GPR were a late entry into Loughton CC’s U9 kwick-kricket festival but defeats against South Woodford, Loughton and finally Frenford only tell half the story.
On what as the hottest morning of the year, the boys competed with their normal excellent enthusiasm and spirit in front of what was undoubtedly their largest crowd of the season.
The captaincy was shared by Max, Freddie and Jack, each winning the toss and each leading by example. Our bowling was spearheaded by Freddie and Tom, with support from the other guys, each of whom bowled an over. Connor was outstanding in the field, reinforced by the others, especially Luke. Adam delivered yet another good all-round performance, Alex kept wicket tidily and Tom was the pick of the batters.
At the end of the day, the difference between GPR and the other teams was the ball: had, instead of the soft ball, the matches been played with a semi-hard or hard ball that the guys now train and normally play with, I’m sure that the results would have been different.
By the way they played their cricket, their spirit and their attitude, the boys were a credit to themselves, the team and to the club.