After two successive wins in the space of five days, and due to the vagaries of the fixtures schedule, Blackheath U13B’s climbed to the top of Division 2 in the North Kent Junior League on Tuesday evening. A good win in a tight match against Old Colfeians U13B, followed an excellent all-round performance at Bexley on the previous Friday, giving us a record of 3 wins and 1 defeat, enough to reach the top of the table. However, stronger A teams who are just below us with a game-in-hand are likely to overtake our points tally before the end of this round of fixtures. Nevertheless the achievement of reaching top spot highlights a very good start to the season especially considering we are a promoted team.

With a two week break now upon us due to school half-term, we move towards the next set of fixtures against opposition A teams. Having disposed of the other B teams in our league, the next target is to knock-over a couple of A teams and sustain a high position in the league. The most pleasing aspect of the season so far is the positive way in which the team is coming together and individual players are settling into specific roles. Suraj Solanki has started very well as captain and has anchored the innings very well in 3 of the 4 matches played so far; Teddy Mooney & Finlay Chambers are coming on as all-rounders & “death” bowlers; and Kamrul, Samsul, Mahdi & Abir are providing excellent all-round performances from key batting positions. Hugo DF has performed well as WK, and Vraj, Max, Jack, Nahid & Jamil have all supported the main bowlers & batters well.

To progress further, we are now looking for performances to match the excellence shown in the Bexley game on a consistent basis.

MATCH REPORT: 21^st May 2010 – BLACKHEATH U13B bt BEXLEY U13B by 30 runs

Blackheath won the toss and batted first on a flat pitch at the picturesque Bexley CC ground. An excellent batting performance by Suraj Solanki (22) anchoring the innings, allowed Kamrul (28 no) & Samsul (27 no) to play around him and some clean hitting by all three batsman took the score on to 83-1, before a late flurry by Nahid, Teddy Mooney, Shahruk & Vraj Patel took the final total to a par score of 116 for 4 from 20 overs.

Previously unbeaten Bexley wilted under the pressure of some excellent bowling & fielding and were quickly reduced to 45-7, before a late rally took their final total to 86 all out. A series of run outs and wickets from Vraj(2), Samsul, Shahruk, Kamrul & Suraj did the damage, but the overall standard in the field was highlighted by no fewer than 6 direct hits on the stumps and a magnificent catch at mid-on by Shahruk.

Man of the match – Kamrul Islam 28no & 2-0-6-1.

MATCH REPORT: 25^th May 2010 – BLACKHEATH U13B bt OLD COLFEIANS U13B by 12 runs

Blackheath U13B moved to the top of Division 2 with another good win against local rivals Old Colfeians U13B, in the battle of the B teams.

Blackheath won the toss again and batted first on a chilly evening at the Rectory Field. An opening stand of 43 between Suraj Solanki (23) & Mahdi Alam (12) provided a solid start, and some very good batting from Abir(20no) & Samsul (16no) made sure of a good final total of 126 for 3 from the allocated 20 overs.

Old Colfes got off to a flying start with 29 off 3 overs, but a succession of wickets in the face of some good bowling from Nahid (2-13), Abir (2-2-0-1) & Samsul (1-19), reduced them to 33-4 and they were always behind the clock. Some excellent bowling from Max Wyman, Finlay Chambers and Teddy Mooney at the death ensured that Old Colfes never got up to our total, finishing on 114-8.

However, some loose bowling (too many extras) and a few unforced fielding areas allowed the opposition too many easy runs, and overall we failed to match the excellence of the Bexley match.

Man of the match – Suraj Solanki – 23. Anchored the innings very well again and captained the side well.

NORTH KENT JUNIOR LEAGUE U13 DIVISION 2 TABLE (as at 25/5/10)

U13B TEAM SELECTION

With 11 league fixtures to fulfil, the aim is to get every player 8 or 9 matches, which means all members of the squad will miss at least one fixture. It is therefore important that you inform me of forthcoming school journeys, school cricket matches or other absences, as soon as possible, to enable me to factor them into team selection. The teams for each fixture are selected in blocks of 3 matches, for parents to see advance dates and the selection pattern, and to allay fears of players not getting an allocation of matches. This also helps everyone to feel involved.

For Year 7 players, also remember that the U12 cup competition will provide more fixtures. There is also a possibility that 13B players may be asked to play the odd A team match during the season.

Selection for fixtures 5, 6 & 7 are listed as follows:

Players named 12^th to 17^th man are on stand-by. Parents will be contacted by text to confirm their call-up into the team when necessary. It is also important that you inform me as soon as possible if your child is unavailable to play, to allow early notice for call-up players (we were a player short in two matches last season, something I’d like to avoid). My contact number is 07742 598750 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              07742 598750      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

NEXT FIXTURE – Tues 8^th June 2010 - Home v Old Dunstonians CUACO U13A @ Rectory Field. Start @ 5-30pm (24 over match).

Warm up at 5-15pm.

Mick Wyman

U13B