State School cricket to the fore
At a sun-kissed Cobham Avorians, Sunday's game featured 20 state school cricketers and a level of cricket that belies the impression of cricket at that level.
Winning the toss and deciding to bat, Surrey State School under 13s got off to a flyer thanks to some wayward bowling and strong hitting. Toby Crowther and Josh Thorley put on a blistering 94 runs for the first wicket before Crowther was the first to retire at 50 runs in the 11th over. Thorley followed 4 overs later with the score at 125-0 with 10 overs still remaining.
The Academy team, featuring a number of debutants, pulled the game back in the final 10 overs taking 58-5 as the Surrey State School XI ended on 183-5 off their 25 overs.
Although that looked a mammoth score, Academy opener Ethan Austin set off with gusto scoring 23 at nearly a run a ball before chipping a return catch.
At the other end captain & keeper Will O'Neill was making slower progress, taking 16 balls to get off the mark but ending with his first ever 50 off 56 balls as he unfurled a number of exquisite cover drives. His first half-century was long overdue but watch this space for many more to come.
Some lusty blows and aggressive running from Rom Kolanu, James Pearson and Shubham Baheti in the middle order couldn't quite catch up to the required run rate as the Academy side ended 37 runs short.
