Tuesday 21st May 2024
A return to the home ground and finally no anxiety about the weather. A gorgeous evening the Old Glossop women’s team back to the ground for a 18:30 start against Buxton in the DCCL women’s softball Mam Tor league. Resting top of the table from 2 wins, the OG women were keen to widen the gap with another win.
Buxton won the toss and elected to field. An early arrival from the team sponsors “The Commercial” was a welcome sight for the women as they prepared for fierce opponents Buxton and encouraged the ladies out to bat. Old Glossop were soon up and ready at the crease with the first innings under way, under the watchful eye of the fabulous umpire Steve Draper, an invaluable member of the OG women’s team.
Our opening batting pair once again set the tone. Leading league scorer Amna Ahmed posted another highly creditable 18, and with the support of Netty Bell, the OG women were stacking up the runs on the score board. Becca Hodgkins and Carolyn Waude added to the total with a selection of singles and 4s. At the Old Glossop halfway mark, 2 wickets had been taken, including a fantastic catch by Buxton keeper Colleen Thomas following the nick of an edge at the crease and Buxton were keeping the fielding tight. Some brave stops on the boundary in the field and quick thinking around the pitch stopped runners in their tracks and kept the score down. Four bowlers led the charge for Buxton with some good variety, and some quick, full length balls proving tricky at the crease.
The evening then saw the welcome return of Lisa Hewitson and Elleni Stephanou to the team week for the first time this season, in consecutive batting pairs. While still relatively new to the sport, Leni was supported by our fabulous Vice Captain Jenny Bryan, guiding the ball around the wicket and leading calls to support a great run total, with Leni’s masterclass in how to score a six adding three to the scoreboard within the pairs 4 overs. Final pair Lisa Hewitson and Anna Lunn was welcomed to the field aiming to raise the total runs for Buxton to chase in the second half and did just that! 16 overs played and the run score for OG was 301.
The usual Old Glossop women’s positivity continued into the second innings with some sharp fielding, bowling, and teamwork saw the players thrive during their fielding innings. After a slow start, the Buxton batters settled into their play, 4s were added to the scorecard, and the batting pairs for steadily accumulated runs against Old Glossop but were under pressure by the strength shown in the OG field. 3 bowled wickets and 2 catches helped steer the women to a 39 run victory as the final over was called.
Final score : Old Glossop 301 Buxton 262.
This has left Old Glossop with 3 wins for 3 games, and currently top of the league table. An enjoyable game against a positive and enjoyable opponent in Buxton. OG women’s player Lisa Hewitson commented on the women’s performance to summarise as follows :
“We scored consistently, bowled beautifully and kept their runs to a minimum with some fab fielding! The improvement from last season is unbelievable!“
Player of the match today was Elleni Stephanou with a phenomenal batting score of 34 off only 13 balls aided by multiple sixes hit out of the pitch and into the car park (no cars were harmed or damaged during the batting of Leni S!).
Again, a huge thank you to:
- Captain Netty Bell and Vice-Captain Jenny Bryan for all the hard work they do behind the scenes, the organisation, and preparation for matches.
- Steve Draper for his umpiring skills and support for the women.
- Catherine Howbrook for hosting friends, family, and visitors in the bar.
- George White and son Owen for scoring the match and keeping an accurate and up to date score on Play Cricket!
- The Commercial for their sponsorship and continued support.
- All of the OG women’s sponsors, friends, family, and Old Glossop women’s players that came along to watch, cheer along the team, and drink prosecco!
Scheduled upcoming matches include a cup game away Thursday 23rd May at Mottram and a return to the league games at home, again to Mottram, on Tuesday 28th May. As always, all are welcome and we will keep fingers crossed for fine weather, and strong cricket!
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