Abingdon under 13 pairs take the honours at Stratfield Brake

A valiant loss and a great game with some highlights for KCC

This week's super 8s game was an enjoyable one played in good spirit - with some local rivalry as Aaryan Jagnani faced some of his schoolmates in the opposition.

Tom Lord gives a player's view on the game:

"The team put in a strong performance. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win. The boys got some good wickets while fielding including Sam with a good throw. When we batted we found the opposition to be very strong but all tried our best. Onwards and upwards for the next game!"

Sam Fransham opened the bowling with Abingdon batting first, bowling a tight spell for 2-1-2-0. Abingdon's Karthik proved to be a strong opener however, posting 13 runs in the four overs he faced with his partner Lakshay. Jacob Evans and Tom Rochford also bowled well, Jacob taking the wicket of Fin. During the second pairing Abingdon's Will hit a lovely cover drive for a single, but Sam Fransham threw down the stumps with a spectacular direct hit. The third pairing saw some tight bowling from Aaryan Jagnani (2-0-4-1) and was very notable for an excellent spell by Gabriel Tipper (2-0-6-1), playing in his first ever match, who clean bowled Abingdon's Alex with a fabulous looping delivery. Abingdon scored 37 runs off the bat, with 56 extras (2 per extra) and the loss of three wickets equalling a net score of 278.

KCC's batters were determined as they went in to reply, but Abingdon's excellent bowling kept them at bay. Particularly notable were Fin (3-1-2-1) and Karthik (2-1-2-1). KCC struggled to get runs off the bat, but there was some improved running between the wickets for Kidlington and some good calling between partners which was very pleasing to see. Lewis Bray did a great job of keeping out some difficult balls with some fine defensive batting whilst Thomas Lord continued to look good in his strokeplay and running. Max Earp and Aaryan Jagnani were KCC's top scorers. Kidlington scored 36, with the loss of five wickets giving a net score of 211.

In the end it was quite a heavy defeat but our players enjoyed the game. Sam Fransham was nominated KCC's player of the match by the opposition for his bowling and direct hit run out; KCC nominated AVCC's wicketkeeper Reuben as their player of the match for excellent keeping and a great spirit.

Many thanks to AVCC's Ram and Tara for scoring, and to Lisa Rochford for helping out with scoring during Kidlington's innings.

Our next super 8s game is on Tuesday 22 May against Challow & Childrey at home; after that we have an 11-a-side Ron Maudsley Cup game against Cropredy on Sunday 3 June.