Cranleigh U14 B won their opening league fixture of the season on Sunday, beating Weybridge by just 3 runs in a tense finish at St George's College.

After losing the toss, Cranleigh were inserted on a bright sunny morning and good looking pitch - but an outfield soaked in dew. William and Noah started well at a good tempo but lost the former to a good delivery. Noah carried on though, not letting the run rate drop, playing some great drives and pulls before he too got bowled attempting another booming drive. Enter Will OB who carried on the attack, crunching 40 not out from 34 balls, putting on an excellent 55 run partnership with Stan before retiring. Stan's innings was really important - helped really set the platform up for the end of the innings, a great knock. Benedict hit a crisp 20 not out at the end, ably supported by his brother Freddie after Barty got out to a sensational one-handed diving catch at backward square leg, and the innings ended on 114 off 20 overs - a great effort!

Cranleigh's bowlers started well with Noah and Freddie bowling accurately in the first 4 overs, increasing the pressure ball by ball and soon the the wickets started to fall as Noah claimed 2. They were backed up well by Benedict and Eleanor who took her first wicket for the team, another great catch at mid-off by William. After that Weybridge started to fight back though and the scoreboard ticked over at the required rate. Enter Harry who took the key wicket of their opener, trapping him LBW for 23. This prompted a flurry of wickets as Weybridge collapsed from 53-3 to 94-9 including four run-outs, including a direct hit from Benedict and excellent fielding from the Will's. With just one wicket needed to win, a couple of dropped catches and another missed run out increased the tension - along with a flurry of wides and no balls. But the two Will's stayed calm under pressure (calmer than the coach!) with Will OB closing out the game in the last over with a string of dots.

So a great start to the season - an excellent win under pressure, roll on Woking this weekend!