Report by Mr Cohen, Head of Cricket
The U13 and U15 girls’ cricket teams took 8 players in each age group to compete in the Suffolk Schools’ finals of the Lady Taverners Indoor Cricket Competition on Tuesday after qualifying a few weeks earlier.
U13 Report
The U13 girls were first to play in Pool A vs Barnardiston Hall. With little time to warm up, they had to get straight into “game mode” and batted first, compiling a strong opening score. They followed their batting performance with Jessica B getting wickets and bowling well and were successful in defending their total to win the opening match. They took the confidence from their first win into their second game against Framlingham College, where the whole team put together a complete game of quality batting, bowling and fielding. Skye F bowled and batted well throughout; Hermione L was very strong in the field and batted well, as did Alex B, Sophea N and Grace J. Winning both pool games meant that they had qualified for the final against Ipswich School.
In the final, the girls started strongly, with Jessica B taking a wicket on the opening ball. The girls followed this up by taking another five wickets. With Ipswich on the ropes, they had a very strong batter given not out in a very close run out before she retired; the fact that we took more wickets meant that she was able to return to the crease as the “last player standing” and this helped Ipswich to get a score of 99. RHS changed the batting order, which allowed Florence A to have her first bat of the day, and this proved a positive move as she batted really well. Unfortunately, Ipswich’s run total was just too much for the girls in the end, who finished in a very respectable second place.
There was an excellent team effort from all the U13A girls; they should be very proud of themselves and ready for an exciting cricket season ahead. Well done to captain Beatrice N who did a great job leading and organising the team.
U15 Report
The U15 girls’ team followed the U13s strong performance in the morning by winning their opening game vs a strong Culford side. The girls looked extremely sharp in the field with Libby M-W getting two runouts in quick succession, showing off her incredible reaction time and accurate throwing. RHS followed up their first win by beating Sir John Leman High School with a very good bowling display from all the girls, especially Martha H, Libby M-W, and Elise L. Jess H did a great job keeping wicket.
Two wins in the pool meant that RHS were once again in the final vs Ipswich School. Martha won the toss and chose to field first. It was a tensely fought game throughout. RHS bowled very well, led by Martha, yet Ipswich were able to get themselves up to a total of 99.
The opening pair batted well together and got the team off to a strong start. Midway through our innings we lost a few wickets, which slowed the scoring. Despite a strong batting performance with clever running between the wickets from Bella M, unfortunately the girls could not quite reach Ipswich’s score and we finished on 72, which was a superb effort.
Credit should be given to both the U13 and U15 teams for their excellent effort and attitudes shown throughout the whole day. If they bring that same energy and focus into their cricket matches next term, I am sure they will have a great season.