Shropshire put Paarl under pressure

Shropshire U 13s Vs Paarl School - Match V 30:30

The boys were most grateful for a morning flopping about in the pool at Picardie. A somewhat chaotic lunch on African time saw the team scrambling to get to Paarl boys for the 3.00 pm start time. Paarl Boys is a school noted for the quality of its rugby teams. Its thirteen year old cricketers were keen and competitive but, as the strains of the brass band drifted across the field of play, they struggled to trouble double figures as the likes of Jenkins, Uppal, Parton, Davis, Prideaux, Walker and Peers bowled with ever increasingly assured competence. The ‘no room for error’ regulation on the wides front saw that particular column in the scorebook amass a tally of 30 - out of the team’s total of 81. The innings came to a close in the 22nd over, ending with something of an incident. In his effort to take a sharp catch off Wilf’s bowling Toby succeeded in felling the square leg umpire. Fortunately both got to their feet none the worse for wear.

Our boys rattled along in their reply, reaching the required 82 in the 12th over. It being agreed that the home side should bowl 25 overs, Josh had ample time to knock off a graceful 50 not out and there were further useful contributions from Ben Thompson (21) and Olly Parton (27 not out). The score at ‘stumps’ was 193 for 5. The umpire’s act of lifting the stumps from the ground heralded a pitch invasion by a phalanx of big lads who had been itching to commence their various knockabouts with balls both round and oval. We all retreated to the nearby pool where our boys put a diving display of sorts and one and all thoroughly enjoyed the school’s generous hospitality