Oakmeeds cricket girls come third out of 726 schools in Lady Taverners National Finals

“After a good warm up the girls went into their first game against South Dartmoor knowing that a strong start was essential. However, a combination of the early start and a few nerves seemed to get the better of them and South Dartmoor registered a score of 116 despite the bowlers taking wickets regularly. In reply, Oakmeeds scored 93 but the loss of 2 early wickets was to prove crucial as we fell behind the run rate and were left with too much to do.

In the second game the girls put in a much improved performance, restricting Moreton Hall to 96 with accurate bowling and aggressive fielding. The batters also clicked with Izzy Deamer, Chloe Clarke-Walker and Adeline Preston all retiring before Jess Knight and Ella Ward produced a winning partnership with a couple of balls to spare, Ella hitting the winning runs.

The third game against Ormskirk was a challenging affair against a side packed with county players and an England development player. Ormskirk recorded 100 from their innings despite some good bowling. Sadly, Oakmeeds could only manage 58 in their innings as early wickets again cost us dear along with a couple of contentious umpiring decisions.

The final game was against Flegg and saw the best performance of the day from Oakmeeds. A ruthless fielding performance restricted Flegg to 91. Abi Izzard and Emily Goss clung on to excellent catches and Izzy Deamer claimed another couple of scalps behind the stumps. Izzy also produced with the bat as all the girls contributed to reach a final score of 95.

With all our games done but 1 round left to play we finally had the chance to relax. A quick check with the event organisers confirmed that we had finished 3rd overall, a fantastic achievement considering that 726 schools entered the competition. All of the players involved have improved immeasurably over the winter and conducted themselves impeccably - they should be very proud of what they have achieved, an absolute credit to the school and to their parents.

Thanks to the Lady Taverners for putting on such a memorable event which included a tour of Lord’s and the England dressing room! Also, thanks to the girls kit sponsors, Burgess Hill Rotary Club for their support. Thanks to all of the girls parents who made the long trip to support them, it was great to see (and hear!) so many of you during the games and I know that the girls were very appreciative. Thanks to Miss Hugo for her continued support and encouragement of the girls’ cricket teams. And finally, a huge thank you to all of the girls - they all worked so hard to reach the national indoor finals and their experience at Lord’s was a fitting finale of a successful winter campaign.”

The successful team were: Chloe Clarke-Walker, Izzy Deamer, Abbie Dorgan, Emily Goss, Abi Izzard, Jess Knight, Lottie Palmer-Brown (Capt), Adeline Preston and Ella Ward.