Twenty20 Cricket Academy start their season with a win

The Twenty20 Cricket Academy "A" team kicked off their season with a win against a strong Purley under 15s team in a close game coming down to the last 7 balls.

Purley won the toss and decided to bat, losing opener Bevan West early on pulling a ball that was too close to him and sending up a high catch.

This brought in captain Sam Gower-Smith who anchored the innings superbly with 41 off 67 balls falling in the last over of the innings going for quick runs.

His innings allowed others around him to bat their natural game. Ted Cordery hit a quickfire 33 with a number of lusty blows through mi

d-wicket but that was his downfall as the Academy team finally worked out his natural game and he was caught on the mid-wicket boundary - a great catch by Sam Partridge - two balls after the field changed.

Man of the match Kobi Fordyce-Brown turned the game around for Purley. Coming in at number 6 he hit 34 off 18 balls with some brilliant shots, keeping his shape and not over hitting it and providing a lesson on how to hit the ball to the boundary.

Purley ended on 165-6 off their 30 overs, potentially just below par on a lightning fast outfield. Pick of the bowlers was Alex Yates who bowled his six overs for just 18 runs helping to control the innings from one end.

The Academy innings started strongly with Yates and Joe Barker both scoring at a run a ball as they passed 50 for the first week in no time at all. Barker fell for 21 but Yates continued with Partridge. 

The loss of Yates for a brilliant 41 and Partridge left the middle order with some work to do but they kept up with the run rate at all times leaving 10 to win off the penultimate over.

Another wicket brought in captain Nathan Jones who duly smote two huge sixes - the first of the match - over Mid Wicket to give Twenty20 Academy the win with an over to spare.

Kobi Fordyce-Brown ended up with 3-24 off 5 overs.