2nd lose on delayed opening day

With a much changed side from the last game of last season, which seemed almost years ago, Ricky had a youthful team on display and opened with 17 year old Harvey and 16 year old Yash. A nice left and right hand combination. Their lines were excellent with only 9 runs coming off the bat in the first 10 overs. No wickets. Joe and Naeem were the replacements and although Joe got a decent caught and bowled, the score raced onto 71/1 after 20 overs. Although the runs off the bat were still steady, the extras were mounting up. Eventually Ricky would give away 38 extras including 13 byes, 10 wides and 4 no balls. It's the equivalent giving Northwood 13 men.

With Northwood well placed for a score of 200, it was spin that made the difference as 17 year old Bilal and skipper Ali (himself in his early twenties) got onto their lines and lengths very quickly. Bilal took 3-34 in his 8 overs and Ali 3-27 in 9 as they tempted the batsmen into playing rash shots that got them out. A good leg and off spin combination. The last 15 overs only saw 57 runs for the loss of 6 wickets and Northwood ended up on 165/9. Without the 38 extras, only 127 came off the bat! 127/9 would have been much better for RCC.

With a team full of hitters, Ricky knew the score was not a mountain to climb, however it took on a different aspect as Boris went in the first few balls for a duck. Yash and Owen looked solid enough until Yash popped up a caught and bowled. Northwood had seen the damage that spin had done and had at least one, if not two spinner operating the whole time. Harvey joined his brother Owen at the crease, but then Owen got an underedge onto his stumps for 7. Liam threatened briefly before getting caught for 6, whilst Waheed also looked good with some flashing blade shots before going too early for 8. Batsmen were coming and going all too frequently and RCC were 44/5. Ali and Harvey put on another 12 before Harvey also played on for 20, which at that time was the teams top score. From there the procession continued with both Prasanth and Naeem falling to lbw's as they came across their stumps looking to work the spinners to leg. After Ali also departed to a good catch in the deep for 22, it was only a few clssic cover drives by Bilal that warmed the heart as Joe was bowled for a duck to finish the innings in the same way it started.

89 all out might not sound a great score, but on a deck offering a variety of bounce and an outfield that was too long for classic shots to pay benefits, it wasn't a shocking effort. The bowling by the youngsters was a great plus, however Northwoods greater experience shone through in the end.