Petersfield progressed into the last 4 of the U17 County Club Championship with an 8 wicket win over Ropley. Winning the toss Petersfield put Ropley in to bat with the confidence gained from chasing down a total against Grayshott in the last round.
Rory Newman and Chris Salmon bowled tightly in the first 4 overs restricting Ropley to just 11 runs. Newman completed his excellent spell by dismissing both openers. Matt Clarke and Jordan Hiscock kept the pressure up with Hiscock getting Packenham-Walsh caught behind and at 43-3 off 11 overs Ropley needed to change gear. They took advantage of a side strain to Hiscock to release the pressure with 17 off the over. Greenwood (30) and Forest (34no) batted well together as their names might imply and they started to accelerate the score until a smart stumping by Bob Wemyss off the bowling of Guy Wilson accounted for Greenwood. Forest needed support to keep the momentum going but Matt Crouch had other ideas taking 2 wickets in an over. Guy Wilson picked up his second wicket and Matt Clarke his first as Forest began to run out of partners. Petersfield tried to keep him off the strike but when he got it he took advantage striking a 4 and a 6 in the same over. Ropley just edged past 100 to 104-8 and this was not going to be easy for Petersfield in the fading light.
Matt Clarke and Ben Friend started circumspectly and reached 22 off 6 overs which was just the start the team needed. With the openers off and ready to take on the change bowlers, Petersfield were feeling comfortable. However Smith and T Stennett bowled accurately and after 9 overs the total had only progressed to 29 and the pressure was beginning to build. This was released by a bad over from Smith conceding 14 and he was quickly taken off and replaced by spinner, Forest. Pressure began to build again and Clarke reacted by coming down the wicket and being stumped for a good 24. At the other end Friend Ben Friend was steadily building another good innings. His timing square of the wicket is good enough to bring the 4s when required and his much improved running between the wickets brings the singles. Now joined by Chris Salmon Petersfield needed 44 off 6 overs to win. Taking quick singles put the pressure on the field and some big hitting by Salmon eased the pressure to bring the total in to sight. With just one run to win, Salmon skied one to mid-wicket leaving Friend to score the winning run with 2 overs to spare to finish on 47no.
Coach Andy Salmon was delighted with the performance and very proud of the team. “The performance today shows how fast these young players are maturing. They knew what to do and how to do it and did not panic at any stage. It shows how far the club has come that even without 3 of our regular players we put out an U17 team of players who fielded well and I believe any one of them could have done what those guys did with the bat. They should not approach the semi-final thinking that they have achieved their potential – I believe there is much more to come.”
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