PUBLISHED 20 March 2020
After a superb performance in the earlier round the AKS U13 Girls Cricket Team qualified to play in the Lancashire Regional Finals at Bolton Arena. In just their second competitive match together the girls were mixing it with experienced county level players of other schools but they rose to the challenge and performed superbly improving with every game. The girls set out to enjoy the experience, play their best and have fun and they certainly did that. All three matches delivered close results and the girls were in all the matches throughout.
Game 1 saw us against Stonyhurst and we batted first. Daniella and Jessie contributed valuable runs as we set Stonyhurst a total of 68 to win. Good bowling from Charlotte restricted the Stonyhurst openers from scoring freely but they slowly added runs despite some good fielding. Evie also bowled well but Stonyhurst kept the score ticking along and at the end of their innings they had reach a total of 100 to take the win.
With another game under our belt we went into the second game against St.Michaels in confident mood and we went into bat determined to put a good total on the board. Alexa and Kate kept the scoreboard ticking along with some great scoring shots and at the end of the innings we had increased our total to 76. Some great fielding from all the team limited their scoring in the opening overs. Tight bowling from Katie S and Lily did not give any cheap runs away but at the end of the innings St.Michaels had edged ahead scoring 86 runs.
Our final game against West Trinity was a nail biting contest with only 3 runs dividing the teams at the end. We again batted first and were determined to set a challenging total. Charlotte put in a great batting performance, Evie added valuable runs and at the end of our innings we had amassed 70 runs. Katie L and Sophie led the bowling attack and with greater accuracy made scoring difficult. Good fielding also saved runs but West Trinity gradually closed in on our total and disappointingly edged to a 3 run win in the final over.
Overall our bowling got better over the day and we were able to hit our spots far more consistently, whilst Alexa was excellent as wicket-keeper throughout the day. Some brilliant efforts in the field, including a spectacular stretch catch at speed by Katie S and a diving save by Evie were highlights but most importantly the girls improved game by game and definitely enjoyed the experience of playing at this level.
The girls stuck together and delivered some pleasing performances but it was not enough to progress to the County Finals