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MCCU Semi Final and Goodbye to our Skip :(
10 Jun 2012
Semi-finals week. With the start of exams and revision in full flow for everyone, the semi-final vs Southampton didn’t come at the most convenient of times for the team. With most other universities finishing exams long before us, the Southampton team arrived in good spirits clearly enjoying their summer already. In contrast 5 members of our team had already sat an early morning exam, with the other half all discussing their upcoming exams, who had revised which topics and how much more we all needed to do. However when it was time for the warm up the team switched our minds to cricket and looked forward to hopefully playing a full game of cricket (weather permitting as had become the custom this season). What seemed like the worse of the two outcomes at the time led to Loughbourough MCCU batting first and it was down to Helen Shipman and myself to open up. With so many players missing out on the final due to England commitments an order shuffle had occurred and I was particularly keen to get out in the middle and bat. Myself and Shippy got the team off to a decent start, seeing off the openers with the score moving along, until at 15 overs I managed to give the bowler the easiest catch and wicket she will possibly ever take. However frustrated I was at myself this then led to Dani and Helen going on to bat out the innings in a fantastic fashion. Helen finishing on 200* played superbly, timing her innings to accelerate at just the right moment, and giving away few chances along the way. Dani on the other hand, took her time to get in, punishing the bad ball and playing sensibly, in the end finishing on 69* and making her first half century for Loughborough, not a bad birthday present considering it was also her 21st birthday. Loughborough finished on 382-1 and nothing was going to dampen our spirits after that. Oh, except the rain maybe. As we went in for lunch the rain came, and the covers went on. Keen to try and get another 10 overs in and a result, (rather than an away trip on Friday) we quickly whited up again and pretended it wasn’t raining, warming up in t-shirts and sunglasses. But the umpires and groundsmen were not fooled and a long and agitated wait occurred while we waited for the rain to pass. Eventually after some crammed revision in the changing room, some singing and a lot of moaning about the weather, we were back out at 7 10 for a 10 over match. Southampton needing 70 to win. This will probably go down as one of the most memorable innings at my time at university and for all the wrong reasons. With us conscious of more rain and the time, we bowled our overs in fast forward mode, no time for a break between bowling, the tactics were no wides and bowl your over quickly. We were all grateful that the batters seemed to not pick out Anya in the field who was being blinded by the sun and had little idea of what was happening, but in her defense she did point out the lovely rainbow that had formed. All the bowlers bowled tightly and after 10 overs Southampton were 41-5. They valiantly tried to hit out and make the total but in the end it proved slightly too many and we were all relieved the game had firstly been played, but also won. I could probably write how the the whole squads rest of the week went from there: Revision, revision, revision, exam, revision etc. but it wouldn’t make good reading, so I won’t. Finally, I would like to end by saying that the semi-final also marked the final game that captain Tammy Beaumont would be playing for Loughborough. After meeting Tammy on the way out of my lecture, on the way to trials in my first year, it’s safe to say I know her very well, some would say too well. But over the past 3 years she has done an amazing job as captain, scoring copious runs, keeping, setting the example in the fielding and even chucking down the odd ‘buffet’ ball and taking a few wickets. I can honestly say that she has led the team with great leadership, and example, inspiring me and others to become better players and I am glad to say that she was not only my captain, but team-mate and friend. I wish her all the best in the future. All that is left to be said now really is: See you at Lords Durham!! Bring it on! |
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