U14s vs Moseley (home), 01/07/10

League match, Moseley won toss and opted to bowl

Kings Heath 155 for 6 in 20 overs
Louie Turpie ct keeper 11
Josh Baker lbw 2
Umar Rehman 51* (retired)
Naweed Uddin run out 50
Luke Baker run out 6
Ben Rattley ct keeper 0
Hassan Farooq 7 not out
Chad Atkinson caught 0
Omar Dawood 0 not out
Did not bat: Jei Diwakar, Tom Boyce

Moseley 123 for 6 in 20 overs
(Naweed Uddin 4-0-24-1, Umar Rehman 4-0-13-1, Omar Dawood 2-0-18-1, Hassan Farooq 3-0-28-0, Luke Baker 4-0-19-1, Ben Rattley 2-0-14-1, Tom Boyce 1-0-6-0)

KINGS HEATH WON BY 32 RUNS

Points gained: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 3

Moseley began their chase of 156 cautiously, Naweed bowled a good length outside off stump and proved difficult to drive, and most of the runs he conceded were through third man. Hassan fielded superbly at backward point diving low and stopping hard hit cut shots when the length was a touch too short. With encouragement from the coach, the team decided to go “IPL style” and open the bowling up the slope with Umar, an off spinner. This worked better than expected as the Moseley opening batsmen were obviously used to starting their innings against pace and struggled to score, another contributory factor was the placement of Luke Baker at short midwicket that prevented any quick singles dropped into the leg side. The change bowlers Omar Dawood, Luke Baker and Ben Rattley continued to offer good control with Moseley now chasing in excess of eight per over, the boundaries were restricted, all collecting a valuable wicket apiece. However the introduction of Hassan Farooq into the attack got nerves jangling; his length was all over the place in an erratic first over and after bowling several high no-balls he was withdrawn from the attack as his three overs went for nearly thirty runs. Tom Boyce was called upon to bowl the final over with 39 runs needed to win. There was very poor light due to the extraordinary length of time it took Moseley to bowl 20 overs (two hours) and Boyce was warned by the umpire not to bowl fast due to the bad visibility and potential danger to the batters. Tom attempted to bowl slow spin however was promptly called for two wides from the astonishingly inconsistent umpire. When his third delivery was hit to the cover boundary he was instructed to bowl normal speed again: as the batsmen were obviously seeing the ball well enough, and no further runs were conceded from the over securing victory by an eventually comfortable 32 run margin. This secured the Kings Heath side runners up position within the Under 14 Division despite being in first place on the deadline day. (Dorridge were allowed to play four fixtures after the Warwickshire ‘play by’ date and finished winners).
The Kings Heath preparation for the match was somewhat disrupted when the Moseley coach insisted that the cricket balls offered by the home size were too big; following closer inspection of the rules it transpired that Kings Heath were correct and a full size adult ball should be used at Under 14 level. It soon came to light that swing bowler Louie Turpie, Warwickshire U15 B and Kings Heath captain was carrying a back injury and therefore unable to bowl. This was a big blow for the home sides’ chances against a strong Moseley batting line-up. The presence of a neutral umpire was welcomed, however a series of seemingly random decisions and inconsistent interpretation of the ‘wides’ rule ensured that both teams felt aggrieved at the conclusion of the game. It should not be suggested that the umpire was incompetent, but if every individual decision was scrutinised under the URDS system then the vast majority would be overturned. Kings Heath were batting first and the coach ensured that the team were targeting a big score, especially with such a strong batting order all eleven of whom could contribute runs.
The two Warwickshire U15 B boys Louie Turpie and Josh Baker opened the batting together for Kings Heath – only the second time they had done so for the Under 14s. The first occasion was against Knowle and Dorridge and resulted in a spectacularly inept run out from the second ball of the innings, Louie Turpie hitting the ball directly at square leg and calling for a single, both batters standing helplessly in the centre of the pitch as the stumps were broken. Both boys had produced superb individual innings during the season (having identical high scores of 42) but had thus far failed to replicate individual successes into a meaningful partnership. The partnership was not given any time to develop as Josh Baker was soon triggered leg before wicket by the umpire to a half hearted appeal from the deep fine leg fieldsman. It should be noted that this delivery pitched short of a length on leg stump and in the absence of swing was continuing on that line down the leg side - had there not been an interception from the batsman then the ball would have been called wide. The ball hit the batsman on the pocket of his left leg, high up on the thigh pad; he was also well back on his stumps after correctly interpreting the (short) length of the ball. For a few seconds after the umpire raised his index finger to uphold the optimistic appeal and confirm the dismissal there was a stunned disbelieving silence from everyone on the pitch and all the spectators. Moseley suddenly found their voice, celebrating neither a good delivery nor a batsman error, but a clear cut, blatant mistake by an umpire. On such decisions entire seasons can be defined, and the underlying message about the Kings Heath season was ‘recording victory after overcoming adversity’. Louie Turpie soon followed Josh back to the pavilion for only 11 runs after trying flick a ball off his hip and being out caught behind. The ball itself came off the thigh pad before being caught by the wicketkeeper down the leg side; Louie stepped back from the stumps as batters are prone to do whilst awaiting a decision following a loud appeal, and the umpire took this as an admission of guilt and again pointed his index finger at the cloudy skies above. The injustice of it all was destroying the teams’ morale and at two wickets down in fewer than four overs the pressure was mounting, mental recalculations of a par score were taking place by both coaches. However Kings Heath shouldn’t have worried, in form batsman Naweed was coming to the crease with Umar Rehman and this pair traditionally bat well together, using the pace and deflecting the ball into gaps behind square on the offside. They took the score past one hundred before Naweed on 48 pushed a single into the covers leaving him tantalisingly poised unbeaten on 49 at the non strikers end. Umar was also in his forties and was now on strike - he stroked the next ball straight to mid off and called for the single. There was never any chance that either batsman could have made the 22 yards without being run out, barring a fielding error. Umar took several steps down the pitch before realising his mistake, but Naweed was by now fully committed to the single and by the time he had turned and tried to make his ground the stumps had been broken with the batsman a yard short. There was an agonising delay before the umpire raised his finger for a third time to confirm the dismissal. Before his run out Naweed had been averaging 170 with the bat, an indicator of not only his supreme run of form but his contribution to the team. As Naweed began his slow walk back he removed his helmet and glanced at the sky, whilst the watching supporters from both sides rose as one and clapped his achievement despite falling one run short of a notable milestone it was a fantastic innings which brought Kings Heath back into contention. Umar reached his fifty the following over and had to retire to the sound of another surge of applause from the Kings Heath team.
The onus was now on quick runs and several Kings Heath batsmen fell for the good of the team. Luke Baker was the second run out of the innings, slow on the turn whilst attempting a double to the third man boundary, but should be commended for his sacrifice. Ben Rattley, in the unfamiliar position of number six tried to scoop the ball over the slips and keeper for runs but unfortunately got height rather than distance on the shot and the wicket keeper took a good swirling catch. Chad Atkinson was making his Under 14 debut but could only succeed in offering a catch to mid off for a duck from the penultimate ball of the innings. Hassan was unbeaten for seven and Omar had the pleasure of walking to the non-strikers end with one delivery remaining of the innings. The team proved themselves extremely capable of setting and defending a total for the first time in the season during their final match. Moseley were under pressure throughout and were unable to break the match defining partnership between Naweed and Umar which eventually sealed the result which was the fifth win of the season.

U14s vs Sheldon Marlborough (away), 27/06/10

League match at Foliot Fields, Stoney Lane (Sheldon won the toss and elected to bat)

Sheldon Marlborough 58 for 6 in 20 overs
(Naweed 3-0-7-1, Umar 3-1-7-2, Rashurd 3-0-16-0, Adil Saeed 2-0-7-0, Luke Baker 2-1-1-2, Omar 3-0-10-0, Jei 3-2-1-1, Ben 1-0-7-0)
FOW: 8 9 9 39 58 58

Kings Heath 62 for 0 in 7.3 overs
Josh Baker 42 not out (9 x 4s)
Luke Baker 12 not out (1 x 4)
Did not bat: Ben Rattley, Umar Rehman, Arjan Gihar, Naweed Uddin, Adil Saeed, Rashurd Ali, Omar Dawood, Louis Langham-Walsh, Jei Diwakar

KINGS HEATH WON BY 10 WICKETS

Bonus points: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 3

Kings Heath cruised comfortably in their chase of 59, during which Luke Baker was given the opportunity to open the batting for the first time, having failed to make it to the crease during the Blossomfield victory the previous match, and Josh Baker also had the chance to boost his confidence having failed to make a notable score since the first match against Kings Norton. However Sheldon bowled their first two overs very accurately and several minds briefly wondered if there could be an upset and Sheldon successfully defend their total. The wonderings were soon silenced at the start of the third over when Josh opened his shoulders and starting hitting boundaries though the offside with ease. Luke soon joined in the fun, hitting a sublime four to the left of mid on and the pair surged past the total in only 45 deliveries, scoring the required runs at over 8 an over to secure the win by 10 wickets.
Earlier Sheldon had won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat; Kings Heath would also have batted on a hot day and a flat pitch. Eight bowlers were used, not out of necessity but in order to ensure that most players were given an opportunity to bowl some overs and collect wickets. The opening bowlers Naweed and Umar soon reduced Sheldon to 9 for 3 and despite two rallying partnerships of 30 and 19 respectively Sheldon were kept to only 58 from their full 20 overs. Under 12 Adil Saeed made an encouraging debut, bowling two overs before being rotated. Under 13 Jei Diwakar bowled three overs for only a single run (which was a front foot no-ball) and collected a wicket in the process – an exceptional reaction catch by Luke Baker at close midwicket. Ben Rattley also bowled his first over of the year, demonstrating his full repertoire of off spin deliveries and varied his pace well. The joint captaincy of Ben Rattley and Umar Rehman has worked well in the absence of regular captain Louie Turpie. Although victory is pleasing it is more satisfying to win a close contest which either team could have won. The result of this match was effectively decided once the first three Sheldon Marlborough wickets had fallen.

U14s vs Solihull Blossomfield (home), 17/06/10

League match

Solihull Blossomfield 113 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rashurd 4-1-12-0, Naweed 4-0-21-1, Omar 3-0-18-1, Jei 2-0-21-0, Umar 4-1-16-0, Callum 3-0-18-1 & two run outs.)

Kings Heath 116 for 1 in 17 overs
Callum Bird 50 retired out
Umar Rehman lbw 13
Naweed Uddin 27 not out
Ben Rattley 0 not out
Did not bat: Luke Baker, Hassan Farooq, Louis Langham-Walsh, Aquib Khan, Rashurd Ali, Omar Dawood, Jei Diwakar

KINGS HEATH WON BY 9 WICKETS

Bonus points: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 2

The bowling was economical but not penetrative; the fielders contributing with two run outs as Solihull Blossomfield were restricted to only 115 on a good batting track. Kings Heath charged past the Blossomfield score with seven batsmen unused. Under 13 Callum Bird was on debut for the 14s and agreed to open the innings in what could have been a tricky chase of 114. However he managed to compile a very composed fifty, adding exactly 50 for the first wicket with Umar Rehman as they coupled aggressive running between the wickets with clinical stroke play until Umar was deemed lbw for 13. There was a danger when Naweed came to the crease and scored freely all around the wicket, that Callum would be stranded short of his fifty, as the target score was fast approaching. Callum was in his late forties as Naweed kept most of the strike, until eventually Callum scored the run to take him to exactly fifty and was able to retire with victory all but complete. Ben Rattley came to the crease but did not face a ball as Naweed hit the next delivery for four, finishing unbeaten on 27. Kings Heath had three overs to spare in what turned out to be a very comprehensive win.

U14s vs Dorridge (away), 06/06/10

League match

Dorridge 178 for 6 in 20 overs (Ollie Hayley 50 retired, Chris Beaumont-Dark 38)
(Naweed Uddin 4-0-34-0, Rashid Ali 3-0-28-0, Omar Dawood 3-0-17-1, Umar Rehman 4-0-44-1, Luke Baker 3-0-26-2, Jei Diwakar 3-0-23-2)

Kings Heath 124 for 8 in 20 overs (Beaumont-Dark 4-1-17-6)

Hassan Farooq stumped 0 (3 balls)

Naweed Uddin bowled 5 (1 x 4)

Umar Rehman bowled 0 (2 balls)

Ben Rattley bowled 17 (4 x 4)

Luke Baker c&b 36 (7 x 4)
Tom Boyce bowled 0 (1 ball)

Joe Jennings bowled 0 (1 ball)

Rashid Ali run out 0 (0 balls)

Omar Dawood 39 not out (7 x 4)

Jei Diwakar 15 not out (1 x 4)

FOW: 0 0 5 30 30 30 35 75

DORRIDGE WON BY 54 RUNS

Bonus points: Loss 1, Bat 4, Bowl 3

This match, scheduled away at Dorridge with a meet time of 9.30am on a Sunday morning, had all the signs of imminent disaster even before the first ball was bowled. This was the third league match in four days, all in the same week as the district festival. The two Warwickshire boys were unavailable as they were on a coach to Yorkshire, driving through the rain for a county game. The loss of Louie, the captain and opening bowler would be difficult to recover from, but the loss of opening batsman Josh Baker could be disastrous. Thankfully two Under 13s were drafted in as replacements; Jei Diwakar to bowl and Hassan as a batsman, Umar Rehman and Ben Rattley were selected as captain and vice captain. Kings Heath was asked to field first but at the start time only had eight players and no wicket keeper. The absence of manager Jonnie, a calming influence on the side, was keenly felt as the coach had no contact numbers for the missing players. Hassan reluctantly agreed to step in as keeper until Joe Jennings’ arrival after revealing that he kept for his school. The more pressing issue was the absence of the three late fielders. Joe and Omar Dawood eventually turned up at the halfway stage of 10 overs, but Aquib failed to attend at all due to his mother not feeling well. This put pressure on the stand in captain Umar, who had no chance of plugging the gaps with the Dorridge County ‘A’ boys at the crease. Eventually their captain Ollie Hayley had to retire after a rapid fifty one ball after the 10 over mark and Kings Heath managed to sneak a few more wickets. U13 Jei Diwakar bowled superbly in adversity and collected two scalps and effectively secured his place in the Under 14 side until the end of the season. The field placements were reactive, particularly when the spinners were on, and Dorridge closed on an intimidating 178 after scoring at all but nine runs per over.
Dorridge opened the bowling with their County ‘A’ boy who had also opened the batting and had been in the County system since he was 10. The surprising thing was that he was a left arm spinner who bowled round the wicket ‘through the gate’. Umar expressed a strong desire to bat at three so Hassan was the reluctant opening batsman who advanced down the pitch to his third delivery and tried to smite the ball back to Birmingham with his head in the air. He was promptly stumped by their captain and keeper for a duck. Umar took guard and was soon bowled second ball for a duck. The bowler Chris Beaumont-Dark was getting prodigious turn and proving exceptionally difficult to play; however when left hander Ben came to the crease the threat was nullified due to the angle of delivery. Naweed, opening for the first time and batting hero of the previous two matches, was also bowled by the left arm spinner for only five. Thanks to a good partnership from Luke Baker and Ben, Kings Heath had moved from 5 for 3 to 30 for 3. Ben played exceptionally well, using the pace of the ball to manipulate gaps behind square before he was bowled by the quick bowler for 17. At this stage quick recalculations were taking place and 120 was set as the new target which would mean maximum batting points. Tom Boyce was batting at six after not bowling an over with the ball and promptly missed his first delivery and was bowled for a golden duck, Joe Jennings also followed first ball leaving the bowler on a hat-trick. When Rashid was carelessly run out without facing a ball he became Kings Heaths’ fifth duck of the innings, all of those batsmen facing a combined total of seven deliveries. The score was now 35 for 7 and Luke Baker and Omar Dawood continued on to the drinks break at 10 overs with Luke unbeaten on 32. However in the first over after drinks, Luke hit another boundary, his seventh of the innings but then offered two consecutive hard hit caught and bowled chances, the second of which was taken. The bowler in question had hurt his hand in taking the catch but the dismissal still stood and Luke was out a career best 36. With the total on 75 for 8, 10 men Kings Heath were a solitary wicket away from losing the match. However Jei Diwakar and Omar put on a superb unbeaten 49 for the ninth wicket, Omar was given his first opportunity to have a long innings for the U14s, demonstrated impeccable defence and unfurled exceptional drives down the ground. Jei gave commendable support and superb tactical awareness, managing the run chase so that the required total of 120 (maximum batting points) was reached in the 19th over. Omar finished unbeaten on 39 and Jei on 15 not out. Their partnership gradually silenced the crowing Dorridge parents and supporters, along with the over confident Dorridge players. Despite the loss, Kings Heath had rallied from a potentially embarrassing score of 35 for 7 to a respectable 124 for 8; there was no shame in losing to such a strong Dorridge side.

U14s vs Knowle & Dorridge (away), 04/06/10

League match

Knowle and Dorridge 133 for 3 in 20 overs
(Louie Turpie 3-0-27-0, Rashid Ali 4-0-18-1, Naweed Uddin 4-0-18-1, Omar Dawood 4-0-32-1, Umar Rehman 4-0-21-0, Luke Baker 1-0-15-0)

Kings Heath 136 for 6 in 18.4 overs
Louie Turpie run out 0 (2 balls)
Josh Baker 9
Umar Rehman 31
Ben Rattley 14
Naweed Uddin 39 not out
Luke Baker 4
Joe Jennings 14
Rashid Ali 5 not out
Did not bat: Omar Dawood, Aquib Khan, Arjan Gihar

KINGS HEATH WON BY 4 WICKETS

Bonus points: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 1

This was the second league match in two days, following an exhausting week at the district festival. Knowle & Dorridge batted first, and their openers proved exceptionally well coached in their judgement of quick singles. They were able to keep the scoreboard moving whilst playing technically correct shots. Kings Heath were not able to create many wicket taking chances. Only two Knowle & Dorridge wickets fell until their captain was dismissed on the final ball of the innings – caught at midwicket by Josh Baker. It was particularly interesting that Knowle & Dorridge had only lost three wickets but their score was fairly low with so many batting resources left unused. This was partly down to the fact the batsmen appeared over coached and were reluctant to play an ugly shot in pursuit of quick runs. They refused to play any other way than technically correct and their scoring areas could be predicted. The Kings Heath bowlers should be commended for showing great ability to adapt to this situation. Knowle & Dorridge had only one ‘big’ over, when Luke Baker was brought on to bowl with a short leg side boundary and only one fielder on the boundary. 15 runs were conceded from the over and pushed their eventual score up to 133.
Skipper Louie Turpie and Josh Baker: both newly appointed Warwickshire U15 ‘B’ players strolled to the crease to open the batting. 24 hours earlier Louie had scored 42 runs during the defeat to Harborne and had the confidence to lead from the front again. However on the second ball of the innings disaster struck, Louie hitting the ball directly at square leg and calling for a single, both batters stranded helplessly in the centre of the pitch as the stumps were broken. After a short debate over which batter should be dismissed, Louie was correctly given out as he was closer to the stumps as they were broken. Kings Heath was 4 for 1 after the first over and with the required rate 6.84 there was significant pressure on both sides. However the second over changed the mentality of the match and flipped it in its head. To the delight of the watching Kings Heath team and supporters the second over conceded 26 runs, primarily from extras; namely no-balls and wides that the keeper missed and went for more runs. The scorers were having a nightmare keeping up, but it should be noted that the umpire calling the wides and no-balls was the Knowle & Dorridge coach. Amongst the chaos Josh Baker hit two balls that were within reach to the cover boundary for four before hitting a simple catch to the cover point fielder to conclude a hectic over. Josh was obviously gutted especially with the knowledge that a fifty was possible especially given the ease which he scored his nine runs. However Ben and Umar were at the crease and the run rate, although still steep, had been reduced to under a run per ball. A solid partnership took place before Ben fell for a useful 14. This brought Naweed to the crease, fresh from his unbeaten 50 the previous day. The subsequent partnership kept Kings Heath up with the required run rate until Umar fell for a well constructed 31. During the partnership Umar had slashed at a wide ball outside off which flew at catchable height through the area where second slip would normally stand and collected a single to deep third man. This was a 20 over game so there were no slips as most fielders were in front of square protecting the boundaries, as Umar reached the non strikers’ end he apologised to the Kings Heath coach who was the standing umpire. When asked why he was apologising he replied that it was a bad shot; the surprised coach made it clear that the Kings Heath batters should learn from Knowle & Dorridge; their reluctance to improvise or play anything other than technically perfect shots cost them lots of several runs during their innings, which in turn could cost them the match. The brief discussion made it clear that scoring runs through gaps in the opposition field is a legitimate tactic, and if the shot has brought a run then nobody will complain; batman improvisation will frustrate bowler and captain alike. Luke Baker made four and seemingly disinterested keeper Joe Jennings scored a quick 14 from bottom handed slogs before his dismissal. Rashid joined Naweed and was commendably restrained – normally he just slogs – and had the ability to recognise that Naweed was the set batsman and therefore gave him most of the strike. The 17th over was when Naweed decided to go ‘big’; Knowle & Dorridge had taken 15 off an over during their innings and now was the time for Kings Heath to take theirs. Naweed hit a perfectly timed six over midwicket into the tennis courts which brought personal pleasure and enjoyment to the whole Kings Heath team. The shot effectively secured the match and the opposition heads dropped. However it wasn’t until the fourth ball of the 19th over that Naweed clipped a full ball off middle stump to the midwicket boundary to complete victory and finish unbeaten on 39. The Kings Heath innings was not technically perfect by any means but the players demonstrated an effective method for scoring runs.

U14s vs Harbourne (home), 03/06/10

League match

Harborne 134 for 5 in 20 overs
(Naweed Uddin 4-0-15-1, Louie Turpie 4-0-25-0, Omar Dawood 4-0-25-0, Josh Baker 2-0-16-2, Luke Baker 3-0-30-0, Umar Rehman 3-0-25-1)

Kings Heath 128 for 6 in 20 overs
Josh Baker 0
Umar Rehman 0
Ben Rattley 0
Naweed Uddin 50 retired
Louie Turpie 42
Luke Baker 7
Louis Langham-Walsh 6
Aquib Khan 3 not out
Omar Dawood 1 not out
Did not bat: Arjan Gihar, George Franklin

HARBOURNE WON BY 6 RUNS

Bonus points: Loss 1, Bat 4, Bowl 3

This was the first of three fixtures arranged during district festival week: the boys involved had already spent the previous three days fielding in long matches in warm weather. Harborne batted first and were not put under pressure at any stage. The bowling offered at least one bad ball per over which was usually clinically dispatched to the boundary and for the second game in a row the fielders dropped numerous catches and continual misfields ensured Harborne reached a commanding total of 134 for 5. Josh Baker had the best bowling analysis, collecting two wickets from hideous slog across the line, but this was from continually bowling low full tosses which the batters repeatedly smeared to the boundary. The lack of pressure and terrible fielding display left the home side feeling disappointed and were reflecting on their first innings rather than concentrating on batting well in the second.
The chase started badly. The top three batsmen were removed for a combined total score of zero. Josh Baker started the collapse by walking across to the off side and trying to flick the ball off his pads to fine leg. However he missed the ball, which then hit leg stump. Umar and Ben were also bowled and the Kings Heath players rattled. Naweed and skipper Louie put on 99 for the fourth wicket, Louie was on 42 when he hit a pull shot straight to midwicket. Naweed retired once he reached fifty which left two new batsmen at the crease, however the pair had succeeded in deflating Harbornes’ buoyant mood in particular by exceptional running between the wickets. The remaining batsmen found it difficult to score as the best Harborne bowlers returned for the dying overs of the game. Despite valiant efforts by the lower order Kings Heath eventually finished six runs adrift. It should be noted that they did not deserve to win the match after such a poor fielding display and the careless nature from which the first three batters were dismissed – all bowled. However the coach made a point of reminding the players that although they had performed badly as a team the positive was that they had still come within six runs of victory.

U14s vs Kings Norton & Weoley Hill (away), 25/05/10

League match

Kings Norton 64 for 7 in 20 overs
(Rashid Ali 4-1-18-1, Louie Turpie 3-2-6-3, Tom Boyce 4-0-7-2, Omar Dawood 4-0-14-1, Umar Rehman 3-0-20-0, Luke Baker 2-1-4-0)

Kings Heath 70 for 0 in 11.0 overs
Josh Baker 26 not out
Umar Rehman 31 not out
Did not bat: Ben Rattley, Arjan Gihar, Louie Turpie, Aquib Khan, Luke Baker, Omar Dawood, Rashid Ali, Tom Boyce

KINGS HEATH WON BY 10 WICKETS

Bonus points: Win 4, Bat 4, Bowl 3

10 men Kings Heath crushed Kings Norton & Weoley Hill by 10 wickets in the first league game of the season. After electing to field, Kings Heath felt the strain of the missing fielder with wide gaps through which Kings Norton initially scored freely. Captain Louie Turpie, fielding at deep fine leg during his bowling spell, adapted his plans by changing the bowlers frequently in search of wickets. Rashid bowled fast and straight, after terrifying the opposition batsmen the previous year, and was rewarded with a wicket. Omar Dawood, bowling left arm over the wicket, only conceded 14 runs during his four over spell. Luke Baker bowled two overs of off spin and quickly impressed the coach with his control of flight and his ability to outthink batsmen. Tom Boyce showed excellent control and achieved more bounce than the batters expected and collected two wickets. Louie returned for the death overs and was rewarded with three quick wickets, and was on a hat-trick at one stage. The bowling performance was marred only a poor standard fielding display. Four simple catches were put down and the ground fielding was little better. There was significant room for improvement but it was encouraging that opposition teams could be restricted to a low total despite bad fielding. The chase was always going to be comfortable, and the experimental batting order was not given a chance to reach the crease. The required runs were collected in clinical fashion with plenty of drives through the off side. The winning moment came with the scores level; Umar clipped a six off his legs into the midwicket fence.

U14 v Solihull Blossomfield, 11/05/09

Kings Heath 135 for 1 in 20 overs
Tom Salliss 71 not out
Josh Baker caught 6
Sean Brown 37 not out

Solihull Blossomfield 102 for 4 in 20 overs
(Louie Turpie 4-0-21-0, Jack Wadelin 4-0-22-1, Sean Brown 2-1-8-0, John Roper 2-1-4-1, Sultan Afzal 4-0-18-2, David Malcolm 2-0-11-0, Naweed Uddin 1-0-1-0, Elliot Clarke 1-1-0-0)

KINGS HEATH WON BY 33 RUNS