There were a couple of late changes in the 10s team, with 2 players "loaned" to the 11s for the morning... An interesting start to the day, as despite hearing a rumour that Malvern were struggling for players, there was more than plenty of opposition players in attendance; however, it turned out that Cookhill U11s had arrived at Watery Lane, rather than Rumbush Lane! They were sent on their way, the field thinned out a little, and proceedings could commence.

Earlswood won the toss and put Malvern into bat.

The opening pair lost a wicket in over 1, bowled by Callum Graham, and closed their partnership on 220 (Tom Jennings bowling a very tight 2nd over), and Sidney Davis finding a good length in his opening over. The 2nd pair did not lose any wickets, but found runs hard to come by, with maidens for Noah McGrory and Edward Alberry, with the score only progressing by 5 runs. The 3rd pair saw Malvern's opening batsman return to the crease and whilst the pair scored a few boundaries, Cerys Brown picked up a wicket in each of her overs (bowling each of the batsmen), with the score at 244 after 12. The final pair was a return of Malvern's 2nd pair, and further wickets were taken by Monty Hill and Daniel Graham, with the innings closing on 254 (Wicket keeping duties for the day were shared by Daniel and Tom).

Earlswood set about the chase very sensibly, with Sidney and Noah opening the batting, Both protecting their wickets and adding 24, including a lovely 4 from Sid. The Graham brothers were next to the crease, seeing some aggressive play from Graham "Snr" (22 not out) with "Jnr" scoring 5, although was bowled and run out on the last ball of their pairing (confusion as to whether the ball crossed the (invisible!) boundary line!), seeing Earlswood on 247 after 8. Next in were Monty and Ed who both batted wisely, protecting their wickets, and advanced the score to put Earlswood ahead (258). The last pairing of Cerys and Tom lost a couple of wickets in their first over, which included a direct hit run out from Callum (3 Earls were helping Malvern in the field). Steady progress in the next 2 overs saw Earlswood go into a tense last over on 260. A further wicket for Malvern gave them a glimmer of hope, although Tom and Cerys closed the innings out on 258, giving the Earls a well deserved victory.

A good performance from the team, with the ball, general fielding (backing up in particular) and a sensible batting performance.

Highlights:
Fielding: 3 Earls always fielding sportingly (sometimes too well!) for Malvern
Wickets: Cerys 2; Callum, Monty and Daniel - 1 each
"Not out" batsman: Noah, Sidney, Callum, Edward and Monty

Well done to all the Team.

Next game is Wednesday, again at home, v Hampton & Solihull