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U15 result
Michael SELIG
PUC beat St Brice to move closer do final spot.
The PUC Under 15 side comfortably beat St Brice in a 15 overs match between the two sides at Bagatelle last Saturday.
As other teams failed to show up (PUC were meant to be forming a team with Gymkhana and St Brice with EURO) the game was played with 6 players from PUC and 7 from St Brice. Jiten Raj sub-fielded for St Brice, while two Under 19 players who had turned up to help out did so for PUC.
PUC won the toss and chose to bat first. Openers F Wood and P-I Kaveri started confidently, the latter impressing by the quality of his cut shots and a wonderful cover drive for 4, all along the ground. Having reached 74 in the 7th over, Kaveri skied Rudra to cover, where Rajdip took an excellent catch. The wicket brought little respite to St Brice, however, as F Wood continued to play intelligently and, in the case of a few pull shots, quite brutally, to reach a maiden half century. He received excellent support from H Abbas, who took advantage of a number of leg-side deliveries to score a fine 38 (retired not out) as St Brice struggled with the left-hand/right-hand combination. A new PUC find, Milam, then showed technical and mental qualities with the bat, while Ali Shabaz hit the last ball of the innings for 4, as PUC totalled 174.
For St Brice, there was a marked improvement since their last match in the field, and a noticeable decrease in the number of wides bowled. They took the only chance that came their way, and used with considerable skill the “relay throw” technique, when a fielder chases the ball back to the boundary and another fielder comes halfway between him and the stumps, to get the ball in quicker. Some of our more senior teams should take note.
During the second Innings, Ali Shabaz’s pace proved too much for St Brice openers Paresh and Rajdip, having the first very well caught by Abbas at mid-on from a top-edged pull, and the second clean bowled. However, Rudra at no 3, played with great awareness and common sense, placing the ball very well and running hard between the wickets, to finish with 32 against a quality bowling attack. Abbas demonstrated once again that he is a genuinely talented slow left arm bowler, picking up 3 wickets and showing some of the skills which saw him picked for the under 19 side (PUC) last year, while Milam offered a useful alternative with his left-arm medium. Kaveri once more showed his agility behind the stumps, picking up 2 stumpings, and also his versatility, bowling 3 tight overs. Mike Selig, one of the two sub-fielders used by PUC showed how good a fielder he is by picking up two excellent catches, once showing sensational reflexes to instinctively catch a rebound with one hand.
The St Brice team, far from ridiculed, finished on 84, which included some very encouraging performances. Their two youngest players, batting at the end, showed how a good hand-eye coordination and excellent cricket brain more than make up for a lack of power which is due to age.
I would like to thank Jiten Raj, who took charge of the St Brice team and scored during their innings, as well as helping them out in the field, and Thomas Selig and Robert Benn, the umpires for this match.
Michael SELIG(PUC)
© France Cricket
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