Shropshire U13 vs Stellenbosch Zone U13

17th February 2019 Shropshire U 13s Vs Stellenbosch Zone U 13s - Match I

England’s woes in the first test in Barbados were put down to their being ‘undercooked’. Thus proved Shropshire’s Under 13s in their first match at the delightful Groot Drakenstein Games Club. Undercooked … all bar our own ‘Chef’ that is, who, after 10 overs in sizzling sunshine under the helmet, was truly ‘overcooked’.

A pitch of variable bounce and some lively pace from the Stellenbosch boys saw all struggling with the bat. Ollie Parton (19) and Jonny Bland (18) were the only players to trouble double figures. The team made 99 off just 16.5 overs.

Bowling in the middle of the day, with the temperature in the high 30s, proved a novel experience for the young Englishmen. The transition from 19 yard wickets to one of 22 proved a challenge too as the Stellenbosch boys pounced on anything short, flashing away to reach their target in just 10 overs. Credit to Eddie Prideaux for his excellent and miserly two overs for just one run, and to Wilf Peers for bagging the first two wickets of the tour, as it turned out the team’s only wickets in the match.