U15 GIRLS CRICKET TEAM OFF TO HEADINGLEY! 

Miss Abbey, PE teacher as well as coach and manager of the U15 Girls Cricket Team, provides the following report from a very successful recent trip to Northallerton: 

“Last week, the U15 Girls Cricket Team headed to the Lady Taverners North Yorkshire Indoor Finals at Northallerton Leisure Centre. After one of the teams dropped out of our group, the format of our half of the tournament meant we had to play UCA and Ampleforth College twice to decide who progressed to the next stage. We knew the group games were going to be tight and it might come down to run rate to decide who progressed to the semi-finals. 

We started the tournament with a convincing win against UCA, scoring 105 runs. This was a really good confidence builder with all players contributing with the bat and ball. Our first match against Ampleforth College was a tight game with a high level of cricket played by both teams. Ampleforth came out eventual winners by 23 runs. 

Following another victory against UCA in our second game we posted an impressive 121 runs which gave us a good foundation leading into the final group game against Ampleforth College. In order to progress directly to the semi-final stage and avoid an extra play-off match we knew we had to beat Ampleforth College and beat them by at least 12 runs. The pressure was on, but with some excellent tactical changes by captain Sophie, the girls kept things tight in the field and minimised the runs from the opposition. Some great bowling by Isla, Sophie and Alice, along with the rapid reactions of Pippa as wicketkeeper gave us more than a fighting chance going into our batting innings. A combination of big hitting from Sophie, Pippa and Jorge and well-placed shots and speedy running from Meg, Alice, Isla, Amelia and Katie secured our victory by 20 runs. 

Into the semi-finals we went, playing Acklam Grange School. Once again, the level of fielding was superb and the wickets began to tumble. Chasing 83 to win, the batters began their campaign against some equally strong bowling by Acklam. It came down to the last over but Katie kept her cool with the bat and scored a well-executed shot to score 3 runs for the win. 

Winning the semi-final guaranteed us a qualification spot for the next round of the tournament at Headingly Indoor Cricket Centre but we still had one more match against Ripon Grammar in the final to win the trophy. Another outstanding performance in the field with alert fielding, accurate bowling and fantastic wicket keeping by Pippa enabled us to bowl Ripon out for 51. Our batting innings reflected the progress we had made throughout the tournament, showcasing our hit and run game to keep the pressure on the opposition in the field. We secured victory with a few overs to spare to be crowned North Yorkshire Indoor Champions. 

The team will now represent North Yorkshire in the Yorkshire Finals at Headingly on Friday 21 March.” 

Watch this space for a report from the Yorkshire finals!