After winning the toss, our opponents Blackheath U11B chose to bat first. Blackheath arrived at Sydney Road with only 8 players on an evening that felt like we had to endure 4 seasons of weather in one evening. Thankfully we didn't have to endure drab boring cricket thanks to a display of raw pace, big hitting and classy run making from players of both sides.

Blackheath’s opening pair got off to a good start scoring 10 runs for no wicket off the first over. The next three then went for another 20 runs but these runs were accompanied by two wickets in two overs from Noah Selby who finished his two over spell with figures of 2 wickets for 14 runs. Blackheath’s next pair then managed to add another 19 runs but were again pegged back somewhat by captain Seth Philip who picked up a wicket in his 2nd over after already having had one of Blackheath’s batters put down by wicketkeeper Kaisan who could not quite manage hold on to a tricky diving effort. Blackheath’s third pair who included a particularly classy batter managed to add 20 runs for the loss of no wicket. In truth, this was down to excellent disciplined bowling from Dom Westwood, Henry Golding, Tommy Golding and Kaisan Ahmed who were all backed up by some excellent fielding. The fourth pair managed only 10 runs and this was further pegged back thanks to a fantastic over from Kaisan who, after picking up a wicket for no runs off his first 5 deliveries only narrowly missed on out on a wicket maiden over after the opposition managed to sneak a single to mid-on with the final ball of the over. This left Kaisan with well deserved figures of 1 wicket for 4 runs off his two overs.

With Blackheath only having 8 players, the coaches agreed Blackheath could pick any two of their team to bat again. Unsurprisingly, Blackheath’s two strongest batters strode out on a mission to go big and pile some runs on. But Sidcup still had a trick or two up their sleeves with their big gun bowlers Murphy Solway and Dom Westwood still having overs to bowl. Murphy fresh from his exploits with the bat on Sunday afternoon turned up the heat sending down some fire to whiz past the Blackheath batters off stump and picked up 1 wicket for just 3 runs in the process. Henry Golding then kept things tight until a waist high no ball was dispatched for an additional 4 runs by Blackheath’s very classy and powerful No 5 batsman. Murphy returned to the fray this time buoyed by his previous over and with an extra few miles per hour in his bowling arm. Apart from a fast waist high-full toss that got the same treatment afforded to Henry’s delivery, the opposition batters could not handle Murf’s pace managing to score only two runs from the other 5 balls of his final over to leave Murf on 1 wicket for 11 runs off his two overs. Dom bowled the last over the innings which, with the Blackheath batters trying to get runs on the board, went for 14 runs but which included a delivery that clipped the off stump only to be called a no ball for overstepping the crease. This left Blackheath on 113 for 5 with a net run score of 288.
Hazel Uppal and Kaisan Ahmad got the Sidcup innings off to a steady start with a partnership of 25 runs but with the loss of 1 wicket. Hazel was wall like in her defence and demonstrated her ability to flick the ball off her legs with a stylish leg glance that raced away for four runs. Henry Golding and Finley Watts were next to the crease to deliver what can only be described as batting from polar ends of the spectrum. A magnificent display of hitting from both Finley who hit four big booming boundaries through mid-wicket and Henry (with a boundary of his own) to bring up a partnership of 36 runs. Unfortunately, this brutal hitting was punctuated by the loss of 3 cheap wickets trying to hit full straight deliveries out the ground in their first 2 overs to leave Sidcup on 61 for 4 (net score of 241). Tommy and RJ Dyer strode out next to bat. Together they put on an assured 23 run partnership but without the loss of a single wicket to leave Sidcup on 84 for 4 which was a net score of 264 and a mere 24 net runs away from their target with two pairs still to come. But due to Blackheath having only 8 players Sidcup knew this meant Blackheath were saving their best bowlers overs until the final two pairs and so the last two pairs would be in for a tough test if they were going to get through the final 8 overs unscathed.

The penultimate pairing of Murf and Seth brought together the two highest scoring batters of the season so far. Seth single handedly dispatched the first over of their partnership for 12 runs including a classy boundary punched down the ground. A nervy 2nd over saw Murf get off the mark after two dot balls with a big outside edge hit hard down to 3rd man only for then Seth to not be able to get the next 3 balls away. But in the next over the pressure was released in style with Murphy hitting a huge six through backward square leg followed immediately by a classy cover drive for four, and a big crunch back over the bowlers head which would have gone for four if it weren’t for the soft sandy outfield almost swallowing the ball in a puff of sand. Their final over saw both batters keep the scoreboard ticking with singles before Murf played the shot of the season so far by to punching a perfectly timed cover drive that went so far it hit the fence on the far side of the ground and left Murf and Seth on an unbeaten partnership of 34 without loss and ten runs ahead of the net score total. So, it was left to Dom and Noah to be given the responsibility of trying to steer the Sidcup’s ship over the finishing line against what was by now a weakening Blackheath attack after using up their strongest bowlers’ overs trying in vain to topple the previous pairing. Dom got them off to a flyer with a classy four off a waist high no ball, before offering up another boundary in each of the next overs. Noah played a sensible innings before playing across the line at a straight one to lose a wicket. In the 19th over. But by this time the damage was already done. The final over saw Noah demonstrate some stylish textbook back foot punch shots that unfortunately went straight to fielders before both players got a single off the last two balls of the match and bringing Sidcup home with a score of 145 for 5 and a 32-run net score victory.
A superb performance with some real highlights from both a bowling and batting perspective but also from a fielding perspective. Well done to Kaisan who is growing into his role as a part time wicket keeper and part time inswing bowler. Well done to Finn who is starting to show his power with the bat. And well done to Murphy, Seth and Dom who together are starting to take more responsibility for consistently stepping up in their roles as senior players.