Our U-12 Lions squad has everything – strong batting, skilful bowlers & all-rounders. What it doesn’t have is a 12-year-old (boy atleast)-we do have a 9-year-old though! Pitted against some really strong competition in U-12 South Div -1 in form of Amersham, Beaconsfield, GX, High Wycombe & Chesham in a home & away format, we’ve held our own against teams with players who have all gone through a growth spurt. Our objective for the team has been development, identify roles (batters, bowlers, all-rounders) and become more game aware. The team plays with high levels of camaraderie & energy, having played together since they were 8, we’ve also welcomed Garv, Shreyank, Maxwell & Daniel to the team.
Match 1 home v Beaconsfield: We started the season slowly at home to Beaconsfield, understandably so as this was the first standard format game for us. The concept of building an innings over 20 overs was new to us as was batters retiring at 25 balls and we missed a few of our strongest XI. We started well & bowled out Beaconsfield for 70, Aran Brar (1/4), Harry Ayres (1/10) & Eashan(2/6) doing damage up top before our spinners Dhiren (2/6), Jesal ( 2/7) & Kiyaan H (1/3) finished the job. We never really got going with the bat & despite Jesal’s fighting 17 off 20 (out to a rather debatable lbw), we subsided to a 30 run defeat.
Match 2 away v GX: We then played a thriller away to GX, bowling them out for 98 on a difficult wicket, with another excellent performance from the bowling unit supported by some tremendous catching. Our pacers Aran, Eashan & Harry did the job again picking 3 for 34- Teja was the pick of the quicks despite going wicketless, before our spinners did a job, with Ayan standing out with 2 for 13 off his 3. Looking well on track to get the score with Sam B (16) & Jesal (17) well on course, but Ayan’s (13) wicket when set to guide the side home, made it a hairy chase. Sam Brar got a dream finish, winning it for Chenies with a last ball boundary, leading to wild celebrations.
Match 3 home vs Amersham: Our next game was home to a very strong Amersham outfit- most of their side plays for the county. Our bowlers did an admirable job restricting them to 107/8 in their 20. Our spinners picked 5 between them, with Dhiren (2/11) & Ayan (1/4) while Daniel, making a U-12 debut, picked up 2 for 19 off his medium pace. Unfortunately, their express pace was too hot for our boys (the difference in size showing, described by some of the boys as “insanely quick”), and we were not in the game, despite Ayan’s defiant 16 not out, we lost by 33 runs.
Match 4 home vs High Wycombe: We next played High Wycombe, stringing out best performance of the season, getting the hang of both the division & standard format cricket. Batting first, despite losing Sam early, when he looked like he was getting into a grove with 2 wonderful boundaries, Teja (14) & Ayan (27) out together a strong partnership before Eashan (15) and Charlie Myers (28 with a monstrous six) got us to 147/2. Despite a strong showing from High Wycombe top order, our bowlers led by Teja (2/7) bowled tight lines with support from a good fielding unit, winning by 27 runs.
Match 5 away vs Beaconsfield: We then had an away fixture to Beaconsfield, where our bowlers had their first off day. Not used to huge boundaries, we were uncertain about our fielding positions as well. Beaconsfield made 138 batting first for the loss of 6 wickets, Ayan was the pick of the bowlers with (2/4) with support from Harry (1/17). Despite contributions from Sam (10), Ayan( 18), Dhiren (12) & Jesal ( 28), the run rate climbed quickly and we ultimately had too much to do, losing by 32.
Match 6 away vs Chesham: Last week, we played Chesham away. Batting first our top order put together a strong performance with Sam (15), Jesal (16), Dhiren (21) & Ayan (25) all finishing unbeaten putting together a strong 116. For a side, which has bowling as its stronger suit & fielding, which has progressively got better, 116 was a good total to defend- which they did, bowling out Chesham for 68. Aran Brar bowled a tight spell upfront going only for 3 in his 2 overs, our pacers split 5 wickets, Harry (1/7) had another good outing as did Eashan taking 2 wickets in the sole over, he bowled. For a 9 year old, Teja is rapid up top, again getting an early breakthrough. The spinner took 4 with Dhiren (1/5), Jesal ( 1/10) and Ayan ( 2/2) sharing the spoils.
Almost halfway through the season, we were midway in the table, perched at 3 with 3 wins & 3 losses, but with a game in hand in over the top 2. A top-3 finish would be a significant achievement for this young side, given this is meant to be a development opportunity as they are playing a year or two above. However, it has been an incredibly closely fought league with only 15 points separating 1st & 4th.

Match 7 home vs GX
We welcomed GX for a return fixture, with our opponents still seething from their last ball loss to us at home for them. GX won the toss & chose to bat, their openers put together 44 with our opening bowlers going for runs, before Eashan( 1/14) bowled a tight spell. Our spin twins Dhiren ( 1/11) and Ayan bowled us back into the match, with Ayan picking 4 in his 3 overs to reduce GX to 90/6, before some late order hitting from GX got them to 129 all out. Shreyank (1/7), Kiyaan (1/19 ) and Charlie (1/6) being amongst the wickets. Sam & Eash gave us a good start, however, for once our top order came undone- Ayan & Dhiren falling cheaply, and only Sam with 25 not out providing any resistance. There was too much left for the late order, despite efforts from Garv & Aran, to do as we subsided to 38 run loss. It was a set back to out mid table aspiration, given how closely fought the league was.

Match 8 away vs Amersham
We then went away to Amersham, to play the table toppers on a hot afternoon. With England slated to play in the Euros right after our game, the umpires had half an eye on the clock. We won the toss and chose to bat against the league’s best bowling line up. We lost our openers early, before Sam ( 20) & Ayan (22) got us back with a solid partnership. Once they were retired not out, rest of our batting order suffered a collapse. Kiyaan, batting right down the order, possibly had the moment of the season, flicking their quick for a one bounce four as we managed to set a target of 100. Defending a small total was always going to be a challenge, but our bowlers rose to the occasion. Aran & Teja started well, but Kiyaan’s tight spell (2/10) in tandem with Jesal (1/19) got us back. Ayan and Dhiren then bowled a magical spell from either side giving away 10 runs in 6 overs picking 3- the game was seemingly going Amersham’s way, when one of their batters hit 2 fours & a six, before Ayan dismissed him with a ball that turned a mile. With the game getting really tense, Aran pulled off a screamer at long on off Dhiren to dismiss their big hitting set batter, and we were back in the hunt. With scores level, Eash then bowled their last man to get us to a memorable tie. This result threw the league wide open, as any of the top 3 could now win the league.
Match 9 home to Chesham
With the league now set up for a tantalizing finish, we needed to win against Chesham & High Wycombe and hope for an upset to finish either 2nd or 3rd. We welcomed Chesham in our penultimate game on another hot day. We won the toss and chose to bat. Sam & Harry gave us a good start, but we lost wickets quickly. Charlie (19) & Harry (12) steadied the ship, allowing our middle order – Teja with a composed 22 & Dhiren with a quick fire 16, including 2 massive sixes to get us to 135 off our 20. We started well with Harry trapping their opener lbw, but were wary of their other league leading opening batter, who started aggressively making 21 off 12. Dhiren bowled him with an outstanding googly, before Ayan removed the middle order with two quick wickets. Kiyaan (1/12), Maxwell (1/15), Daniel (1/10) were amongst the wickets as our bowlers did an efficient job, bowling us to a 30 run win.
Match 10 away to High Wycombe
Our final game of the season, and with an eye on the table, we needed a win to give ourselves a chance of a mid-table finish. We went away to West Wycombe and won the toss, electing to bat first on a sluggish wicket & heavy outfield. Sam (22) & Jesal (11) gave us a solid start, Ayan (19) coming in at 3, then continued the good work – all three batters retiring not out. We then had a collapse, but thanks to the solid start, were able to post a competitive 105 on a dire surface. High Wycombe started strongly with their best two batters on the crease putting together 32, despite a tight opening spell from Harry & Teja. Our spinners then came on, proving to be our strength once again. Dhiren (2/7), Jesal (2/11), Shreyank (1/0), Garv (0/5) & Ayan (1/3), giving away only 26 runs in their 11 overs, picking 6 Wycombe wickets. Spells from Max, Daniel & Lohan then helped us close out a win, emerging victors by 31 runs to finish the season on a high.
Amersham emerging victors in a tightly contested league on the final day, with only 15 points separating us from GX who finished second. We finished with a credible 108 points, a side made up on 10- & 11-year-olds, competing strongly against 12 to 13 year olds, in the top division with some of the strongest players in the county.
The most satisfying thing was that we had contributions from across the team especially with the ball & someone or the other stood up when we were in trouble with the bat. We had 4 bowlers in the top 10 in the league – Ayan (15), Dhiren (13), Eashan (8) & Kiyaan (7)- with contributions from Jesal (6) and Harry (5). We also had satisfying developments for Shreyank, Daniel, Garv & Maxwell, who all grew into the side as the season progressed. With the bat, Sam (135), Ayan (153), Dhiren (71) & Jesal (97) who made runs through the season. Harry, Teja & Charlie making important contributions whenever we were in a tight spot. Sam, who had an outstanding season behind the stumps was the leading keeper in the league with 10 dismissals. Overall a satisfying season for a team which will be a force to reckon with next year !