The under 15's started their season away to Olicanians. There were a few problems with availability which meant we had to play the game with only 10 men. Ben Rhydding lost the toss so had to field an a wet Ollies outfield. Due to the late arrival of Luke Hope-Robertson, BRCC had to take the field with only 9 men. There seemed to be a few nerves around the team as after the first 4 overs we had conceded 31 runs. From this point things started to get better for Ben Rhydding as we started to pull the game back after wickets from Hope-Robertson and the young Jack Hatton, who was very impressive after coming into the team from the under 13's. At the halfway point the Ollies had moved on to 50-2. This recovery was down to some good accurate bowling and committed fielding from the likes of Duxbury and Hope-Robertson. After the poor start, the 10 men of Ben Rhydding had started to look very confident and hopes were high that we could restrict the Ollies to a modest total. We continued to take wickets at good times, the wicket of Jack Harrison with about 4 overs to go was key. Despite our strong efforts, Olicanians finished their innings on 125. A total which would be tough to chase on a very green track. 

Because of a thumb injury sustained whilst fielding, Jake Duxbury had to drop down the order with the hope of being able to bat later on. A new opening partnership of Ben Thorp  and Josh Crane walked out to the middle hoping to get us off to a strong start. Some brilliant early shots from both openers which included some strong hits from Crane and a glorius cover drive from Thorp inspired confidence. However after Thorp and then Jack Buckley had been dismissed in quick succession things were not looking good. By this point Jake Duxbury had declared himself ready to bat. Conservation of wickets was key for the now 9 man Ben Rhydding side. Some sensible batting from Josh and Jake guided us to 30-2 after 11 overs. Now facing a very high asking rate they decided it was time to cut loose. Some brilliant batting from both batsmen then followed as they took full advantage of a drying outfield and started to find the boundary regularly. In the next 7 overs the run rate was around 10 an over as Ben Rhydding started to claw their way back into the game. With 2 overs left there was still a glimmer of hope for Ben Rhydding as about 30 runs were needed with Crane and Duxbury still at the crease. Unfortunately we were unable to finish victorious, finishing on 110-2. There was some cause for celebration as Jake Duxbury reached his 50 from the last ball of the innings whilst Josh Crane ended the innings on 37 not out. Although the game was lost this was an impressive performance with some very positive signs, like the batting of Duxbury and Crane, the ground fielding and catching, a good bowling performance and the impressive showing from the young Jack Hatton.

The signs from this game all point to a successful campaign!

Olicanians 125 for 3, 20 Ovs; J Haigh 40, J Harrison 24; J Hatton 1 for 19, J Crane 1 for 20, L Hope-Robertson 1 for 29
Ben Rhydding 110 for 2, 20 Ovs; J Duxbury 50*, J Crane 37*; M Davidson 2 for 6

Ben Rhydding CC U15s Lost by 15 runs