Wargrave U11 T20 Blast Match Report
Wargrave 169/5 (20 overs) beat [Wokingham – U11 Golden Oaks] 117/8 (20 overs)
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A comfortable win for Wargrave's U11s on paper, though if you looked closely at the scorecard, and squinted a little, there was a subplot that the coach would very much like the players to read, digest, and take to heart before the next game.
But first, the good news.

With the bat, Wargrave's top order were in fine form. A strong opening partnership from Parth and Alex set the tone, then some powerful hitting from Oscar and Horatio, with Ben playing some beautifully timed strokes. Three of the first five batsmen reached their allotted 25 deliveries and trooped off retired not out, which is exactly what you want to see; busy, confident batting that builds a platform. The runs flowed, the total mounted, and by the time the innings wrapped up at a very healthy 169/5 off 20 overs, it was a score that was always going to take some chasing.

In the field, the lads started brilliantly. Tight, disciplined bowling in the early overs, a quick run out, had the opposition under real pressure. Some quick wickets threatened to shut the game down entirely. Some great economy from Oscar in his first spell, with unplayable lines, and even tighter bowling from Raffi seeing his 3 overs out with 1 wicket taken. At that point, things were looking very rosy indeed.

Then the extras got involved.

Now, extras are a curious thing in cricket. They don't bat. They don't field. They don't even turn up to training. And yet somehow, somehow, they managed to contribute 65 runs to the opposition's total, more than any individual player on either side scored!! To put that into perspective: without the generous donations of wides and no-balls, the opposition would have mustered a rather more modest total. Instead, they grafted to a respectable 117/8 off 20 overs, with a significant portion of that courtesy of Wargrave's own bowling and fielding.
The win was never in doubt today, and credit to every player for their efforts. But in T20 cricket, where margins are tight and games can turn on a single over, giving away 65 free runs is the cricketing equivalent of leaving your front door wide open. The team escaped this time, but sooner or later, someone will walk through it.

So the message going into the next game is simple: keep up the excellent batting, bring that early bowling intensity for the full 20 overs, and let's see if we can make the extras column look a little more respectable. The opposition should be scoring their own runs, not collecting ours.

Player of the Match goes to Horatio who had a strike rate of 156, unbeaten on 39 runs from 25 deliveries, and taking 2 wickets in his 3 overs.

Well played, Wargrave. Now let's tighten it up for game!
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Match Result: Wargrave U11s won by 52 runs