[by Nitin Potdar] The ACC+VRA+QV combined U17 team had a cold and wet start to their season’s first game against Quick Haag. The game was played on VRA’s third field and coach Peter Borren had ensured the field was set & tea/coffee available for the players/parents.
Captain Shreyas Potdar (ACC) lost the toss and was asked to field first. Opening bowlers Ashir (VRA) and Mees (ACC) were finding it difficult to grip a wet bowl but did very well. By the 4th over, Quick H had lost their first 2 wickets for a score of 18.
The first bowling changes were introduced by Captain Shreyas which saw Ethan (VRA) and Arav (QV) in action. K. Rispens and C. Dekeling steadied the innings and added 72 runs for the 3rd wicket.
In the meantime, the weather Gods decided to have some fun which ended in a 25 min (rain) break after which the skies cleared out and the match resumed. Under these wet conditions, the bowlers did very well and ensured not many runs were scored of the bat though quite a few runs were given away as extras (wides) which is understandable. After the 3rd wicket partnership was broken, Quick H did not really recover and were all out in the 27th over. K Rispens was the top scorer with 35 runs.
Pick of the u17 bowler – Zamaan K with figures of 4-2-3-0. Ashir & Mees took 2 wickets each while Shreyas and Luke took 1 each.
ACC+VRA+QV opened the innings with Jamie and Luke and what a start they gave! The way they batted it appeared they were in a hurry to finish off the game ASAP! Jamie played some excellent shots all around the ground while Luke was happy rotating the strike. In his innings, Jamie hit 8 boundaries and 1 six before retiring on 58 and their partnership was worth 75 runs. Luke went on to score 27 and was involved in a partnership of 41 runs for the second wicket with Shreyas before being bowled in the 15th over. Shreyas (12 n.o.) and Zamaan (4 n.o.) then ensured that the target was reached without losing any more wickets.
The team played well under these wet conditions but need to work a bit harder and ensure that they do not give away free runs. A total of 45 extras were given away out of which 41 were due to wides and no balls.
Highlights
Quick Haag – 124 A.O.
K Rispens – 35
C. Dekeling – 11
T. vd Zwaard – 10
Ashir – 5-1-14-2
Mees – 5-1-14-2
ACC+VRA+QV – 125/1
Jamie – 58 (retd)
Luke – 27
Shreyas - 12 n.o.