Winnington Park Cricket Club
Winnington
U11’s Start Season With Comprehensive Win
Winnington went into their first game of the season in confident mood after a good winter training and strong availability going into the game. Sam Hill lost the toss and Ashley elected to bat first. Winnington lined up with an exceptionally strong bowling line-up and their 2008 bowler of the season Metzinger took the first over. He bowled with great pace and bowled a good line which will be a real asset throughout the season. Metzinger set a good standard and went for just 2 runs off the first over of 15 in the reduced game. Hill and Millington both bowled well and made it difficult for the Ashley batsmen to get them away. This was followed up by a tight over by Hine going for just 3 runs in his first ever game with a hard ball. The opening four bowlers all did exceptionally well, but it was fielders who were grabbing the headlines as they performed well as a team and some smart ground fielding which resulted in two important run outs which put Winnington in the driving seat. Beddard bowled the 5th over and was keen to show how much his game has come on over the winter and bowled a great over of 1-3 cleaning up the stumps with his 5th delivery to put Winnington well and truly on top. Barnes had been talked into bowling his seam up bowling opposed to his spin in the run up the game and this proved to be a wise move as he bowled one of the tightest overs of the day and took a wicket. Bainbridge went for just four runs and Nevin bowled with control going for just 2. Wallwork bowled the 9th over and was much improved from his warm up (Mr Organiser would be more than happy to take some of the credit for this after some last minute advice), Wallwork went for just 2 runs in an excellent over. All the bowlers who came back bowled with real control and kept an inexperienced side in Ashley down. Millington picked up a maiden and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket, Beddard finished with an impressive 1-4 off 2 and Barnes finished with the best figures of 1-2 off 2. That capped an excellent performance in the field by Winnington who reduced Ashley to just a net total of 219.
After an excellent selection of drinks and biscuits from one of my glamorous assistants the team were ready to complete the job. Although there was only a small target to reach skipper Hill realised a strong start was required and he sent out the hard hitting Millington first with the textbook Nevin. Millington took no time at all to find his eye and hit ten off the first over with a nice four and a strongly hit flat 6 with a pull shot. The next over brought about a contender for shot of the season as Nevin clipped a fantastic shot of his legs that rolled away nicely for four. Off their 3 overs Nevin and Millington had put Winnington in the lead after an impressive 20-0. The next pair in were the youngest members of the team Barnes and Hine who batted with great technique and were patience to hit 4 and 3 respectively in a partnership of 13. The familiar of partnership of Beddard and Metzinger was next in and the two of them showed the difference a year makes as they both batted well and with confidence. Metzinger hit a tidy 3* and Beddard rounded off a great all round spell with an unbeaten 8. Bainbridge and Wallwork knew that the win was Winnington’s if they batted sensibly and that’s what they did. They added 10 runs between them with only a run out a blemish on another solid partnership. The final partnership was a strong one with Hill and Speak entering the arena in confident manner. A combination of Speak’s hard hitting and Hill’s straight batting was too much for the young Ashley team as they scored 7 and 7* respectively in a partnership of 22 off their 3 overs. This included a crashed four through the leg side from Speak and another contender for shot of the season as Hill played a lovely inside-out lofted straight drive over mid-off for 4 in what was an excellent captain’s innings. Winnington finished on an impressive 80-2 off their 15 overs which was a net total of 272, this secured a 53 run win for the home side.
After the game Wales said “It was a fantastic team performance and it is impossible to pick a stand-out performer. The precedent was set early on in the field and a sensible batting display and much improved running between the wickets was a delight to watch. Everything about the performance was positive including an excellent rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ after the game which I thank you all for!”