On Tuesday afternoon, girls from F1-F3 participated in the Enfield Borough Cricket Tournament at Winchmore Hill Cricket Club, competing against ten other local primary schools for the prize. Mr Heracleous accompanied eight girls to the tournament.
The first game was against Haselbury Primary School, and St. Johns’ delivered a fantastic performance. Opting to bat second, St. johns’ took four quick wickets, giving the girls a 20-run advantage before even batting. Haselbury finished with a respectable score of 49 runs from 40 balls. When it was St. Johns’ turn, Angili’s great opening over and Alana’s excellent hitting led the team to victory with a win by over 35 runs.
The second game was against Salcombe School, and St. Johns’ had to bat second. Salcombe got off to an incredible start in their first over, scoring 39 off 10 balls. St. Johns’ had a tough challenge to match their opponent’s score. Salcombe continued their dominance, eventually setting an incredible target of 120 runs. St. Johns’ tried their best to keep up, but the girls fell short by 45 runs. To have a chance of qualifying for the finals, St. Johns had to win their final two games.
The third game was against Hazelwood Primary School, which proved to be the best match of the tournament. The game was very close, with runs and wickets taken from either side. The scores were tied on the very last ball of the final over, with St. Johns’ needing one run to win, and a wicket in Dynomos rules would reward Hazelwood with 5 extra runs and the game. Alana struck the ball well to her left, and the ball was stopped by the Hazelwood fielding team. Alana shouted “Yes!” and the girls went for the run. Alana made it into the crease just as the ball crept wide, and St. Johns’ won the game by one run, cementing their place in the runners-up final at least.
Unfortunately, the final game of the group was cancelled due to the other school pulling out, preventing St. Johns’ from reaching the finals for first place. The girls were still extremely happy, knowing that winning their final game in the runners-up final would mean they could finish second overall in the competition.
The match against Merryhills School started off outstanding for St. Johns’. Angali scored a record 28 runs off her opening 5 balls and added a further 11 runs from another 4 balls to give St. Johns’ the best possible start. With runs added from Bella and Nefelli, St. Johns’ set a fantastic target of 65 for Merryhills to beat. St. Johns’ got off to a great start when Bella caught a well-hit shot in the air to add another 5 runs to the scoreboard. Athena managed to run out another player, adding a further 5 runs. With only 5 balls remaining, it was almost impossible for Merryhills to match St. Johns’ target. The score finished with St. Johns’ winning by over 30 runs, coming in an impressive second place overall.
Congratulations to Anjali, Athena, Alana, Nyah, Zara, Bella, Beren, and Nefeli for playing a wonderful tournament. Mr Heracleous said, “I am so proud of each and every one of the girls. They were a delight to take to the tournament and did St. Johns extremely proud.”
