Monday night saw the visit of Bristol to play Barrow’s Under 15 team. Traditionally Bristol are a strong team, Barrow expected a hard game and so it proved. Clark set off in a hurry hitting the ball to all parts and riding his luck as Barrow spilled a few chances. He hit 4 6s and lost a couple of balls over the hedge at the village end, ably supported by Thompson in an opening partnership of 99. Clark made 55 with Thompson contributing 38. Isaacs then continued the accumulation of runs with 19 and eventually Bristol made 152 for 4 in their 20 overs. Only Frazier Thomas kept the runs down below 4 an over and took a couple of wickets too (2/15 off 4). Guy Fisher took a couple as well for 24 off his 3 overs, but this was just a warm up act for what was to follow!
152 was a good score on a greenish wicket, and surely Barrow would rue the 3 dropped catches which allowed Bristol’s key batsmen to reach such a total?
What happened next was a delight to those ardent Barrow supporters, including your correspondent, who have watched so many drubbings at the hands of the opposition over the years. Jackson Bryant and Guy Fisher opened up, Jackson took the unfamiliar role of holding up an end and pushing ones and twos, apart that is from one clean hit for 6 over the hedge at the village end (another lost ball!), meanwhile Guy showed a wide range of shots to all parts of the field, strong off his legs, through the covers and later on over mid-wicket to hit a team-mate’s car. When Jackson fell for 39 the pair had put on 121 for the first wicket after 15 overs, but victory was still not quite assured. With the score on 137, and having lost skipper Kieran Owen, Guy realised that he needed 14 more for a century and with only 17 needed for the win he played across the line but was bowled by Christie (3/25), he was cheered back to the pavilion celebrating an highest career score of 86 (with 2 6s and 9 4s). Ben Mead (5 not out) and Louis Bockock-Grace (10 not out) brought the side home to a truly memorable win with an over to spare.
This under 15 team have 3 games to play and still have a chance of overhauling high-flying Congresbury who they meet in the last game of the season.