On a cold and damp morning the Cavaliers met with Bradfield for their season opener in the U11s Berkshire Youth League.

Bradfield called heads but the coin came down tails, and Bradfield were invited to bat first on a good surface tinged with early season grass.

It was a sluggish start from the Cavaliers as Bradfield’s excellent openers thrashed a few loose deliveries around the park. However the sun broke through and accordingly the boys turned up the heat.

Wickets fell regularly, interspersed with some hard-hitting boundary shots and soon the Cavaliers were in fine fielding form…

Bradfield pushed into the covers for an easy single, but the Cavaliers’ Captain swooped, gathered and fired in a rocket of a throw. The wicketkeeper had to do no more than take off the bails with Bradfield a yard short – a moment deservedly winning the fans’ Champagne Moment of the Match. However, Bradfield still had plenty of fight in them and managed to get a respectable 236 for 10 at the break.

The Cavaliers opened circumspectly – but soon got the pace of the wicket and cracked a couple of sumptuous shots to the boundary. No point chasing those.

As the innings progressed the boys kept the scoreboard ticking over. The benefits of training hard through the winter was really paying off as they kept their wickets intact and hit some powerful shots coupled with some nice touches. Cavaliers ended the innings on a winning 280 for 4 – a fine start to the season.

Both Roundheads and Cavaliers are in action next week – U11s are up and fighting in 2019!

Match Player of the Day – Soorya
Champagne Moment – Tom and Kobi’s run out