U15 National Schools Cup

The U15 girls’ team’s quest for finals day began with a cup draw against Colston’s. With the U18 team having successfully played them earlier in the week, the U15 squad had high hopes, and this game did not disappoint. Clifton opted to bat first, Bea Willis hitting her first 100 for the College, and indeed the first 100 for girls’ cricket at Clifton, ending up with 155 not out, and hitting 29 fours and two sixes! The girls knew that they needed to remain focused with the ball. Jemima Smith claimed the wicket of Colston’s opening batter, and two wickets from Meg Titcomb and one for Sophie Murray were to follow. Clifton secured the win with an impressive 124 runs!

We hosted Denmark Road in the next round, who won the toss and elected to bat. Here, Taylor Hodgson made her mark, ripping through their batters with four wickets in four overs for only eight runs! Jemima Smith took the next two, with wicket keeper Josie Wong taking an impressive catch off Harri Taylor’s tempting delivery. With a total of 66 needed to win, Jemima Smith and Joise Wong took to the crease and notched up the runs with relative ease, scoring 28 not out and 21 respectively, with Taylor Hodgson topping up the score to claim the win.

A long trip to Bradfield College ensued for the next round, the last 16 in the country. Bradfield won the toss and put us into bat first, early wickets fell, and the team needed to find a way to steady the ship. Up stepped Taylor Hodgson who did just that, in an impressive and commanding performance, playing the field intelligently and claiming 15 fours and one six, to take her score to a mighty 82 not out. Clifton finished the overs with 162/8, a hugely impressive scoreline, but this was the quarter final and Bradfield came out fighting. It is true to say that this fielding innings really tested the girls’ resilience and team effort, and everyone played their part. There were wickets for Jemima Smith, Bea Willis, Harriet Taylor, Emilia Puddicombe, Tilly Alkin and catches for Matilda Mortimore and Meg Titcomb. In a tense finish, Bradfield scored 142, meaning we progressed to the quarter final. Unfortunately, the June weather played a part and the match against Canford School had to be abandoned. Due to the lack of time to rearrange the fixture, the semifinal place was determined by a coin toss, and the place was secured for Clifton.

The team faced Repton in the semi-final, having previously played them in the indoor finals at Lord’s and won; they definitely put their all into securing a victory this time around. After winning the toss, Clifton elected to field, and hope prevailed with some early wickets, with catches by Emilia Puddicombe and Josie Wong, from the bowling of Jemima Smith and Bella Herring respectively. A cracking start, but then up stepped Repton’s number three batter who proved a force to reckoned with. She eventually notched up 76 runs before being bowled by Taylor Hodgson. There was a further wicket for Jemima Smith, caught by Josie Wong, but by then Repton had scored an impressive 141. This was a tall order for Clifton, doable, but also with so many variables. Some relatively early wickets saw the run rate increase as the overs decreased. Taylor Hodgson helped to steady the ship, but it was the intelligent batting by Emilia Puddicombe that frustrated Repton. Despite scoring 24 not out, we had left ourselves too much to do and lost the game by 49 runs.

The third place play off against Kingston Grammar came next, and the girls were like a different team, demonstrating great confidence. There were great performances with both bat and ball, Bea Willis scoring 70 and Taylor Hodgson four. There were also some great fielding performances: Bella Herring took three wickets and Taylor Hodgson two, and a great catch from Sophie Murray, which secured a well deserved win and third place in the country. Huge thanks to Miss Graveney and Mr Evans for their excellent coaching and guidance.

What a remarkable year for the Under 15 girls’ teams: third in the country for both the indoor and outdoor competition, and fabulous inspiration for girls’ cricket at Clifton College.

Sarah Johnson