After a tough start to the season for the Coyotes the team went off to Henley in search of a much-needed win, against a team that have always proved too strong in the past.
On a perfect afternoon for a cricket, Gabi won the toss and elected to send Henley in to bat on a road of a pitch with lightning-fast outfield ! It was soon clear that this wasn’t going to be a day for bowlers as despite Levi and Chloe hitting really good line and lengths, even defensive pushes were getting good value and the Henley score was ticking along nicely. Then Levi deservedly struck with 2 crucial wickets in an over with the score on 36 and the Crows were able to put the brakes on the score for a while with the bowlers backed up by a very solid performance in the field.
The captain started to rotate the bowling on a warm afternoon and Crowthorne continued to take regular wickets, but the runs were still flowing, particularly Henley’s hard-hitting left hander who made a well-made 50 before being run out by a good throw from Levi from the boundary. The remaining wickets were shared amongst Chloe (1), Gillian (1), Emily (3) and Mags (2). Marsha and Ana (making her debut) both kept the batting relatively quiet, and on a day of run scoring only conceded 1 boundary each.
Henley were threatening 250 but a quick flurry of wickets kept them to what still looked like a challenging 222 to win.
Megan and Steph were sent out to open and soon showed the Henley bowlers that Crowthorne weren’t here just for a nice day out by the river. By the end of the powerplay the score was past 50 and I was starting to wonder if we might not need any other batters today ! Megan sped to her 50 before gloving one down the leg side but an opening stand of 100 on the board lay a great platform for what was to come. Helena came out and accompanied Steph as she reached her 50 and the score was at 126 when Helena picked out the best fielder for a sharp single and was narrowly run out. No drama yet- the captain came out to bat, still slightly annoyed that her lovingly-prepared sandwiches were full of ants and therefore inedible. Steph and Gabi continued to score quicky but another promising partnership was cut short as Steph fell for a well-made 57. Gabi and Levi moved the score along with Henley desperately trying to find the right bowlers to stop the onslaught. When Levi was bowled by a quick yorker it left Crowthorne needing 45 off the last 8 overs. It was great to see Chloe walking to the wicket and her partnership with Gabi showed a lot of clear thinking, good-running and some excellent shots and with Gabi passing her 50 it just needed 1 off the last over. Gabi thought it would be fun to add to the stress and blocked the first 2 balls back to the bowler before hitting the 3rd ball to cover and calling Chloe through for a sharp, but victorious final run.
It was great to see the team really enjoying this victory- it’s often been the bowlers that have got the Coyotes over the line but it was the batters day today. The win lifts the Coyotes off the bottom of the table ahead of the match against our good friends from Slough next weekend