Three teams entered the inaugural Caterham Rotary U15s cricket festival: Purley, Kenley and First Ball Academy. On a scorching hot Sunday at Caterham cricket ground, a generous crowd watched them do battle.
In a shortened format of the game, eight overs were played per side, with eight players per team. The match that opened proceedings was FBA and Purley. FBA won the toss and asked Purley to bat first on a decent pitch. Some accurate bowling restricted the Purley batsmen, making a total of 47 from their allotted eight overs. The FBA batsmen wasted no time in knocking off Purley’s total in 21 balls.
The second match of the tournament, FBA vs Kenley, was a tighter encounter. Kenley batted first and made a similar score to Purley: 49. With FBA cruising to victory, Kenley’s strike bowler Matthias, who also happens to be a member of FBA, took two key wickets, setting up a tense finish.
Two more wickets fell in the penultimate over, with FBA needing two off the last over. A wide was bowled, sealing victory and a place in the finals for FBA.
The final round robin match was local rivals Purley vs Kenley. Kenley scored a healthy 62 batting first. Needing 7.75 runs per over, Purley started well, yet faded as the run rate began to climb, leaving Kenley to seal an emphatic victory.
The final: FBA vs Kenley. Kenley conceded, meaning FBA were crowned champions of the Caterham Rotary U15s cricket festival 2022.
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