St Helens cricket ground, Southsea, can be an inhospitable place to visit at the best of times, with the wind whipping off the Solent and a home team packed with district and county players with a lot to say for themselves. And so it proved on Thursday when Petersfield U15s kicked off their season against Portsmouth U15s.
Winning the toss, Petersfield asked Portsmouth to bat first and put in a solid bowling display with tidy performances from captain Rory Newman (1 for 22), Jordan Hiscock (1 for 28) and Nicky Caddick (0 for 18).
Despite some ground-fielding lapses, there were some excellent catches taken by Ben Friend and Rafe Cains, as well as an early candidate for ‘catch of the season’ from Rob Straw. Thanks also to some clever footwork from Aaron Murray that resulted in a run-out, Petersfield did well to restrict a strong opposition batting line-up to 130 for 4.
However on a wicket about as reliable as the Welsh rugby team’s back division, Petersfield’s reply got off to the worst possible start, unluckily losing opener Ben Friend first ball to a leading edge. Despite some resistance from Jordan Hiscock (12) and Ben Cox (11), batting was a struggle and the innings failed to recover against some quick, hostile bowling in fading light.
Defeat by 95 runs was a tough introduction to A league cricket for Petersfield. However there were plenty of promising signs that hinted at a brighter future for the team this season.
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