfield falling to 106 all out. In the 3rd XI game, Bradfield batted magnificently to reach an excellent 197 for 4. Some tenacious work in the middle order of the Abingdon line up took them to 105 before losing their last wicket against a strong Bradfield side.
The U15s won two games, losing one. Rory Mitchell scored an excellent 42no for the U15As, Jayden Zamler a fluent 33no for the victorious Bs. There were some excellent individual performances in the C team, with Henry Lykke Dahn smashing 66no and taking 3 for 24, Oliver Paton making 57no and Krishan Handa 49.
Our U14s had a difficult time against some very strong teams. The As struggled to 118 ao, although they rallied to take 4 wickets in the Bradfield response. The Bs struggled to score enough runs, although had opportunities to take the game before losing by 4 wickets. Our U14C and D teams made excellent efforts to defend and chase 113 and 136 respectively, taking both games close in exciting finales.
This week, we have hosted a number of fixtures across the age groups, with the U15As winning the County Cup. The 1st XI also played with great positivity in their game against a strong SOA team, winning with a chase of 204 in just 33 overs – a nice way to finish the half term.
We look forward to playing Portsmouth Grammar School in the first week back after half term.
