Gresford Under 11's Vs Buckley

Gresford Vs Buckley 

It was final's day and Gresford were all set for another encounter. Gresford started the morning with the news that one of there stars was unable to play, down to 7 this game was going to be an uphill battle from the start. 

Fin Thomson was captain for the day and did a sterling job. Coin toss completed and Gresford were told to bat first. 

The gauntlet fell at Dylan Renouf and Jenson Vye' s feet to open up proceeding. The task at hand was going to be hard facing the best bowling North Wales has to offer. Dylan took the first steps towards building the team's score as his glided about his crease getting to work. Block after block built up confidence, then bang at the right time a quick one, followed by a 2. Renouf used is batting game well to get Gresford of to a great start. Jenson wasn't leaving all the work to his partner though, Vye offered up some well timed drives to join Dylan in Gresford' s run quest. Jenson was determined to stay put and not let the bowling bully him out of his crease, he done this with great success as the pair saw out the first 4 overs. 

Oscar Ghattas and Jake Kershaw were 2nd up. Gresford needed to keep finding positives in Buckley' s accurate bowling. Oscar did so well, waiting for the bad ball Ghattas blocked anything close to wickets then bang like that he would slap his bat across the ball crashing it in to the outfield. This was a successful technique which saw runs successfully added to the board. Jake used his feet well, protecting his wickets, Kershaw seized upon the ball at every opportunity. Front foot drive, followed by advancing down the wicket added to Jake's batting score as the bowlers changed line and length to try to find his stumps.

Gresford were already on to thrid pairing Lucas Pold and Calum Millington. Both had been in this position before against tough opposition so both knew what was needed. Lucas provided Gresford with the gritty performance it needed. The bowling was quick so the tactics changed as Lucas put bat to ball glancing it into the gaps. Using his voice well Pold was able to call for run's well and keep the pair out of danger. Calum found success in one of his more favoured shots, the pull shot. As he wrapped his bat around the ball the pair's confidence grew, shots were pinging off the bat as Millington continued the Gresford charge for runs. 

Last into the picture was Fin Thomson who had the alkward task of batting with different partners. Fin dealt with this well as he put his head down and got to work. The final 4 overs saw just what Gresford needed runs and lots of them. Thomson started to frustrate the Buckley fielders as he found gaps driving, cutting and glancing the ball through making quick runs where possible. Skipper Fin took on the bowling with confidence ad was rewarded.

Gresford finished there 16 overs with a flurry, all 7 batsmen did what was asked of them as they tackled some formidable bowling. Next task at hand to protect there total.

Opening the bowling Gresford Under 11's pace Dylan Renouf. Dylan gave Gresford the confidence boost they needed in his first over, 5 dot balls and only one run from the bat was only the start of the young openers day. Over number two saw the runs dry up for the batsmen , as they struggled to deal with the swing, speed and accuracy of Renouf. Dylan's last over saw him rewarded, wicket ball 4 balls in. What a spell.

Oscar Ghattas was next in line, like he had done all season  Oscar took advantage of his whippy action to build up the speed he needed. Over number one was the highlight of his day, wicket ball 5 deliveries in. Over two and three were tough as Buckley sent in there aggressive batsmen, but using his experience Oscar changed his line accordingly to make the bat work for every run. 

Lucas Pold got hold of the ball next and set to his work quickly. Lucas's overs got better as he continued, finding his rythem well over' s two and three went for little runs. Adding to his great bowling stats was a well bowled wicket in his final over, pitching right in front of the stumps beating the batsmen and sending the bails flying. This bowling performance was topped off with two incredible catches, as the ball went high Lucas remained calm diving forward and getting two hands to some extremely hard high balls. 

Bowler 4 was somebody who was becoming a familiar face in this under 11s side. Jenson Vye took like a duck to water bowling, over number one was accurate. Over number two even better a wicket third ball in rewarding Jenson for all his hard work in training and in matches. Against two experienced batsmen Jenson found weaknesses in there armour chipping away until striking gold with a great ball. 

Calum Millington another Gresfoed seamer was the 5th bowler of the morning. If was obvious to see that Calum had been practicing, deliver number one and Millington meant business. Drifting the ball in towards the batsmen Calum used his technique well holding the ball to allow for swing, and the batsmen didn't know what was coming struggling to read the line of the ball. Two overs in and Calum was unlucky not to take a well deserved wicket. 

Skipper Fin Thomson used his tactics well and kept himself till the end to bowl. Over number one and Fin was reinforcing his team's good start, dot ball after dot ball got the Gresford boys cheering as Buckley seemed to be struggling with the tight lines bowling. Over number two saw Gresford and Fin rewarded again as he took another wicket for the season. Bravely Thomson took on the responsibility of bowling the last over of the game and it paid off another tight over saw Gresford claw some vital runs back.

Jake Kershaw volunteered to go behind the stumps, and what a decision. Kershaw kept for 16 overs solid against some of Gresford quickest and trickiest bowling and made it look easy. Not shying away Jake put his body on the line to save Gresford vital runs. 

Unfortunately the task was to big for Gresfoed, the Gresford team put up a valiant effort and held there heads up heigh right the way through, a true credit to the club. Thankyou to all the parents and boys for this season. North East Wales South division Champions is a huge achievement in itself.

Player of the match-

Playing an absolutely amazing game Lucas Pold grabs this week's man of the match. Batting- Confident and showing a great variety of shots. Bowling- One the stumps bowling the most economical overs. Fielding- Taking two stunning catches most senior players would struggle with. Well done Lucas.