Penn Street Juniors Under 10s Tournament at Winchmore Hill

A glance at Group 2 of Winchmore Hill’s U10s tournament schedule revealed a stern test in sweltering conditions for Penn Street. Pitched against clubs such as Beaconsfield, Wooburn Narkovians, Holmer Green and Farnham Common, it was clear we would need something special to progress to the semi-final stage. But our club motto “Little club, big heart” exists for a reason, and this team is a big-hearted group consisting of six friends, who also happen to be classmates at school. Now for the first time, they lined up as PSCC teammates.

The day started well with the welcome news we’d been assigned Pitch B - our loyal travelling supporters able to set up base camp in the corner of the ground most shaded from the sun.

Our first big test then came against Beaconsfield, as Captain Nathan won the toss and elected to field. Beaconsfield then progressed to a daunting total of 112 from the starting position of 50 runs, via some impressive clean striking. Nevertheless, our bowlers deserve great credit for sticking to their task so well. Jonty set us on the right path with some accurate full pitched pace bowling, before Hugo, Miles and Charlie (all making their PSCC debuts) chipped in with great work against batters who were eager to punish anything wayward. Nathan and Wilf also contributed excellently with their 2 overs alongside some tidy shifts as wicketkeeper.

If 112 seemed like a daunting total, no-one told the PSCC batters. Our two little maestros Jonty and Miles started tucking into the run chase with total confidence it could be done, scampering through for singles at every opportunity. Wilf and Hugo continued in the same vein, sending anything short to the midwicket boundary and communicating well. Wilf capitalised on scoring opportunities behind square on the leg side as he showed just how much his all-round game has developed. Nathan and Charlie then came in to try and take us to victory and very nearly did, with Nathan finding the boundary a number of times, including a leg side six onto the next pitch.

 In the end we fell just 15 runs short on a total of 97 - a phenomenal effort by all. Even though it may sound odd to say this about a defeat - the Beaconsfield game may have been the highlight of our day given the standard of the opposition we were facing and the fact that none of our batting pairs lost a single wicket in the run chase. What a start!

The confidence the Beaconsfield game had clearly given us sent us flying into the game against Wooburn Narks. Batting first, Wooburn managed 76 after some excellent bowling, particularly by Wilf and Charlie, who by now was growing in confidence with every ball. In reply, the whole team showed just how far our overall game has come on by scoring freely all round the wicket and posting a huge total of 125. Our first win in this competition…we were now up and running!

As suspected, we were about to face our biggest test of the day in Holmer Green. Batting first, they amassed a huge total of 155, with some confident leg side hitting. It should not be underestimated though how well we all stuck together as a bowling unit in the face of this. The ever dependable Jonty frustrated the top order Holmer batters, and was backed up ably by everyone else, as Nathan skippered the team well and no-one let their heads drop. In reply we faced some tough, and often very fast bowling, but the significant point to mention here is that wickets were earnt by Holmer, nothing was given away. Again we showed how much our calling and shot selections have improved, eventually finishing on 77. Our lowest total of the day maybe, but still the source of a great deal of pride in how we had competed.

We went into our 4th and final group game knowing a win was a must to give us any hope of progressing to the semi finals. Farnham batted first and punished any deliveries even slightly off line or short, as they finished on 142. A special mention to Charlie for the work he’s done in recent weeks on his bowling action, which led to a well-deserved wicket when the Farnham batter holed out to a brilliant catch at deep midwicket by Jonty, who patrolled the boundaries with great enthusiasm all day. Miles also was a revelation in the field, throwing himself in the way of everything at high speed and saving countless runs for us. Hugo and Wilf also both showed how dependable they’re both becoming as bowlers, with some excellent work in the middle overs bowling full and denying the batters the width they were looking for to have a swing.

 Special mention to our three debutants - to Hugo for the positive way he bounced back from the disappointment of not facing a ball in one of the opening matches to striking the ball so well in the later games and contributing so consistently with the ball all day. To Miles for his running between the wickets, spectacular fielding and non-stop energy. And to Charlie for taking wickets, batting so confidently and being such a positive and calm presence all day.

Ultimately we fell short in the chase, but in a fantastic team effort we posted 99 against a strong bowling attack. We may not have progressed beyond the group stage, but we’d given everything to the cause and could be extremely proud of our efforts and the way we’d conducted ourselves in all games. It had been a day to remember - starting with celebrations to mark the 25th playing of this excellent tournament and ending with the fantastic achievement of our Under 9s as they collected their runners up medals in front of the pavilion.

A big thank you to Winchmore Hill CC for putting on such a great event, to all the parents for their enthusiast support, and to Asif for making the day possible.

Onto next weekend…Wooburn here we come!