By Mike Strother
The MGS Under-15 cricketers delivered a stunning performance to win the final of the ESCA National Cup on the final ball of the match.
Captain Sam Perry lifted the trophy with his teammates, becoming the very first MGS team to win the competition in this age group.
The final was a tense affair against a strong Sherborne outfit, who had managed to dispatch some formidable sides to reach the last two. Having won the toss, MGS chose to bat as our strength, we felt, lay within the depth of our batting line-up. That assumption was tested almost immediately as Perry, currently an opener for the First XI,was dismissed third ball, having feathered one through to the keeper. Oli Pooler was thrust into the action and, with Henry Stevinson and then Rehan Udwadia, managed to maintain a respectable run-rate of 3.5 an over. Yet, with Pooler's dismissal with the score at 54, Udwadia became the key man in the innings. A North of England player, Rehan is an all-rounder of great potential, grafting together innings that fit the particular context.
MGS had become a little bogged down by an excellent left-arm slow bowler at one end and a decent medium pace bowler at the other, so his rotation of the strike and strong running between the wickets helped guide the team to 132-5 with five overs remaining. He was ably helped in this by Alec Makin, a current Year 9 player, who made 36 before falling to an exceptional catch at mid-off whilst trying to push the run rate higher. Udwadia maintained his positive approach and the team finished on 162-7 from their 40 overs, a pleasing position given the timing of the fall of wickets, but, we felt, a little short of a defensible total. Rehan's score was 77 not out and he was applauded from the field by parents and coaching staff of both schools. In a remarkable symmetry with our own innings, MGS were delighted when Sherborne's dangerous opener was dismissed, also in the first over. It was the first of Year 9 Tom Robinson's remarkable five-wicket haul. (His feat was even more memorable for taking the first five wickets). He followed up with two further wickets to leave Sherborne 16-3 after eight overs and we began to look strong favourites for the match.Then followed a 97-run partnership between the Sherborne batsmen that increased their run rate significantly.
Our three spinners, George Poyser, Alec Makin and Josh Horan were accurate in their bowling, but the Sherborne players had their eye in and were seeking to run quick singles from each delivery. Crucially Tom Robinson came back on and took the fifth of his wickets by removing there main opening bat, who had made 41. This left Sherborne needing 16 to win from the last seventeen balls with eight wickets down. The match could easily have gone either way, and either side would have been worthy winners.However, in the final over Udwadia ran out one of the remaining batsmen to leave Sherborne needing 2 runs from the final ball to win. MGS won the cup as Udwadia's accurate yorker took out middle stump to leave the Sherborne score one short of MGS's total.
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