Spartans continue to progress
Spartans played second game of the year at Rainford
Billy took his first ever wicket!
Rainhill - net score 225 Rainford - net score 290 Rainhill's U11s Spartans team played their away match of the season this evening at Rainford. They started the season with a home defeat against Hightown St Mary's in which a lot of players, many of whom were playing their first ever hardball game, showed a lot of promise. it was a different team tonight to face Rainhill, with a number of team members playing their first ever games at U11 level. Rainhill batted first and tried to play positively against a very good Rainford bowling attack. The opening pair of Alex and Joseph did well to avoid losing more than one wicket and also added a few runs. When Joseph injured himself attempting a quick single, Rainford displayed terrific sportsmanship in refusing the opportunity to take an easy run-out. Reuben and Max found the going tougher, with a mixture of good fielding and a few mix-ups between the batters resulting in several run-outs. However, the pair played some very good shots.
Billy and Xander were also able to find some gaps in the field and run singles, while the fourth pair - Xanthe and Riley - were very keen to run. Riley played some excellent shots and definitely looked the part. Unfortunately, despite Rainhill's best efforts wickets continued to fall frequently - several from run-outs. The last pair of Alex and Leon added 15 without loss, which helped Rainford to a reasonable total of 225.
Rainford had little difficulty in scoring runs and got off to a flying start. However, wickets from Billy, Alex and Leon (two) pinned them back. Billy's wicket was his first ever and he was naturally very proud of his achievement. Leon took two in two balls - the first demolished the stumps and the second was fantastically caught and bowled. There was also some great work in the field, especially from Reuben, Alex and Riley. Xanthe did well to stop a near-certain four. Joseph, playing as wicketkeeper for the first time, had an excellent game behind the stumps. Team manager Ken Rustidge said: "There were some excellent performances tonight from Spartans, even though we were beaten by a Rainford team that included two players who had League trials in winter. Our players are improving in fielding especially. Running between the wickets, however, needs to be worked on in practice sessions going forward. "A special thank you to my co-coach James, Andi for doing the scoring and all the parents and guardians tonight on a lovely evening for cricket."
Photos from this evening: