11 November, 2011
Last weekend saw another indoor challenge for Loughborough's MCCU as we took part in the British Open Championships in Derby. After a hard few weeks of training and adapting to some new rules we boarded the minibus to derby late on Friday 11th to take on Wolverhampton in our first of four group games.
Four of our first eight had only recently taken up this form of the game and so looked to the experience of Tammy Beaumont, Helen Shipman, and England representatives Danielle Peart and Amy Jones to lead the way.
We won the toss and decided to bowl first against Wolverhampton and the intensity of the game hit us straight away. Wolverhampton had a number of England representatives so it was important for us to get off to a good start and get a win under our belts. We managed to restrict them to a fairly low total thanks to some good bowling from Nat Sciver, Helen Shipman and Anya Shrubsole.
We then managed to adapt to the new batting rules which included running only half the length of the pitch, and having to run every third ball if you had failed to score off the previous two. With contributions from everyone but notably debutants Nat Sciver and Beth Langston it was easy for Tammy and Jonesy to finish off the game in style for a comfortable first win.
We were able to take a lot of confidence from this game into our first on Saturday against Nottingham. Again Jonesy won the toss and we chose to field first and commanded the game from early on. Wickets fell regularly and we restricted them to a relatively low total. Batting was again an unproblematic experience and we managed another comfortable win.
Unfortunately, due to the number of teams in the competition and small spaces to house the games it meant that we had five hours to kill before our next game. Many of the girls therefore decided to go into Derby and we managed to give Nandos business for the evening!
After a protein feast the girls returned to the sports centre to take on Bristol 'B' who were made up of a number of girls wearing gum shields and shin pads! They clearly meant business! Unfortunately we lost Shipman for this game but gained a very reputable replacement who proved her worth with an incredibly low economy rate. Anya Shrubsole was on fire in this game knocking down the stumps a number of times and bowling superb leg cutters which left the Welsh girls bamboozled!
After a good night’s rest the girls returned on Sunday morning ready to take on a very experienced Bristol ‘A’. Both teams had already qualified for the semi finals but the Loughborough girls wanted to make sure they were unbeaten in order to get an easier semi final. Bristol were brushed aside as we cruised into the semis, however, the semi final in the other group did not go to plan and we ended up having to play last year’s finalists and arguably the strongest team; Misfits. They are made up of a number of specialist indoor players and also ex-England wicket keeper Jane Smit and current vice captain Jenny Gunn. We again won the toss and chose to field with Misfits getting off to a reasonable start. However we managed to pull it back and restrict their innings to just 73. We had a few nervy moments when batting but in the end won fairly easily which set up a final with Bristol ‘A’ who won their semi final against Leicester.
Like Misfits, Bristol ‘A’ are also regular finalists in this form of cricket so we knew underestimating them would be at our peril. We took a lot of confidence from having beaten them in the group stages and looked to capitalise on our higher fitness levels to maintain greater standards throughout the game. We again fielded first and they got off to a good first skin with some narrow misses at the stumps from all the fielders. We kept the pressure on and it all came together against their third pair who managed a minus 22 skin. All we had to do then was maintain pressure on their final pair and we would be in a very good position. With tight bowling all round they only ended up with 23 runs. Unfortunately during our fielding innings Dani Peart sustained a groin injury and therefore was unable to field or bat. The other girls took this in their stride and managed to see off the final easily before being crowned British Open Indoor Champions for the first time.
Not only did we resolutely win the competition, Anya Shrubsole also picked up the MVP award for the weekend leaving us not only the best indoor team in the country, but also with the best indoor player in the country too!
There is only one thing left to say...
Loughborough walk on water!
|
