Gresford Under 11's Vs Pontblyddyn

Gresford Vs Pontblyddyn this week. The hosts were topping the league table, so it was a tough match.

Gresford padded up first and went into bat.

Joe Fergus looked confident on the front foot as he created an impenetrable wall with bat and pad. Showing his intent from the off Joe continued to see off Pontblyddyn fast bowlers. Setting the standard for the rest of the team to follow.

Another batsman doing a sterling job at the crease was Ben Pold, using good footwork Ben strung together some IPL style shots as he pinged the ball around the field. Enjoying his time at the crease Ben finished with a healthy total of 9 runs. Adding vital runs to Gresford’s score.

Christian found himself up against another one of Pontblyddyn finest. Pace and accuracy was the order of the day as Christian stood firm not allowing the ball to squeeze past. Stepping outside his leg stump Christian make sure he punished the bad ball totting up a healthy 5 runs, with some lightening running between the wickets a key feature.

On the side-lines Gus watched awaiting his time in the middle. Finding time to get the ball away on to the off side Gus made a strong start powering his way through the ball sending it into the outfield. This continued in this vein for the remainder of his innings as he put together a strong partnership of batting showing his strength reading the ball perfectly.

Mr James Cook had looked impressive with the bat this year and continued his good run of form. Playing shot of the day thundering the ball sending it for a well-deserved 4 the senior team would be proud of. James used quick hand speed to continue his assault of the Pont bowling finishing on a crucial 7 runs.

Miss Jess Jones had made a good start to her Innings to, as she hushed the bowlers with textbook front foot defensive work. Feeling her way into the game Jess grew in confidence as she put together her defensive and attacking batting, scoring her first runs of the game. Very well played indeed, all of which up against some outstanding bowling.

Gresford were going steady, Pont had the upper hand despite some fantastic batting the home team were able to take important wickets.

Next into the Pont sunshine was Josh Tifase a seasoned professional at his cricket now! Batting with maturity Josh knew it was going to be tough to get the ball away. Waiting for the right chance Josh seized on the opportunity to make quick 1s and 2s putting runs on the board using clever batting.

Hector Ghattas was playing in his 2nd game of the season and found his stride early. Linking together back foot and leg side play Hector opened up the field with the bat. Once again the bowling was good and hard to keep out but Hector found every opportunity to capitalise on the bad ball.

Following on from his teammates Sam knew what needed to be done. Using his height well Sam got on the front foot early making sure the ball wasn't able to swing past the bat. Using his technique Sam turned blocks into drives and drives into attacking batting adding much needed runs to the board.

Sid found joy with the pull shot in his innings, punishing the short ball with some safe strong batting. Good movement allowed Sid to continue to add runs to the Gresford total as the innings drew to an end. Positive calling make sure that every quick single was taken, giving Gresford a fighting chance with the ball.

Good bowling pegged Gresford back to 197-9. Gresford needed to bowl tight and accurate to stay in the game.

Opening the bowling was Siddant, Sid got Gresford off to a fast start ensuring that Pontblyddyn received some pace bowling themselves. Extras were kept to a minimum as Sid bowled just the one wide in his 2 overs, coming close to the wickets on more than one occasion. 

Sam Richardson marked up his run up with intent as he looked to continue the good work started with the ball. Time and time again Sam hit the money area bowling a superb off stump line. The overcast conditions worked in the bowlers favour as Sam swung the ball from left to right marking it hard to play.

Gresford needed to keep things tight in the field and were doing just that squeezing closer and closer to the batsmen making their task just that little bit harder. Hector Ghattas started on a positive note showing his intent early, sending the ball down the other end of the pitch with purpose bowling a superb off stump Iine. His two overs were impressive 1 wide bowled a fantastic spell indeed.

Josh downed the pads for the ball finding his rhythm early replying to Pont’s powerful batting with some explosive deliveries of his own. The ball skidded through bat and pad as Josh homed in on middle stump. Another great spell of bowling only going for 4 runs from 2 overs.

Jess made the batting side think about their game as every ball seemed to trouble the Pontblyddyn side. All her hard work paying off as ball after ball raised questions coming close to that illusive wicket. Spell complete Jess bowling some of the best figures of the game 2 overs 2 runs.

Star performer with the bat marked out his run up with precision as the experienced James Cook set about his work. Gliding towards the wicket James used his clean bowling action to ask more questions of the batting side. Each ball bowled a little different keeping everyone on their toes, some very clever tactics well done.  

Joe Fergus continued his positive bowling this season, wanting to make an impression on the game Joe made sure he had eyes on the wickets at all time. Early signs showed Joe’s determination rewarded with dot balls a must have at this stage of the game. His 2 overs continued in this fashion as he pegged back the batting side once more.

Gus was handed the ball next, and got straight into business over number one no wides and 4 dot balls, over number two echoed that of the first line and length the order of the day. Accurate bowling, not worrying about the pace led Gus to some fantastic deliveries as the ball made its way towards fielders falling short of a catch on numerous occasions.

Gresford had a foothold in the game, wides were kept to an all-time low but wickets were needed in reply to the runs totting up.

Last up to bowl was Christian, and with Pontblyddyn making good progress with the bat, Christians bowling line needed to be good, and boy was it! Another bowler set to cause problems for the batting team. Christian found a great line as he consistently hit the mark. Making sure he bowled to his field Christian kept every ball on the off side. Some great bowling.

The day can’t be finished without mentioning the heroic performance behind the stumps a hard job to master. Ben Pold made things look easy as he caught nearly every single delivery that came through to his gloves. Picking himself up time and time again dusting his whites down and resetting. Marvellous performance!

Gresford’s efforts fell short of the mark as Pontblyddyn took the game away from the visitors.  Another fantastic effort from all the players who will take a lot away from a very hard game.

Player of the match- James Cook, after hitting the shot of the match, batting with great confidence and bowling with line and length James takes the plaudits this week. Well done

Roll on next week!