Shrewsbury School’s Under 15s girls returned from the Lady Taverners’ National Indoor Finals at Lord’s with the runners-up trophy after an exciting day of cricket.
They qualified for the trip to the Home of Cricket at Lord’s after winning the county and regional titles.
And they returned home to Shropshire with a record of winning two games and losing two tight encounters in the final over, claiming the runners-up trophy by virtue of scoring more runs than their rivals on the day.
Coach Gwen Davies said: “The girls have done extremely well to come as far as they have in just a year of cricket at the school. To come runners-up in a national competition is a credit to all their hard work and dedication.
“I’m extremely proud of them all and I look forward to watching them progress and develop into the best possible cricketers they can be over the next few years.
“It was very well organised by the ECB and there was a great display of competitive cricket in each match.”
The Shrewsbury School girls started their campaign with comfortable victory over St Aidan’s School from Yorkshire, batting first and scoring 128-3 and then restricting St Aidan’s to 97-6.
In their next game, they came up against eventual champions Felsted School from Essex and again batted first and made 98-8 from their eight overs. Felsted claimed victory in the final over of their reply.
Issy Wong hit an unbeaten 63 against South Dartmoor School as Shrewsbury made 119 from their allocation of overs. The Devon side were then restricted to 89-8.
In the final game against Old Buckenham High School from Norfolk, Shrewsbury again batted first and made 89 with their opponents claimed victory from the last ball of the game.
That left Shrewsbury and Old Buckenham tied with a record of two wins and two defeats, with the Shropshire girls claiming the runners-up trophy courtesy of their superior runs total over the four games.
In addition to Issy’s knock against South Dartmoor, Amelie Davies was consistent with the bat throughout the competition and Georgia Kannreuther was always reliable with the ball, taking wickets at crucial times in the game.
Cricket Shropshire Development Officer Ed Ashlin said: “Congratulations to the girls from Shrewsbury School on their efforts at Lord’s and coming home with the runners-up trophy.
“It’s great to see a team from Shropshire doing so well in a national competition.”
The girls are pictured with their medals and trophy with England Women’s star Sarah Taylor (back left).
Back from left: Sarah Taylor (England Women & Sussex), Laura Elliott, Mollie Matthews, Lara Ockleston, Amelie Davies, Georgia Kannreuther, Gwen Davies (Head Coach)
Front: Alice Hughes, Ellie Kynaston, Issy Wong (captain), Georgie Nicholas