Wiltshire Boys Under 10s 2012 Season Report
The story for the early part of the 2012 Season for the Wiltshire Under 10s was much the same as the rest of the country – RAIN!!!! After some early squad sessions the team were raring to go but training and the first match fell to the weather.
The first match played was against Dorset at Redlynch CC. In their 35 Overs Wiltshire scored 122-8 with some good running between the wickets and middle/lower order hitting produced useful contributions from Harrison Tyler (24), Ben Higton (16) and Andrew Soutar (17no). After Tea the boys took to the field and although their bowling was a little tentative they soon got into their stride. The Dorset batsmen always looked in control and although wickets from Chahal, Higton, Soutar, Stagg and a run-out the runs continued to flow and Dorset finished the match in the 27th Over on 124 for 5 to win by 5 wickets.
A hastily arranged match was slotted into the programme against Berkshire. Wiltshire bowled first and immediately got into the game with Ed Stagg cleaning up both openers for 0. Harrison Tyler and Ben Higton took a wicket a piece and a run out restricted Berkshire to 47 for 5 from 10 overs. Berkshire rebuilt the innings taking Berkshire to 151 all out from 36 overs, Stagg finishing with 3 for 24, Tyler 2 for 8 and Higton 2 for 23.
The Wiltshire reply was really all about one innings skipper Prav Chahal played what can only be described as a superb innings playing with class and authority. He dominated the Berkshire attack scoring all round the wicket but it is his straight drives that will last in the memory, Chahal fell agonisingly short of what would have been a maiden County century with a tired looking shot on 93. However, the innings was unquestionably a match winning effort as along with Edward Wade 14 and Chris Chaddock 7 not out Wiltshire chased down the Berkshire total for the loss of 7 wickets in the 33rd over.
After the excellent victory at Berkshire and three postponements, Wiltshire took the field first against Oxfordshire at Bishop Cannings. Oxfordshire were 38 for 1 with Ed Stagg taking the only wicket. At 20 overs Oxfordshire had reached 72 for 2 but with some excellent shots and an aggressive innings from two Dorset batsmen they took the game away from Wiltshire with the innings ending on 222 for 5.
In truth Wiltshire were always behind the game in what was a very demanding chase. Openers Prav Chahal and Ben Higton added 45 for the first wicket but were quickly 49 for 2. A very responsible stand of 83 between Edward Wade (28) and Charlie Epps (49) put Wiltshire back in the game but Wiltshire ended on with 159 for 5 after 40 overs. It was a spirited chase without perhaps the dominant innings required.
After three matches we took the trip to the Malvern Festival for three matches. This proved to be a fantastic mini tour for all the boys and a great opportunity to meet other teams and develop their skills.
Day One saw us matched against a strong looking Hertfordshire side who batted first and scored 201-6 in their 40 overs. The most notable performance was Ben Higton’s 8 overs 3 maidens 6 runs 1 wicket. This was all the more impressive with some very small boundaries. After a solid opening partnership (Chahal 46 and Chaddock 31) of 56 Wiltshire looked well placed in the run chase but a couple of mini collapses saw us finish on 120 all out. Lost by 81 runs.
Day Two saw us playing Suffolk and despite the interesting playing conditions the match was seen through to a conclusion despite efforts from the rain to ruin it. Wiltshire batted first and finished on 153-7. The runs were shared more evenly with notable contributions from Chahal (27) and Tyler (22). In reply Suffolk started confidently and reached 57-0 but the Wiltshire bowlers soon got into their stride and 2 wickets each for Stagg, Higton, Epps and one each for Wade and Tyler saw Wiltshire win by 13 runs.
Day Three was a match against Norfolk back at the college grounds. Wilts batted first and scored 221-3 in 40 overs. The innings was dominated by another superb batting display from Prav Chahal (83) and Ed Stagg with his maiden County 50. The two put on 108 for the third wicket. In reply Norfolk were always behind the run rate and despite another attempt from the rain to ruin the match they finished on 196 all out. Wiltshire win by 25 runs. The bowling display of the day was from Ben Higton who bowled with good control and variation to finish with the excellent figures of 7-1-20-6.
Wiltshire finished the season with two matches against Somerset and Hampshire. Against Somerset we batted first and were bowled out for just 26 with Somerset passing the total without loss. Against Hampshire it was much more promising performance. Hampshire were reduced to 46-6 at one stage but recovered with a fine innings to finish on 166 all out, Chaddock (3-36) and Higton (3-17). In reply Wiltshire were 47-5 at one stage but an excellent partnership of 53 from Stagg and Higton saw them to 100-6 but sadly the Wiltshire tail couldn’t get us over the line and we finished on 117 all out.
In summary a good first season playing 8, winning 3 and losing 5. All the players showed great enthusiasm and were keen to learn and develop their skills. All payers showed improvements during the season. Looking forward if we can improve our consistency and concentrate for longer periods we can look to turn around some of the closer matches. The 2012 Player of the Year went to Pravdeep Chahal for his 291 runs at an average of 41.57 and his crucial contribution as Team Captain.
Thanks go to Russell Rowe for his dedication and expert contribution to the squad, also to Jackie who scored all season for us. Also thanks to the parents for their support and understanding in a very frustrating season due to the weather.
Wiltshire Under 10s 2012 Squad (In alphabetical surname order) – Keron Bennett-Thomas, Adam Castle, Christopher Chaddock, Pravdeep Chahal (Capt), Alex Christopher, Charlie Epps, Ben Higton, Jack Humphreys, Ethan Hutchins, Edward Nash, Andrew Soutar, Edward Stagg, Josh Stanley, Harrison Tyler, Edward Wade