On Tuesday 7 February students from Carisbrooke College took part in an U13’s Cricket Festival at Medina College. This was the first time the students had played competitive cricket in this format, however, what took place over the course of three hours was quite frankly remarkable.
From start to finish, all 10 girls performed to an amazing level and competed in all disciplines of cricket; batting, bowling and fielding and did so as a solid unit. In the first game against local rivals, Medina set Carisbrooke a target of 82 to win after some excellent bowling from the whole team. Tali J, Rosie B, Daisy R, Evie R, and Cerese B all bowled consistently straight and at a good length, with Madison W stopping every ball from reaching the wall and giving runs away. The Year 8 students were great role models for the younger students. With Summer C and Jasmine D completing the roster for the first game and showing no signs of weakness, Carisbrooke really did look as though they could compete on all ends.
In reply to Medina, Carisbrooke started well with Captain Tali leading from the front and who eventually went on to score 20 before having to retire. Rosie complemented this effort with 12 of her own and as the team continued to perform well, it went down to the last ball of the game for Carisbrooke to go away with their first win.
Tali continued to captain the team well and quickly found that the team liked to follow in the current England team footsteps by batting second with a clear target to aim for. This could not have been a better decision as the next game against The Bay went down to the penultimate ball with Carisbrooke needing 81 to win. What was so nice about this game was that whilst the older students put in another great performance, it was the younger students who brought the team home to eventually take the win with 85 runs. It was once again nice to see how the team supported each other to change positions in the field and adapt tactics throughout. Daisy W, in her first game, took two well timed wickets to slow The Bay run rate and Miley H in her first appearance bowled superbly and supported the run chase.
In the third game Carisbrooke held the Priory to 59 and managed to score 95 runs in reply which meant they would only need to win their final game to take the championship. In the final game against Ryde Academy, Carisbrooke put together an amazing display in the field to hold them to 64 all out, which was the second game in a row that Carisbrooke had managed to bowl their opponents out. In return Carisbrooke steadily built a good run chase but lost some key wickets at crucial times. However, the girls on the side did not stop cheering on their batters and pushed them on to eventually take the win, thanks to some outstanding batting by Daisy R in the last over.
The girls were an absolute pleasure throughout the tournament and did Carisbrooke proud. Some individual highlights include:
Tali J – great captain, inspirational in the field, bowling and leading out the attack when batting. Player of the tournament as selected by the other players.
Daisy R – consistent throughout including bringing the team home in the final game to take the trophy.
Evie R – calm and reassuring throughout with some big hits to the boundary and taking wickets at key times.
Daisy W – massive hits with the bat and outright speed when bowling which was almost impossible to hit.
Rosie B – excellent catching, consistent bowling and high run scoring in all the games. Vice captain throughout which really supported others.
Madison W – Best wicket keeper in the tournament and the difference between winning by 1 or losing by 1. Simply outstanding behind the wickets.
Cerese B – hitting the most 4s and 6s in the tournament and always willing to help others including other teams.
Summer C – scored the vital runs in the second game to bring the team home and went throughout the tournament without making a mistake.
Miley H – Enthusiasm to stop everything in the field and running between the wickets and putting the pressure on the opponents fielders.
Jasmine D – showed no fear in taking on some of the fastest bowlers in the tournament and taking some wickets at the key moments in the game.
