First up were Banbury in the semi-final. The Horspath skipper, Tejas Anand won the toss and chose to bat. It was a good decision. Tejas and Alfie opened and played with a composure that many adults would hope to emulate. Straight bats and crisp running were the order of the day and by the 10th over the score was 69-0. Alfie and Tejas both hit 30 (the former retiring and the latter pushing hard for another quick single) and were soon followed in the same feat by an unbeaten Tarek as Horspath dominated bowlers and fielders alike. Charlie, Luke and Elliot all added quick runs as the Horses posted 151 runs in total.
The Banbury batsmen never really got going (only two of them posting double figures) as the
Horspath bowling attack asserted themselves. Elliot and Charlie opened and bagged early wickets. The two Joshes - Cummings & Thacker- also picked up a wicket as well as Jamie Hicks. The fielding as a team unit was what stood out the most, with sensational backing up and effort to stay on top and never let Banbury get going.
The final was a much closer affair against a Cumnor side who had held the title for a number of consecutive years. After winning the toss again Horspath batted and were soon accumulating runs. Turner and Anand started positively and Horspath sat comfortably at 55-0 off 7 overs.
Cumnor realised a change was needed and turned to spin. Their slow arm bowlers got on top and soon the runs had dried up and it was the wickets flowing. Horspath stuttered as 55-0 became 89-7 by the 17th. A late rally by the ever dependable Luke Heritage (23), got Horspath to a defendable 118 from their twenty overs.
Cumnor knew they were in for a game but looked confident of a victory as their reply began. An early run out (direct hit) by Alfie meant Cumnor were on 12-1 after the first two. Thereon, they gained composure and were sat on 39-1 from 6. Cumnor were ahead of the run rate and looking in control.
Horspath mirrored the learning of their opponents and also took pace off the ball. Jamie Hicks was brought on and took the crucial wicket of TL Brace with the first ball of his spell; Heritage holding on to a smart catch at point. The middle order of Cumnor however proved solid and moved on to 95-4 by the end of the 14th.
24 needed from 6 overs and the Horspath players and fans suspected their unbeaten run was going to come to an end. Not so! Luke bowled a remarkable set of 3 overs, taking 4-3 to turn the game back on his head. Two were bowled and two were pouched by Alfie as Cumnor looked up at the scoreboard to see they were now on 103-8 from 18.
12 balls left,17 runs needed. As the 9th wicket fell, the earlier retiree Sam Down was brought back to the crease. Cumnor spirits rose as Down had earlier smashed 6 boundaries in his quickfire 31 (s/r of 200%) and they sensed the game had swung back in their favour. Down took his guard on 104-9 with one over left. Charlie came back on to bowl. The ball pitched on a decent length and Down swung hard, the ball launching into the air. As the crowd wondered whether a boundary was in the offing, Harvey Shorter got himself swiftly under the ball and calmly took the catch.
Cumnor all out. Woohoo! Cue the wild celebrations on the sidelines from the Horspath parents.
The game had swung both ways regularly and all the boys had played their cricket to an admirably high level. The oxon cb officials expressed how impressed they were with all the cricket on show but emphasised the skills and grit of the Horspath boys in particular. Luke Heritage also justifiably picked up the man of the tournament award. Apart from his solid batting and eye catching bowling, Luke also picked up 5 catches on the day, a remarkable achievement and huge contribution to the Horspath victory.
Posted by: Neillsen