14/06/2026
PTCC U9s Dolphins Vs Wimbourne U9 Warriors
The Dolphins travelled to the picturesque home ground of Wimbourne on Saturday morning to face a Wimbourne side who were licking their wounds from a few close losses. Captain for the day, Will T called heads but luck was not on his side and Wimbourne quickly put us in to bat. Being the picturesque ground that it is, Wimbourne is missing just one thing- an astro pitch (this is up for debate), but it did mean the boys were presented with a new challenge - hard ball cricket on a grass wicket prepared in the outfield. No easy task, especially when being put into bat without a second thought.
But before I go on, a very well done goes to all the parents for successfully navigating their way to the ground despite the road closures and one way streets, with no warning before hand.
Now on to the cricket -
Ranga and Leon opened the batting, and set about their task of creating a foundation for the innings to grow from in fine style with Ranga swatting the first ball for 4. Runs were harder to follow as expected, but a steady pace had been set and importantly no wickets were lost. They finished on 24/0. Next up were Owen and Henry who ran well between the wickets, accumulating the majority of their runs in singles. They finished on 21/1. Will T and Louis came out swinging, looking to push the run rate up. With 1 boundary apeice they made 31/1. Our last pair Henley and Will B came out work some work still to do, but faced a barrage of bowling and did well to keep it out on this green top. Henley especially did well to fend off a few short balls and swatting a 4 along the way. A special mention goes to the Wimbourne fielder who came rushing in from deep mid-wicket to dive and cling on to a high ball from Will B. They eventually finished with 19/2.
All meaning we finished on 95 for 4.
Only loosing 4 wickets after being put into bat on the first grass wicket they've played on, was a real sign of how talented these kids are. Very well done all of them. This is even more important because it means they are learning the importance of not just scoring runs, but also not getting out. A big innings and team total is built from a solid defence and not giving your wicket away.
But batting is only half the game. Next up was Wimbournes innings. First up was the eager Will B, who set the tone for the rest to follow with 2 wickets in 2 balls, in what turned out to be a double wicket maiden! Great start.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and Wimbourne struggled to build any momentum. If a boundary was hit, they were soon pegged back by a wicket. The pressure was kept on brilliantly in the field by the boys ground fielding skills.
At the end of their innings Wimbourne were 79/12.
Meaning PTCC ran out winners by 56 runs.
Today felt like two very good sides going head to head and executing their skills to the max. Considering this was their first real test on a grass wicket against an equally skilled team, they all came away having contributed to a good team performance, and deserved the victory.
Special mentions go to Captain Will T for his 2 for 4, Louis got his 2 for 20 (but in reality it will be less due to a scorecard error) and Owen for his 2 for 11.
But surely man of the match must go to Will B for an astounding 2 wickets for 0 runs from his 2 overs!
